‘DOES THE WORLD SEE ME?’: MAHSA AMINI VIGIL BRINGS SOLIDARITY WITH THE IRANIAN FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
By Anthony Bonavita
MODEL UN MUST SOLVE ITS OWN PROBLEMS BEFORE IT TRIES TO SOLVE THE WORLD’S
Georgetown reinforces the gender binary, and so does its housing system
EDITORIAL BOARD5 news‘Does the world see me?’: Mahsa Amini vigil brings solidarity with the Iranian fight for women’s rights
ANTHONY BONAVITA
6 newsMyAccess gets a makeover to mixed student reactions
ROMY ABU-FADEL7 leisureHDTV brings Tai Verdes' genrebending music into high definition
MAYA KOMINSKY
8halftime sports Voice Sportz’ NBA Predictions
halftime sports
No excuses: How sports culture fumbled the Deshaun Watson case
BRADSHAW CATE
news commentary
Will the postDobbs voter momentum continue through the midterms?
KULSUM GULAMHUSEINThere isn't much to love about Love in the Villa MAANASI CHINTAMANI AND ISABEL SHEPHERD
"More responsibility should be placed on the NFL and sports media to handle cases of sexual assault with the proper respect survivors deserve."
PG. 10
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Daydream wants you to experience David Bowie, not understand him
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Model UN must solve its own problems before it tries to solve the world’s
ANDREA HO
The opinions expressed in The Georgetown Voice do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty, or students of Georgetown University, unless specifically stated. Columns, advertisements, cartoons, and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or the General Board of The Georgetown Voice. The university subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression of its student editors. All materials copyright The Georgetown Voice, unless otherwise indicated.
Staff Contributors Nathan Barber, Nicholas Budler, Romita Chattaraj, Leon Chung, Elin Choe, Erin Ducharme, Christine Ji, Julia Kelly, Lily Kissinger, Ashley Kulberg, David McDaniels, Amelia Myre, Anna Sofia Neil, Owen Posnett, Omar Rahim, Brett Rauch, Caroline Samoluk, Michelle Serban, Amelia Shotwell, Isabelle Stratta, Amelia Wanamaker
“For Zhina”
SABRINA SHAFFER
up the dictionary: We’ve got to redefine language learning KATHRYN YANGBACK COVER BY GRAHAM KREWINGHAUS → MR. GEORGETOWN
As the Mr. Georgetown pageant—a male beauty pageant in which representatives from various clubs compete for that distinguished title— rapidly approaches, our very own Mr. Georgetown Voice Ethan Greer is prepped to take to the stage to showcase his plethora of talents.
“I’m the least suited for the job, which makes me an underdog,” Greer said. A Chipotle-loving, student government-hating senior, see Greer talk, walk, dance, and soar on Friday, Oct. 7 in Gaston Hall. To read more about Ethan and the other contestants, scan this QR code:
50 degree weather but I’m hotter than ever. The rain and cold might kill your average rat, but the love for my Marriage Pact match courses through my veins, keeping me warm. To my lucky human (you know who you are) you have bewitched me, body and soul. I played five iterations of M.A.S.H., and it’s you and me forever, baby.
The love I have felt for you in the past two weeks soars far above the passion I once held for lurking in the stalls of Lau 2 or the walls of Leo’s. Now, my routinely scheduled student terror is interspersed with beautiful waltzes on the New South roof and watching the sunsets from the Esplanade.
As we coupled on the center of Cooper Field, I decided, I am reformed. I am monogamous; I’m no Ned Fulmer. Don’t rejoice yet; this doesn’t mean I’m done. You will still see me and my progeny trying to trip freshmen as they run to class, but now, know that I do it with my partner in crime. If you see one rat body slink into the darkness, know another slimy, succulent one follows in its footsteps.
To my one true love:
Enthralled by your skin
Scurrying isn’t the same
If you’re not with me
xoxo, Gossip Rat
Sexiest SFS major, some are saying
Submarine spotting device
Spears, 6-foot-3 transfer point guard
Several stakes, in a common phrase starting with “up” subject recently freed after 22
Drake’s defining trait
up
to hobble
in favor
Place for a facial
An eclectic collection of jokes, puns, doodles, playlists, and news clips from the collective mind of the Voice staff. crossword by graham krewinghaus; "cubic lover" by dane tedder; "angry little tree" by annabella hoge; doodles by the voice staff
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Content warning: This article discusses transphobia.
Every Hoya deserves to feel at home on the Hilltop. But for many nonbinary and transgender students at Georgetown, genderaffirming living spaces can be hard to access. As it currently stands, Georgetown’s housing system is archaic, inaccessible, and puts transgender and nonbinary students at risk of physical and emotional harm. If Georgetown wants to be inclusive of all students, the university must adopt gender-inclusive housing policies, allowing students to live with others regardless of sex or gender identity.
For many trans and nonbinary students, college is the first place they can openly express their gender identity. But despite the increased freedom of gender expression that comes with the move to college life and away from one’s family, any trans or nonbinary student can confirm that transphobia remains a problem at Georgetown, even if in more subtle forms.
Broadly speaking, we are a long way from eradicating the discrimination trans and nonbinary students face on campus. It is imperative trans and nonbinary students are provided with the expanded institutional support necessary to flourish, and housing is one university service that has fallen miserably short in this regard. Even a quick look at Georgetown’s housing policies will show that, despite inclusivity making up one of Residential Living’s six core values, they routinely fail to account for LGBTQ+ students.
Perhaps the most blatant failure of Georgetown’s housing policies is the binary choice of gender identity options on the Hoya Housing website: “male” and “female.”
Students who do not fit into one of these two categories are thus forced to live in gendered spaces that do not align with their identity.
This issue is exacerbated by Georgetown’s lack of genderinclusive living options, meaning that nonbinary students are not only classified by an inaccurate gender, but are also required to room exclusively with members of that gender for as long as they live on campus. Those incorrectly boxed
into a binary may be exposed to increased risk of living with people who may not affirm their gender, which can be dysphoric and deeply hurtful.
Furthermore, trans or nonbinary students face logistical barriers when changing their recorded gender in the system. Students must email Residential Living the request to have their listed gender changed, thrusting them into the realm of complicated Georgetown bureaucracy, instead of making that change themselves.
This requirement also raises privacy questions, as it necessitates a written declaration of one’s trans or nonbinary identity that is not comfortable or safe for all students. Hoya Housing should not place such additional obstacles before students in need of support.
Providing more gender options and changing the self-designation process are simple solutions to these problems, but only a more comprehensive solution—gender-inclusive housing—will make housing safer and more accessible for all.
The basic premise of gender-inclusive housing is that students may live with people of any gender, making students feel more comfortable in their homes by allowing students to live with whoever makes them safest regardless of arbitrary gender binaries. Procedurally, this might involve designating certain floors or dorms as gender-inclusive (not just co-ed), and converting bathrooms to gender-neutral. The housing allocated to gender inclusivity could be evaluated based on interest each year.
Georgetown isn’t inventing the wheel here: At least 425 colleges and universities already have gender-inclusive housing. American, George Washington, and Howard University all have gender-inclusive housing, making Georgetown an outlier in the District. Georgetown wouldn’t even be the first Catholic institution to take this basic step; others have used Title IX to justify introducing inclusive housing, and Georgetown should do the same.
Living Learning Communities (LLCs) like Crossroads—organized to promote a better understanding of LGBTQ+ cultures—are also not sufficient proxies for gender-inclusive housing. Crossroads was not explicitly designed as a space for trans or nonbinary students. Moreover, being forced to fill out application questions to receive inclusive equitable housing cannot be the norm. Gender-inclusive housing should be easily accessible.
Gender-inclusive housing will likely also reduce instances of transphobia perpetuated by other students. At a Catholic university where many professors, faculty, and students reinforce—purposefully or not—the gender binary by deadnaming, misgendering, or other
students’ roommate options will always include transphobic students. Though we can hope for a world in which any student would be comfortable with and accommodating to a trans roommate, this is not the current reality. Making the housing system gender-inclusive won’t solve transphobia on campus, but it represents an important step towards making campus a safer space for students.
Some have raised the concern that genderinclusive housing creates dangerous living situations or locks roommates into harmful relationship dynamics. But living with someone will always come with the potential for harmful interpersonal situations. This possible harm, however, is in no way unique to gender-inclusive housing. Interpersonal relationships need not be romantic or sexual to become dangerous. Limiting access to housing that allows trans and nonbinary students to feel safe will not solve the potential for harmful relationship dynamics. Possible solutions include making switching roommates easier and educating students about available resources— avenues worth pursuing regardless of whether or not gender-inclusive housing is introduced.
Gender-inclusive housing is a start, but it is not an end. There must also be an expansion of resources for LGBTQ+ students. For example, Residential Assistants (RAs) should receive more extensive training dedicated to supporting trans and nonbinary students, such as what transinclusive programs might look like and helping trans students work through their housing options. Prioritizing nonbinary and transgender students must encompass more than housing.
At the very least, Georgetown must remove policies that prevent transgender and nonbinary students from living with people and in communities that make them feel safer. But bandaid solutions will only go so far: Providing explicitly gender-inclusive housing is the only sustainable way to make sure students at Georgetown truly achieve safety and belonging. G
On Sept. 23, Bahar Ghandehari (COL ’23) and other local Iranians in the District organized a vigil for Mahsa Amini on the Lincoln Memorial steps in solidarity with those protesting in Iran who have faced violent backlash from the Iranian government. Rallying cries of “Women, Life, Freedom!” and “Human Rights for Iran!” echoed the sentiments of a worldwide movement following the death of an innocent woman practicing her right to freely express herself.
Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, was arrested two weeks ago by the Iranian Guidance Patrol—colloquially known as Iran’s morality police—for not wearing her hijab in strict accordance with government laws. Many eyewitnesses reported that the police severely beat her upon arrest; suspicions further arose after her death. The police have listed her cause of death as heart failure while in custody, although her family has denied that Amini had preexisting heart conditions.
Many protestors blame the police, and the resulting activism has triggered some of the largest demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 Revolution. But these protests are about more than just Amini; women in Iran have faced—and mounted resistance against—discrimination and suppression over several decades, and are continuing to lead the fight for change.
The lack of clarity on the issue amidst an ongoing fight for women’s rights in Iran has galvanized world leaders and the Iranian diaspora, with protests occurring in D.C. and around the globe.
“It didn’t take a lot of preparation because everybody was just craving for an event, for something, for some sort of community in D.C. to come together after the horrific killing of Zhina,” Ghandehari—using Amini's original Kurdish name—told the Voice.
Organizers set a table facing the Reflecting Pool with several candles. A large painting of Amini stood tableside, along with numerous posters and artwork of Amini and Iranian protestors. Hundreds gathered, some standing quietly and somberly, some crying, and some screaming for change.
“She was killed, beaten in the head. For a piece of cloth,” Ghandehari voiced in a speech at the vigil. “The past 40-plus years we have struggled, but today we are standing outside of Iran. We have to use the freedoms we have here. No matter how many they kill and arrest, we will not let them kill innocent people for nothing.”
While applause closed Ghandehari’s speech, the group’s demeanor signaled a stronger message. Chants like “Hey hey, ho ho, the Islamic Republic must go,” and “No justice, no peace in Iran” filled the air.
Ghandehari then invited her Afghan friend, Zahra Wakilzada (SFS ’24) to share a poem on the struggles of Afghan women, drawing a connection
between oppressive Afghan life under Taliban rule and the current socio-political situation in Iran. “The struggle that Afghan women have to face with the Taliban and what Iranian women are facing with the Islamic Republic is the same, and it is important to make these connections,” Ghandehari added.
“The women of this region have fought enough,” Wakilzada said in her poem. One phrase resonated throughout: “Does the world see me?”
After the reading, the crowd broke into multiple chants and more songs led by Ghandehari’s mother and other protestors. Once night fell, observers began lighting the candles.
Attendees were keenly aware of the vigil’s significance.
“The country is finally speaking up, being loud, and hopefully overthrowing the regime that’s been hurting the country and taking away individuals’ lives. I’m here to amplify all those who have fought and left the country,” Natasha Sanjar explained. “I’m hoping that the protest in Iran and all over the world will bring attention to this change we are all hopeful for. Everyone has had enough.”
Unrest and anger over Amini’s death remain strong within Iran, with protests continuing throughout the country for over two weeks. The Iranian government has reportedly arrested thousands, barricaded students at prominent universities, and violently quelled protests, leading to over 154 people being killed, according to Iran Human Rights. Ghandehari mentioned that internet access in Iran has been turned off in response to demonstrations, in part thanks to technological isolation compounded by years of major American sanctions, though they were recently relaxed. “I haven’t heard from my dad in three days. He’s not receiving WhatsApp,” Ghandehari said in her speech.
While people have mobilized in major cities across the globe, Ghandehari believes more can be done right here in Georgetown.
“The university’s silence on this issue is disappointing, especially because the protests in Iran are massive and the violent crackdown has not stopped,” Ghandehari said. “We even saw this in Afghanistan—my friends did not receive as much support as students from Ukraine did.”
Other students also feel the need to organize a larger movement through the university to help
continue the global movement. Nima Majidi (SFS ’23), the current president of the Iranian Cultural Society (ICS), believes it begins with educating nonIranians about the situation.
“Georgetown is an incredibly politically active campus. It is a campus that cares a lot about things happening outside our borders,” Majidi said. “It is important to educate about why this is happening. Why is there so much resentment among the Iranian people? Then the next step is to get people involved in movements around campus, around D.C.”
While Majidi is currently organizing campus speakers to address the significance of Amini’s death and the larger political situation in Iran, he believes students have a responsibility to begin educating themselves as well. On Oct. 4, ICS began collecting signatures for a petition calling for President DeGioia to address the Iranian government’s continued record of human rights violations.
The common sentiment among Ghandehari and Majidi is that the fighting will not stop despite backlash from the Iranian government, and neither should the show of support for Iranian women by demonstrations around the world.
“Whether it’s an attack in Europe, the Middle East, or protests, or an invasion, it does not matter. It is a human rights violation,” Ghandehari said. “We are in Washington, D.C., where a lot of students are involved in foreign service and politics. I feel like we have a responsibility to talk about it.”
‘
Does the world see me? ': Mahsa Amini vigil brings solidarity with the iranian fight for women’s rights by Anthony Bonavita
Returning students logging into MyAccess may be in for a shock following a drastic update on Sept. 12. In an effort to improve its approachability and efficiency, administrators introduced a long-awaited upgrade to Georgetown’s online student information center, which provides a wide variety of resources from class schedules to transcripts. MyAccess 9.0 boasts several important enhancements aiming to create a more streamlined one-stop student center.
These updates, although necessary, have yet to be fully embraced by students. MyAccess 9.0 includes the newest software from the software company Ellucian and is the first update to the platform in 13 years. This latest version welcomes users into the new interface with a significantly more modernized homepage that facilitates access to previously hidden categories and includes simple graphical labels for each category. This long overdue transition from the clunky interface has been difficult for some students—especially upperclassmen.
“Being a senior and looking at this update has been an interesting change,” Thomas Rausch (COL ’23) said. “From an aesthetic standpoint, I would say it looks better than the 1990s style from before. I don’t want to say that I don’t like it because I just think I need to get used to it, but it’s not too bad.”
As a student worker in the Harbin Key Room—whose employees are now juggling technological questions after the fall 2022 transition to SwitchTech—Rausch acknowledged that, after the update, he’s had some trouble directing students to the resources they’re looking for.
“We get questions a lot,” he said. “The most recent question was ‘How do I get an unofficial transcript now?’ which I can’t answer because I haven’t figured it out yet either.”
In a school-wide email, Annamarie Bianco, the associate vice president and registrar, outlined a few of the less visible additions, including an “Advising Student Profile,” which combines a student’s profile, education, and career path on a single page, and a “Student Self Service” section that helps students compare potential schedules to their current ones. In addition, students
can now get official transcripts online, not just unofficial versions. Rather than waiting weeks after ordering their transcripts for a physical copy to appear in the mail, students can receive a digital copy of their transcripts within hours, if not minutes, of ordering.
Though adjusting to a new system may frustrate some students, the university hopes that this will be the last significant change for years.
Camber Vincent (COL ’24), the speaker of the GUSA Senate, emphasized the necessity of this update in relation to future ones. “The
Upon opening MyAccess for the first time since the update, Oliver Nazari-Witt (COL ’26) was excited by the “Register to Vote” section on the streamlined homepage.
“I like that it makes it easier to vote, that’s great!” said Nazari-Witt. “I didn’t appreciate the user interface of the old MyAccess, it made everything a chore.”
Abby Scamardella (COL ’26) thought the update brought a much-needed technological upgrade. “[MyAccess 8.0] looked straight out of an archive. It was hard to navigate and confusing and there were so many things that I felt could easily be improved,” she said.
Others believe it did not achieve its goal at all. “It seems like the most popular and most needed parts of MyAccess that used to be very easily accessible, or at least students had a map of where to get them, are now mixed in with everything,” Kerry O’Donnell (SFS ’23) said. “It just seems harder to get where you need quickly, especially when registration is so cutthroat.”
old MyAccess had a very customized code for Georgetown, but the new update makes it very vanilla, which is important because now when Ellucian rolls out new updates, new features, and new tools, we can easily send it right into MyAccess and upload it without doing a huge update like we are right now,” he said.
Smaller updates can be expected in coming years, according to Vincent. He explained that required first year modules such as interactive educational programs on alcohol and its effects, as well as sexual violence prevention, may be administered through MyAccess.
“The end goal of all these updates is to make the system more streamlined, more efficient, and a lot easier for students to navigate,” Vincent said.
Some students believe the MyAccess update achieved its goal of increased efficiency and accessibility for students.
While future updates may be necessary, students will need to adjust to MyAccess 9.0 first. The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) will be offering training webinars throughout October in the hopes that students will be provided the tools they need to succeed. MyAccess training videos as well as thorough step-by-step document guides are also available for students to build familiarity. University officials are encouraging students to visit the University Registrar's website or email the university registrar for additional information.
O’Donnell felt as though students’ issues with the MyAccess interface do not stem purely from a need for training. “[MyAccess] somehow gets worse and worse with each update and less and less accessible, which, if we’re sinking money into it, would be the opposite of what we were trying to achieve.”
Because the new version of MyAccess has not undergone its first major trial—registration— the full impacts of the update are yet to be seen.
Whether students find the update essential or redundant, Vincent emphasized that much of the change will simply take time to get used to. “There’s just the friction of having the turn-over to a new platform where students are learning how it works and where to find things they were used to finding.” G
Equal parts artist and businessman, Tai Verdes has carefully curated his image to seem like a super chill guy. His genre-bending music—best described as bedroom hip-hop with a touch of pop—features a mixture of rapping and speak-singing, which works in perfect harmony to create his laid-back love songs. Aptly named, Verdes’ sophomore album HDTV (2022) ups the quality of his fun-loving, groovy debut, TV (2021).
Though both of his albums are musically and thematically lighthearted, Verdes elevates HDTV through experimentation with new sounds. While the onus of musicality in TV was placed almost entirely on Verdes’ airy vocals, HDTV boasts full-sounding instrumentation from orchestral and synthetic backing. He also demonstrates more vocal power in both singing and rapping, imbuing this album with livelier energy.
Verdes is equally concerned with personal branding as he is with artistic evolution. When Hunger asked why people like his music, Verdes replied, “It’s not about who likes your music, but whether the artists market themselves in a way that would express longevity.” HDTV certainly leans into his mellow brand. The seemingly random capitalization and missing letters of track titles (“100sadsongs,” “On U,” “Shut up.”) gives the album a thrown-together look, despite being conscious choices.
This easygoing vibe translates into Verdes’ effortless flow between genres as well. Hiphop, rock, pop, and R&B bleed fluidly into one another, and HDTV capitalizes on this to create a distinct listening experience from track to track.
The album opens with triumphant horns, followed by a low, funky guitar as Verdes whispers the introductory lyrics to “Kingdom Come.” On the following song, “LAst dAy oN EaRTh,” the horns reappear as Verdes describes the small things he’d appreciate more if he only had one day left, such as “buzzin’ bees” and “evergreen trees.” That is, until he gets to the bridge and expresses
his desire to fly in a private jet and buy an expensive car—with only 24 hours left to live, who wouldn’t want those things?
That’s what makes Verdes’ music so addictive: It’s not only musically fun, but also lyrically lighthearted, perfect for dancing around and singing along. His love songs don’t make sweeping declarations or philosophical claims, but relish in the pleasures of everyday life together. On “sheluvme,” Verdes simply declares that it’s great to be him because “she” loves him.
“I do write songs based on my experiences and I believe that’s what a lot of people feel in my music,” Verdes told Hunger about songwriting. “I don’t write songs about something I’m making up.” Many of these experiences are universal, whether you’ve been in love before or are feeling it for the first time. His breakout single “Stuck in the Middle,” which he released on TikTok in 2020 and was included on TV, describes a friends-to-lovers situation that spirals out of control as one thing leads to another.
Two years later, one of the standout tracks on HDTV is a fine-tuned version of the song that catapulted him onto the music scene. “how deep?” begins with the lyrics, “It always starts with a ‘Hey’ / Turns into ‘How was your day?’ / Turns into ‘Meet at my place,’” and continues this domino effect of romantic entanglement. By the chorus, Verdes realizes that he may be in over his head, singing, “How I’m ‘posed to know how deep I’d fall?… Didn’t mean to take that leap, my fault.”
Like “Stuck in the Middle,” “how deep?” is a lively track despite expressing doubts about a relationship—but what sets the latter apart
is its musicality. Backed by heavy drums and light guitar strumming, Verdes is given more opportunity to show off his flow rather than ability to carry a melody.
The juxtaposition between “Stuck in the Middle” and “how deep?” speaks to the development of Verdes’ sound on HDTV there is much more confidence in each choice he makes. On TV, attempts at high energy resulted in half-baked songs with shallow vocals and instrumentation that often fell flat. This time around, the fun songs feel more powerful, pairing upbeat lyrics with a danceable tune. On “TWO SUGARS,” the sound matches the all-caps title thanks to guitars in overdrive, a powerful drum beat, and layered vocals.
Aiding the blood-pumping musicality is Verdes’ wide range of vocal skill, including a seamless flow of rapping and witty lyricism. Verdes’ rap hits its stride on “don’t touch!” Backed only by whimsical piano and a drum beat, his lyrics drive the song forward and keep it highenergy. His signature speak-singing sounds more polished, masterfully showcasing his one-of-a-kind tone. On “Let’s go to Hell,” the biggest adrenaline rush on the album, Verdes sings a catchy chorus over fast-paced guitar and clapping, but raps the verses. When he hits this flow, it’s clear that the instrumentation is following his lead, not vice versa.
An exemplary execution of the chill love song is the track “3 outfits.” It begins with a distorted guitar and some whimsical high notes, ending abruptly when Verdes’ raspy vocals enter, backed by funky synth and cymbals. Singing about folding laundry and taking up crochet, he portrays love as the key to making the mundane not so miserable.
Some tracks are more downcast, demonstrating Verdes’ capacity for depth of content. On “Lost Myslf,” he sings that it’s “Hard enough to breathe in real life / Been to hell and back, no, I can't relax”; on “FYL,” he laments compromising his values for a relationship. But even in these songs, Verdes maintains an easygoing sound by pairing the lyrics with an upbeat backtrack and avoiding drawing doomsday conclusions from hardship.
Unfortunately, the 20-track album does fall flat in some places, likely by virtue of being so long. Verdes’ attempt at an emotional love song with “morning time” comes across as cloying and a bit cringe-worthy. “Clyde & Bonnie” and “superpowers” could be described as retail music; this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad, but they’re likely to get stuck in your head to the point of annoyance.
Despite a couple of skips, HDTV utilizes its length to demonstrate a wide range of vocal and instrumental skills. If Verdes keeps oneupping himself like this, he’ll be in 4K by the next album.
BY HALFTIME SPORTS
In the Eastern Conference (EC), I am biased. Since my team, the Wizards, hasn’t conference finals since 1979, I’ve become a bandwagon Miami fan. That doesn’t change the fact that Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have proven themselves to be a formidable duo that’s more than capable of taking the Heat to the Finals. The biggest challenge they’ll face will be Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Said “Greek Freak” is one of the best players in the world right now, but Miami boasts a deeper roster than Milwaukee, especially after signing sixth man of the year Tyler Herro to a four-year extension. Boston will also be a contender, but they too lack the depth needed to go far in the playoffs.
With Klay Thompson back and a more experienced Jordan Poole, the Warriors will be a difficult team to beat. The Grizzlies and the Suns get an honorable mention in the Western Conference (WC), but at the end of the day, Grizzlies star player Ja Morant won’t be enough to carry Memphis all the way to the conference finals. On the other side, Phoenix’s two-year streak of flopping in the playoffs speaks for itself. The Finals will feature Miami and Golden State. While the Heat will put up a good fight, Stephen Curry and the Warriors seem to be practically unstoppable in the Finals. Assuming the Splash Brothers stay healthy, they’ll take home their fifth ring.
Despite threats from potential surprise teams in the conference finals and the defending conference champion Celtics, this season will boil down to a pretty chalky Warriors-Bucks matchup with the defending champ Warriors coming out on top. Heading into his 14th season, there’s still an argument to be made that Stephen Curry is the best basketball player in the world. Not only that, but the Dubs return a plethora of proven high-level players around him with former high picks Jon Kuminga and Moses Moody ready to step into larger roles. Elsewhere in the West, the Clippers will finally make their first conference finals appearance since trading for Paul George. While I have the Clips only making it to the Conference Finals, if the Leonard-George duo can make it through the season healthy, they have the talent to make anything happen.
From the East, the Bucks will return to the finals again after winning it all in 2021. Despite continued concerns about spacing, having a healthy Khris Middleton for this year’s playoffs should do wonders for Milwaukee. What team has the deepest playing rotation in the East? I would argue the Toronto Raptors. While they lack a bonafide Curry-
Here’s a fun stat for you: The Warriors have never lost a playoff series in which Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green have started every game. Another fun stat is that Golden State won the 2022 championship despite the Curry-Thompson-Green trio playing all of 11 minutes together in the regular season. The Clippers are clearly dangerous if their full roster is healthy—with superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George surrounded by a plethora of talented wings—but I’ll stick with the reigning champs until L.A. proves otherwise. Out in the East, it seems like every team has question marks. The Celtics—whom I would’ve picked to win it all if you’d asked me two weeks ago—are now dealing with a suspended coach and no Rob Williams III until at least January due to a knee surgery. Miami has an aging roster and will need Bam Adebayo to take a leap into true superstardom before I’m confident in their finals chances. The 76ers have the most complete roster, but I’ve seen too much playoff heartbreak from James Harden and Joel Embiid to feel comfortable picking them. And Brooklyn is … well, at least Brooklyn keeps things interesting. Since I don’t see anyone truly emerging from the pack, I’ll ride with talent and go with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks. The roster outside of Giannis, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez is very thin, but Giannis has been the best player in the league for the last few years, and he’ll drag the Bucks as far as he’s able to. But even at his best, there’s no going past the Warriors.
Golden State is the king of the West until proven otherwise, and their return to the mountaintop this past season won’t be followed by a precipitous collapse. They still have their big three—Steph, Klay, and Draymond—and the emergence of Jordan Poole as a star last season is huge for their championship aspirations. Add in Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Kevon Looney, and Moses Moody, and a healthy Warriors squad looks scary. I see them beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals. Kawhi and Paul George will finally fulfill their potential together to at least give the Warriors a run for their money, but it won’t be enough. The other Western contenders have gotten worse since this past season. The Suns missed their title window, the Mavericks are worse without Jalen Brunson, and the Lakers are relying on the #WashedKing Lebron (#JustAKidFromAkron), Anthony Davis (nicknamed Streetclothes by Charles Barkley, for all Davis' time on the bench), Westbrick, and now Patrick Beverley, who— fun fact—might be the player Russell Westbrook wants to kill the most out of the entire NBA. Great for team chemistry.
As for the East, it’s gotta be the Bucks. Milwaukee pushed the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics to seven games, and that was without their superstar second option in Khris Middleton. The Bucks will roar back to take the Eastern crown, as the Celtics will falter without their head coach (don’t have affairs, kids!), the Brooklyn situation is as fractured as it’s ever been, and the Miami Heat overperformed last year. I don’t buy Atlanta as a serious contender, even with the addition of Dejounte Murray; he and Trae Young don’t fit well together in my eyes.
In the Finals, the Bucks will win their second title in three years because Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the league and has been since he claimed his first NBA title. A healthy Bucks team would’ve won it all last year, and if they stay healthy this year, they’ll dominate the league on their path to a second NBA championship.
Everybody’s already taken the sensible, safe picks (I’m filing away all this Boston underestimation for later, though). So I figured I’d shake things up. To be clear, I’m going for interesting, not correct.
In the East, I’m picking the Celtics to knock off the Bucks in the second round again. Rob Williams III will be back from injury by then. Once he’s settled into whatever changes interim head coach Joe Mazzulla makes, I think their additions this offseason will make them an even better team come next April. However, I’m going to project that Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will be (just barely) too much for Boston to handle, as the Hawks will make the Finals. Atlanta is young and ascendant, and they added a crafty star in Murray without sacrificing any of their core.
In the West, I’ll take the Clippers as the runners-up. A returning Kawhi is hard to put limits on, and I just can’t root against John Wall. But a trip to the Finals will go to Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs may have struggled this offseason, but they’ve got a truly magical man who seems to have slimmed up this summer. Plus, I really didn’t want to take the Warriors. So here we are: Luka-Trae in the Finals (though the Mavs and Hawks line up really well across the board). I have to go with Luka when the time comes, but I truly hope the series will go all seven games.
For years, the Heat organization has been the model of what an NBA franchise should look like. Under Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley before him, the team has developed a killer reputation—they slowly build up talent, develop previously unnoticed players, and then jump back into championship contention when the development cycle is complete. Think of it as Philadelphia’s “The Process”—if it worked. This year, the Heat look ready to make a deep run for the championship. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro have proven themselves again and again in the last few years. Factor in the perimeter shooting of Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, and Max Strus, and you have a legitimate championship team. Sure, they lost a winnable series to the Celtics last year, but if this team can keep its cool and stay locked in during the playoffs, the Larry O’Brien trophy is heading back to Miami.
Miami’s biggest threat in the East will be Philadelphia. Between Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Sixers are already better than they were in 2019 when Kawhi Leonard’s dagger brought their season to a screeching halt. Add in the shooting power of PJ Tucker and Tobias Harris, and the Sixers will pose a tough challenge for the Eastern Conference title.
In the Western Conference, the defending champion Warriors are still formidable. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson’s shooting doesn’t appear to have cooled off with age, and the rest of the team is still very much the threat it was in June. The biggest challenge to the Warriors will likely be the Suns. Chris Paul and Devin Booker are threats from the perimeter, and Deandre Ayton still looks unstoppable in the paint. But they just don’t seem to have what it takes. The team chemistry isn’t there, and no matter what that franchise does, it hasn’t regained the momentum it lost in the 2021 Finals. The Warriors have a championship DNA that few, if any, in the Western Conference can match. My prediction: The Warriors face the Heat in the finals. The Heat pull off the underdog win and take it in six.
of violence to be placed on indefinite leave. Goodell misstepped—Watson should have been kept from potentially playing.
electing not to place Watson on the more severe exempt list, but talks with the players’ union broke down. In the policy for player conduct, a minimum suspension for sexual assault is a shockingly low six games. The NFL eventually reached an agreement suspending Watson for eleven games and fining the player $5 million, in addition to the $690,000 lost from missed games, a small fraction of his contract. Additionally, Watson must complete mandatory counseling. Comparatively, Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended indefinitely this season for gambling.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will take the field against the Houston Texans on Dec. 4, his first game since playing for the latter in 2020. Here’s the thing: He should not be playing in 2022.
He should not even be on the bench.
A few weeks ago, I checked my Twitter feed for news about the Sept. 18 Browns-Jets game. Instead, I scrolled across a picture of a Browns fan’s tailgate, displaying a massage table reading, “HAPPY ENDINGS ARE NOT ILLEGAL.” Watson sat out the 2021 season facing dozens of sexual assault lawsuits alleging his coercion of masseuses during sessions.
Egregious fan behavior aside, the way the NFL, the Browns’ and the Texans’ organizations, and sports media outlets have handled the allegations against Watson is appalling.
The NFL has a history of mishandling issues of domestic violence and sexual assault by its players. In 2014, the NFL infamously mismanaged Ravens star cornerback Ray Rice’s punishment; he initially received just a two-game suspension after videos surfaced of him assaulting his wife, before being suspended indefinitely (after scrutiny over the NFL’s investigation and pressure from United States Senators). In 2018, quarterback Jameis Winston was found guilty of touching an Uber driver inappropriately, and was only suspended three games.
Watson is a star player, too. In his sixseason career, he’s played in three Pro Bowl games and was mentioned in MVP debates. With that fame comes influence.
An anonymous woman first filed allegations against Watson in March 2021. He quickly pleaded his innocence, but by summer 2022, a total of 24 women had filed civil suits.
The NFL opened an investigation into the allegations a few days after the announcement of the first case, but made little progress during the 2021 season. Amidst rumors of Watson’s trade to the Dolphins or Panthers, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell refused to place him on the “exempt list,” citing a lack of full information. The commissioner’s exempt list allows players under investigation for crimes
Thankfully, Watson did not start in 2021. But he remained on Houston's roster, earning $10.54 million from his contract. The move benefited the Texans, too: Keeping Watson on the roster would net them extra draft picks in an eventual trade.
That trade came soon after: Complex reported on March 16, 2022, that the Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Browns were all interested in Watson. He would be traded to the Cleveland Browns two days after, receiving a new contract worth $230 million over five years (including a $44.965 million signing bonus). His prior contract was worth $136 million (over four years). Despite the allegations against Watson—22 civil suits remained active against him, though a grand jury cleared him of criminal charges—his market value only increased.
The Cleveland Browns never should have traded for Deshaun Watson and should never have given him a contract with the highest guaranteed money in NFL history.
Leading up to the 2022 season, Watson’s pending suspension was rife with debate. Nearly all civil cases were settled outside of court. The NFL initially pushed for a full season punishment,
With the 2022 NFL season in full swing and almost two years after the first suit was filed, the sports world is ready to move on. In the Browns’ Thursday night game against the Steelers, broadcaster Al Michaels discussed Watson’s suspension for violation of the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Michaels did not mention the women Watson harmed, nor what his alleged conduct violations even were. This neglect erases a problem that should be considered any time Deshaun Watson’s name is mentioned.
A subset of Browns fans have exemplified football’s carelessness about sexual assault by making offensive jokes; the massage table was just the start of shameful exhibits at the Browns game. Many fans came prepared with shirts expressing their support for Watson. Others brought signs demanding his reinstatement and used demeaning language against women. This behavior is unacceptable. The Browns must be stricter on this conduct, and the league should spearhead efforts policing fans spreading hateful messages.
The most disgusting part of this situation is the scrutiny and intimidation his accusers have faced. Those filing the suits lost their anonymity when judges ordered the cases to be refiled with their real names, causing one woman to drop her suit over privacy concerns. They faced harassment online and were subjected to victim blaming. One woman had to leave her job. According to Watson’s attorney, the FBI even investigated some of the women for extortion, a claim the plaintiffs’ lawyer denies. Meanwhile, Watson enjoyed the millions and stardom given to an NFL quarterback.
Despite the toxicity, some have stepped up to support the survivors. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center received roughly $125K in donations after the trade for Watson. Other sports fans have expressed support through signs reading “We believe Jane Doe.” They set an example of how we as fans can support these women and anyone coming forward in future cases, but more responsibility should be placed on the NFL and sports media to handle cases of sexual assault with the proper respect survivors deserve.
Still, Deshaun Watson will take the field against the Texans on Dec. 4. The boos against him will never suffice for the way sports culture fails survivors of sexual assault and harassment. G
Spring 2022. Pundits predicted a Republican red wave in the November midterm elections. As the opposition party, Republicans hoped to benefit from a historical trend of midterm voter backlash because of dissatisfaction with the status quo. But then the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and the right to abortion was no longer federally protected.
Since the Dobbs decision was released, voter registration of young female Democrats has surged. This rise in registration has already impacted electoral outcomes; in an August Kansas referendum, where female voters make up twothirds of new registrations, voters have already rejected a proposed change to the state constitution that would have removed protections for abortion.
Most polling as of Oct. 5 shows that the Democrats are slightly favored to keep a hold of the Senate, and that Republicans are slightly favored to take the House. This is a shift from polling earlier in the year that predicted that Republicans would take both. But polls aren’t predictive tools—they are a snapshot of current voter mindsets.
“I think Dobbs has had a huge effect on what the midterms will look like. I feel like right now it looks like it’s anyone’s midterm,” Robin Huang (SFS ’23), the content director of the GU Politics Fly on the Wall podcast, said. Dobbs has given the Democrats a way to make this election competitive again.
Lauryn Ping (COL ’23), the vice president of H*yas For Choice, similarly views abortion as a motivating issue for voters in this year’s midterm elections especially.
“There’s such a large majority of people who support the right to abortion, and I think that goes across parties,” Ping said.
byHowever, whether this momentum will translate into the turnout Democrats need to keep the House and Senate, and flip state legislatures, remains to be seen.
Abortion is an issue that has compounded independent and swing voters’ growing doubts about intensifying radicalism and voter fraud claims in the Republican party. Persuading those voters and controlling the national narrative in the remaining weeks is key. For Democrats, this means focusing voters’ attention on the Republicans’ issues and converting registrations to turnout. For Republicans, reviving the red wave means foregrounding other issues such as current inflation rates.
According to Matteo Caulfield (COL ’23), former president of the GU Bipartisan Coalition (GBC), codirector for the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life, and a pro-life moderate Republican, abortion will not be the deciding factor for many swing voters.
“Americans want to put food on their table, and that requires tackling inflation, that requires getting oil prices down, that requires passing policies that enable people to be independent, instead of dependent on government, and I think that Democrats are not doing that,” Caulfield said.
Caulfield feels President Biden and congressional Democrats have failed to introduce policies that would remedy current economic issues, and this failure will be in the Republicans’ favor when voters cast their ballots.
Beyond specific issues, the shifting political dynamics of a post-Trump political landscape— including mainstream extremism and an increasingly fragile democracy—will certainly impact midterm races.
Sanjay Gospodinov (MSB ’23), former director of GBC’s media platform, The Consensus , and a libertarian pro-choice member of the GU Politics student advisory board, sees candidate quality as a leading factor in voter’s decisions—especially now as it’s become increasingly popular for celebrities to run for office.
“We really are running candidates we would never have run, ever, ten years ago,” he said, referring to Mehmet Oz, a pseudoscientistturned-politician running for the Republican party in the Pennsylvania senate race.
“That race with standard Republican, standard Dem—standard Republican wins nine times out of 10, but not now,” Gospodinov said, emphasizing how increasingly extreme candidates have affected the calculus of previously uncompetitive elections.
That mainstreaming of previously fringe factions of the Republican party might still sway swing voters away from Republican candidates—and Dobbs could be the nail in the coffin, especially in state and local elections.
Pew Research found that 57 percent of young Republican women oppose the Dobbs decision and that 45 percent of Republican voters aged 18-29 disagree with their party’s position on abortion. A memorandum from the RNC released in midSeptember found that 80 percent of voters are unhappy with the Dobbs decision.
“I think the Dobbs decision really demonstrates the consequences of a Republican legislature, and just the Republican party in general, propping up an anti-abortion stance,” Ping said.
This broad support for abortion access has made failures in Democratic party strategy on a state level apparent to many voters. The Republican party has historically invested more in state legislatures and local races, and ultimately it is those representatives who will decide how far the pro-life movement can move toward enacting total bans on abortion.
For success, the Democratic party needs to engage in the same long-term, state- and local-level strategies that the Republicans have engaged in if it wants to protect abortion rights in the future.
In the short term, Huang identifies a new trend in Democratic strategy.
“There’s been a new focus on organizing in the Democratic Party. Stacey Abrams comes to mind,” Huang said, alluding to Abrams’ success with local, grassroots organizing in Georgia that influenced the outcome of the 2020 election. “I think that’s ultimately a winning strategy.”
But in the context of recent attempts at voter suppression, a strategy reliant on organizing and turnout, rather than that of redistricting and longterm legislature investment, may still not be enough for Democrats to win. The simple math of the freshly gerrymandered electoral map, combined with general electoral trends of dissatisfaction with the president and the Democratic party, could largely favor Republicans.
There is much to distract voters from the aftermath of the Dobbs decision—the economy, the theater of extremist candidates in House and Senate races, voter suppression, and countless other issues. It’s not clear whether abortion will remain in the public consciousness by the time the election rolls around, and if it does, whether Democrats will be able to harness its effect.
“Either party will have to fight to keep Dobbs as a mainline issue—if they want it to be,” Huang said. G
zhao; by dane tedderRomeo and Juliet is undeniably one of the world’s greatest love stories. But as any middle school English student will tell you, it is also one of the most devastating. In its attempt to replicate the romance of Shakespeare’s classic, Netflix’s Love in the Villa (2022) seems to forget the fundamental tragedy of its source material, presenting itself as a forgettable love letter to the infamous Verona. Love in the Villa takes the tried-and-true enemies-to-lovers formula and turns the heat all the way down.
The film follows Julie Hutton (Kat Graham), an English teacher and Romeo and Juliet fanatic, on her quest to recreate her favorite love story in Verona, Italy (presumably without the double suicide). While Julie thinks she is about to get engaged, her largely unremarkable boyfriend breaks up with her instead, leaving our fearless heroine to Eat, Pray, Love her way around the so-called City of Love. She is forced to cohabitate with Charlie Fletcher (Tom Hopper), a grouchy British wine distributor, and after a series of hijinks and inexplicably high-stakes pranks, the two indeed end up finding love in the villa.
Yet instead of delivering a cheesy story of self-discovery or even a predictable but comforting rom-com that embraces a gorgeous international setting, Love in the Villa offers nearly two hours of … just about nothing. From uncompelling characters to a directionless plot and lack of Veronan scenery, the film is astonishingly bland.
While it’s unfair to demand a moving, lifechanging masterpiece from a Netflix rom-com, it is not unreasonable to expect to be entertained, at the very least. Prior films in the genre, like Set It Up (2018) and Always Be My Maybe (2019), have faced criticism for being formulaic and cliché-ridden, yet remained supremely enjoyable. Meanwhile, in eschewing—or, in some instances, butchering—common tropes, Love in the Villa misses out on the inherent
entertainment factor that made those plotlines popular in the first place.
Rather than a straightforward but appealing enemies-to-lovers dynamic, Love in the Villa fails to convincingly establish why Julie and Charlie are enemies in the first place—their goofy, absent-minded Airbnb host is clearly to blame for their predicament as he accidentally doublebooked them for the week. Julie and Charlie’s tension should hinge on logistics, yet somehow it quickly morphs into a fundamental character disagreement (and eventual prank war); while venting about Charlie on the phone to her friend Rob (Sean Amsing), Julie goes as far as to confess that “it’s like he hates me for no reason.” It’s like the call is coming from inside the house!
The key to any good opposites-attract dynamic is a stark contrast between the romantic leads. Ostensibly, Charlie and Julie aim to fulfill the pragmatist/hopeless romantic dichotomy, but neither of them has strong enough convictions to really sell it. As they stroll down the Ponte Pietra (gelato in hand, obviously), they so explicitly articulate their differences it feels like being hit over the head with a copy of every single Emily Henry book all at once. He has five siblings and distant parents! She’s an only child raised by parents who were “crazy about each other”! Of course, Charlie is also British, which naturally (and again, so obviously) makes him even frostier, while Julie, quintessentially Midwestern, is baffled by his absolute lack of effusiveness. There’s not an ounce of originality or real humanity in these two—they somehow turn the joy of caricature-heavy romance tropes into an unpleasant slog.
Neither Charlie nor Julie is particularly likable, but Julie is, to put it kindly, a stickler. She plans her vacation down to the minute, and any disruption throws her into a tizzy. While the film vaguely gestures at her embracing Italian spontaneity, Julie is strangely defiant in embracing anything
actually Italian. As a peace offering, Charlie cooks an elaborate dinner for Julie, with a steaming plate of pastissada de caval as the main course. Julie eagerly tucks in, only to quickly discover that caval means horse in Italian. Julie is utterly horrified, and a playful food fight ensues. While Julie’s outsized reaction is clearly intended as comedic, it lands as clueless—how could you worship all things Verona and not know one of the city’s most famous dishes?
Thankfully for Julie, Charlie’s dish was a vegetarian dupe, saving her from the shock and horror of experiencing an Italian delicacy. In this sense, the film fails to deliver on another comforting trope: the clueless tourist.
For someone who claims to love Romeo and Juliet as much as she does, Julie has a hard time internalizing the play’s message of love conquering enmity. Both Julie and Charlie claim to be Italophiles, but at best they romanticize Italian culture while begrudgingly accepting the existence of Italian people. This unfortunate character flaw leads to one of the film’s funniest moments—facing arrest by Italian police, Charlie absurdly yells, “You can’t arrest me, I’m British!” But by the end of the film, Charlie and Julie remain the same stubborn tourists they started out as. Even when the two have their mutual romantic epiphany, the victory rings hollow—there’s no real character development to make their ultimate reunion exciting.
Love in the Villa suggests the days of the Netflix Romcom Industrial Complex may be coming to an end. The film was released mere months after A Perfect Pairing (2022), an enemies-to-lovers flick set in a picturesque locale with characters involved in the wine industry. Sound familiar? Netflix’s stale plug-and-play approach to the romcom is a bastardization of a genre once filled with classics that transcended audiences, and its latest ventures inherit nothing from the rich tradition established by the likes of Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers. Even for more casual audiences, this soulless mush fails to deliver even a mindless, escapist piece of passable entertainment. Evidently, Love in the Villa and its ilk are films for neither the head nor the heart, but instead merely Netflix’s bottom line. G
BY COLE KINDIGER
There are two things movie goers can’t seem to get enough of: superheroes and rockstars.
Over the past five years, we’ve witnessed considerable proof of the latter, as a recent swell of musician biopics—most notably Dexter Fletcher and Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and Fletcher’s Rocketman (2019)—takes over our hearts, minds, and wallets.
The tried-and-true pattern of these movies never ceases to amaze: The heartbreak, the childhood anguish, the inter-band tension, and (of course) the near-constant renderings of the artist’s greatest hits thrill us every time. After a press release by Neon and Universal Pictures, it seems like David Bowie, who forever changed the landscape of rock ’n’ roll and remains an enduring presence as both artist and subject, is going to be the next musical icon in line to receive Hollywood’s biopic treatment.
But never fear: Director Brett Morgen ensures that Moonage Daydream (2022) is nothing like its formulaic predecessors. This isn’t only because it’s a documentary. Unlike its peers, Daydream isn’t a biography at all. In this film, narrative doesn’t just take a backseat to style; it’s not even allowed in the car.
Daydream is Bowie in his own words, literally: The first film to be officially sanctioned by the artist’s estate, every segment is handpicked from over five million clips of archival footage. Priority isn’t given to performance, though; a video of Bowie howling along to “Suffragette City” could easily be cut short in favor of an interview with MTV or a candid moment inside his home. A diverse array of Bowie’s music—including both popular favorites like “Modern Love” and deeper cuts like “Hallo Spaceboy”—is artfully remastered and arranged throughout the film. Morgen collaborates beautifully with his special effects and sound teams, poring over thousands of hours of concerts, press conferences, and private insights to sculpt a feature-length film that displays Bowie in all his neon-outlined glory.
Bowie’s thoughts, philosophies, personalities, and identities are fully on
contains multitudes. But these elements are never communicated directly, or even clearly; most scenes are non-linear, fragmentary, and seemingly impossible to understand. It unapologetically refuses to connect any dots for the audience, stitching together clips that are often years apart and peppering in songs seemingly at random. This is an intentional choice made by Morgen, meant to reflect the artist’s own love of the inexplicable. But the chaos, however purposeful, sometimes inhibits the viewing experience. A slightly more structured film, one that is loosely chronological or thematic, would allow viewers the framework to better understand what Morgen is trying to convey.
Bowie’s music gained acclaim for being as baffling as it was powerful; the film’s title is a nod to his song of the same name, one whose lyrics are notoriously impossible to understand. Bowie’s lyrics are often abstract: “Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth,” or even absurd: “I'm a laughing gnome and you don't catch me.” This mysterious, impenetrable quality lies at the heart of Bowie’s otherworldly allure, and Daydream’s director understands that.
“I don’t know what a ‘moonage daydream’ is per se,” Morgen admits in an interview with Time Magazine. “But the fact that I don’t really know what it means is kind of the beauty of Bowie: he’s the unknowable.”
David Bowie, at his core, defies definition. This applies not only to his music, but to all forms of expression. He openly vaunted his bisexuality—a difficult thing to do in the early ’70s—and frequently wore makeup, high heels, and skin-tight dresses. His identity itself was fluid, as he constantly shifted between fantastical personas like Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, and the Thin White Duke. Daydream is at its best when it portrays Bowie’s deep-seated freedom from the societal constraints that bind the rest of us. It whispers that, if we just embody what Bowie has taught us,
The documentary stays true to Bowie’s bizarre and amorphous style; at times, it seems like it could’ve been directed by the man himself. It’s visually jarring: Scenes are painted over with flashing lights and the transitions are lightningfast. Often, it feels like there’s some bored teen behind the projector, flipping from one channel to the next before the audience can react. In another film, focused on a different artist, this might have seemed unwise. For Moonage Daydream, it’s perfect.
This is because, even in the cacophony, pieces of Bowie shine through.
While the film is too fragmented to confidently claim a theme, there are a handful of powerful, albeit ephemeral, ideas that persist throughout. His relationship with his second wife Iman, showcased in a tasteful arrangement of wedding photos put to “Word on a Wing,” feels as authentic and profound as any. Similarly, Bowie’s love of life, especially in the face of nihilism, is palpable for the entirety of the film—it seems to drive everything he does. “Make the best of every moment,” his voice intones. “We’re not evolving. We’re not going anywhere.”
Although parts of the artist seem tangible at times, Daydream just doesn’t have the same goals that, say, Bohemian Rhapsody does. Unlike Rhapsody, which focuses on the life and loves of Queen singer Freddie Mercury, Daydream avoids biographical details in favor of displaying Bowie’s worldview, his art, and his effect on us. Fans itching to learn more about Bowie’s personal life are likely to be disappointed.
Even after sitting through the movie’s 134-minute runtime, the audience never truly meets David Bowie, the human being—the living, breathing man behind the music. They’re too dazzled by his magic to get a very good look.
Toward the beginning of the film, a voice asks, “Who is he? What is he? Where did he come from? Is he a creature of a foreign power? Is he a creep? Is he dangerous? Is he smart? Is he dumb? Nice to his parents? Real? Put on? Crazy? Sane? Man? Woman? Robot? What is this?”
In the end, this question is never answered—
photos courtesy of neon; design by grahamAfter binging Tokyo Girl on a Sunday night, I retreated to my dorm decorated with knickknacks of all things Japanese. There’s the pink poster of Osaka, reminiscent of 1980s anime. The Gudetama socks, the Totoro figurine, my blinking computer wallpaper of the Itsukushima Shrine. But there’s also my Japanese textbooks, waiting to be read.
I’ve loved studying Japanese since I started college. I love the way the language sounds, and discovering the nuances of expression. My love for the linguistic aspect aside, I’ve had difficulty grappling with my relationship to Japanese culture as a person of non-Japanese descent.
Too often, I guiltily relish in my daydreams about the flashing lights of Tokyo and scroll through endless TikToks that romanticize life in rural Okayama. But besides a three-week trip to Japan and a few treasured friendships with Japanese exchange students, I am a stranger to the country and culture.
This irony is often the case for non-native language students at Georgetown. Despite spending hours learning vocabulary and practicing pronunciation, we remain estranged to the cultures of the languages we study—it’s why we end up with Korean students who continue to view BTS as perfectly epitomizing, or Arabic students coming to class in full military garb.
And of course, myself, the ignorant fan of all things Japanese. But as I was lamenting about how my relationship to Japanese culture was no different than that anime-loving white guy to a friend, she scoffed. “You’re an Asian-American girl, it’s different.”
Is it different, though? For me and other nonnative language learners, we’re viewing the culture out of context. There are academic phrases for this: voyeurism, festishization, the white gaze. Culture becomes an object: The languages we learn become a personality trait, a fun addendum that makes us seem different and cosmopolitan. We cherry-pick aspects of a culture we like, glossing over the parts that don’t fit the assumed aesthetic ingrained in our brains. In a freshmen Japanese culture class, my professor showed us videos of historical protests
in Japan. Afterwards, he remarked, “Sometimes my students are shocked that Japan has … protests.”
The American imagination has built up Japan to be this hallmark of peaceful society, so we conveniently forget aspects of an entire culture in order to reinforce a stereotype.
Nevertheless, language textbooks often choose topics that easily fit into this assumed aesthetic. Some advanced texts branch out, but I can’t count how many times Studio Ghibli was introduced in my beginner and early-intermediate textbooks. At a certain point, I felt like each unit was an in-depth tourist brochure catered toward Western sensibilities.
But at the same time, my friend is right. Our relationship with other cultures depends on a multiplicity of identities. It depends on the proximity of our cultural backgrounds with the languages we’re engaging with, and the power dynamics therein, political and social. For example, my relationship with Japanese culture as an Asian American woman is different from, say, a white man’s—there are different cultural distances and colonial dynamics at play. At the very least, there’s less of a negative stereotype attached to me. Yet given the whole package of who I am, how do I engage with the fraught relationship between my identity and the culture I’ve decided to learn about?
Now the naysayers argue that any entry point into language-learning is good. Students in the SFS often take language courses to learn a new skill or perhaps to increase job prospects. Judging students for why they chose a certain language can be discriminating. So what if someone’s an anime nerd, or a curious student who wants a new challenge? When students are exposed to cultures through language learning, there’s a net benefit to all. Students gain knowledge and communication skills, and the school serves on their responsibility to craft worldly graduates.
For niche languages to learn at Georgetown such as Japanese, the focus is less political. My classes’ textbook readings are geared toward the assumed interests of foreign students—anime, Mt. Fuji, cherry blossoms—in an effort to keep
the small sliver of students from switching to another language. Once, after a classroom debate about anime, my friend whispered to me, “You know, the Chinese class discussed US-China security concerns … I guess Japanese is just a fluffy language to learn.”
The implications of language learning in foreign relations are huge because it’s often caked with political undertones. Early vocabulary and subjects reflect the zeitgeist of the time. The classic Japanese 010 textbook used in American classrooms, Genki, starts students off with a quirky story about Takeshi’s crush on Mary. On the other hand, my friend joked that after taking Arabic for a semester, they only learned how to say, “my father is a diplomat” and “I work for the United Nations.” What is taught in language classes reveals the assumed reasons why people are taking the class, and the geopolitical priorities underneath.
I’m not saying that Japanese classes shouldn’t talk about bento, Hello Kitty, and whatever makes up stereotypical Japan. They’re fun topics, and certainly an interesting aspect of culture. But we should consider how educational institutions—such as the SFS and Georgetown—should go about crafting students who are mindful of their relationships to different cultures, especially ones often exotified in the United States.
Of course, such nuances are often explored in classes about culture, sociology, or similar subjects. But these conversations need to be had in the context of language classes, too. I demand more, but I’m conflicted because I don’t know how to demand more.
Perhaps these critical engagements could be explicit conversations held in language classes, about personal identity and relationship to culture. Or it could be an additional culture class requirement on top of passing proficiency in the SFS. Whatever form this discussion takes on, it’s important to ask ourselves, what are we using this language for? What are we gaining from it and why is it important to engage with the culture of our choosing? For language learning at Georgetown and beyond, we need to rethink our grammar.
Model United Nations (UN) seems to be integrated into the personality of the archetypal Georgetown student: preppy, privileged, and blazer-clad. Its widespread popularity has lended it some immunity to criticism of its severe shortfalls, educationally or otherwise.
Intended as a simulation of the UN, participants of Model UN step into the shoes of ambassadors from member states, engaging in rigorous debate to “solve” pressing global problems. As the basis of Model UN, roleplay gives participants the opportunity to dabble in diplomacy in a safe learning environment.
There is nothing inherently wrong with roleplay, but context is critical: Here, the stage is an intergovernmental organization and the storylines are often crises that concern real people. In embodying their roles as ambassadors, participants may neglect the actual stakes—lives and livelihoods—that cannot be replicated in a mere simulation. Representing a country comes with responsibilities that faraway participants, no matter how well-informed, cannot possibly comprehend.
Yet while participants are spared from the burden of real leadership, they are offered a taste of the unbridled power that their position entails. The gravity of the topics—ranging from poverty to persecution—is often lost in the frivolity with which they are discussed, whether it is throwing imaginary sums of money at climate disasters or volunteering dizzying numbers of peacekeepers to conflict regions. It is unsurprising that many serious discussions devolve into cataclysmic scenarios, such as deploying nuclear weapons or carving out new republics entirely. Both of these scenarios have admittedly happened in the past century— under extraordinary circumstances. But in Model UN, it isn’t uncommon for participants to turn to dramatically inappropriate measures—such as establishing organizations with crude acronyms or teaming up to nuke another country—for the sole purpose of entertainment or “getting something done.”
This has dangerous implications—both for the participants of Model UN as well as broader politics. Roleplaying an ambassador can feel empowering. But when participants are allowed to debate issues by which they (more often than not) aren’t directly affected,
Model UN fosters the mindset that actions have no ramifications. Contrary to one of its goals to cultivate empathy, Model UN inculcates within participants the mentality that the world can be their playground and that people can be their pawns. Surely, this isn’t the mentality we would want any of our future leaders to have.
The danger of this mentality is only compounded by organizational elitism. Financially, Model UN has high barriers: Conferences, along with their subsequent socials, are typically expensive. Not every school has the resources to fund trainings, much less a traveling team. As a result, participants of Model UN tend to hail from wealthy private schools. This is antithetical to its purported mission to build a more just and equitable world; it is ironic that Model UN should be so oblivious to its own structural inequities.
Strict expectations for participants to don Western business attire and converse in legislative language may make conferences more similar to UN chambers, but also create the impression that appearances precede substance. It is frequently these superficial aspects of Model UN that detract attention away from its more meaningful learning objectives, turning it into a pretentious pseudointellectual activity.
The performativity of Model UN culminates in the presentation of “Best Delegate” awards. This incentive structure is problematic; crucially, sophistication and nuance in debate are rarely rewarded. For the most part, the criteria for these awards are hazily defined, much less standardized— leaving it up to participants to resort to an arbitrary variety of external metrics to prove themselves to moderators (or “chairs”), who unilaterally decide on the outcome. Based on my experience, awards are usually handed out to the most obnoxious delegates: the ones who dominate the floor, flaunt the most impressive words, and list the most number of NGOs in their resolution, often talking down to others in the process. This promotes the misperception that the way for participants to become “good” at diplomacy is to occupy the most space.
by grace nuri; layout by graham krewinghausFurthermore, this practice suggests that there is a “winner” in international relations in the first place. Instead of stimulating cooperation, this environment encourages participants to strive for recognition, often at the expense of others, reifying the notion that diplomacy is a zero-sum game. As a start, eliminating awards in Model UN can combat these mindsets, and thus recenter debate around more substantive points.
But Model UN isn’t without hope; the solution to these criticisms doesn’t have to be as radical as abolishing Model UN. Rather, the easiest change that Model UN can make is to stop taking itself so seriously. The primary issue with Model UN isn’t that it is roleplay; it is that it forgets that it is just roleplay. While there is undeniable merit in mimicking the UN, it can be far too easy to slip into the narrative that what is fundamentally just an interesting extracurricular is equivalent to solving global problems. It doesn’t help that Model UN conferences frequently frame participants as “future leaders of the world,” conferring participants with an inflated sense of self-importance and simultaneously making diplomatic processes feel easy and costless.
Doing away with its elements of performativity can instill within participants an attitude of humility, reminding them that they are ultimately just students in a simulation. This also serves the purpose of increasing accessibility: Easing rules for how to dress and speak can dispel the air of elitism around Model UN, and thus appeal to historically excluded students. In addition, organizers can invest more resources for low-income students and students of color to attend conferences.
Perhaps these reforms would make Model UN a less realistic take on the UN. Nevertheless, it is key to bear in mind that the UN has a less than admirable track record in regard to effectiveness—its operations have long been impeded by lofty ideals and hollow rhetoric. In that case, we ought to consider if the UN is worth modeling after at all, or if we might be better off reimagining what it could be. The latter, I believe, is more compelling. G
