The Georgetown Voice, January 22, 2016

VOICE The Georgetown

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January 22, 2016

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JANUARY 22, 2016

THE GEORGETOWN VOICE Volume 48 • Issue 9

staff editor-in-chief Daniel Varghese Managing editor Kevin huggard news

executive editor Christopher Castano Features editor Graham piro news editor liz teitz assitant news editors lilah burke, caitlyn cobb, thomas stubna

culture

executive editor Joseph pollicino Leisure editor Brian mcMahon assistant leisure editors Tatiana Lebreton, Caitlin Mannering, Maneesha Panja, Sarika Ramaswamy Sports editors Alex boyd, robert ponce Assistant sports editors Santul Nerkar, Tyler pearre, phillip steuber

opinion

Executive editor chris almeida voices editor charles evain assistant voices editor Joseph Dipietro

halftime

“Self identity” by Patricia lin

contents

Editorials

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Carrying On: Diversity Beyond Statistics Charles Evain

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An Inspiration Remembered Alex Garvey

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Shutting Down Leila Lebreton

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Behind the Times: The Health of Transgender Students Graham Piro and Daniel Varghese

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On the Record: Georgetown’s Title IX Coordinator Graham Piro Voice’s Oscar Thoughts Andrew Gutman, Brian McMahon, Graham Piro

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Leisure editors Mike bergin, jon block assistant leisure editor danielle hewitt Sports editors Jay benjamin, Matt jasko assistant sports editors jonny amon, chris dunn

design

Executive editor megan howell cover editor patricia lin Spread editor johnny jung Photo editor Brooke dudek assistant design editors abbey Roberts, eleanor sugrue, vance vaughn

copy

copy chief Anna Gloor editors Hanh Nguyen, Amal Farooqui, Clara Cecil, Greer Richeyt, Dana Suekoff, suzanne trivette

online

online editor sahil nair social media editors naba rahman, tiffany tao

Staff writers

Ben barrett, amanda christovich, brendan crowley, elizabeth cunniff, isabel echarte, rachel eshelman, nicholas gavio, anna gloor, andrew granville, christian hallmark, susanna herrmann, amelia irvine, cassidy jensen, Laura Isaza, noah nelson, brendan pierce, justin plumb, Brendan saunders, isaiah seibert, tyler walsh

staff designers

erin annick, emma francois, Allison kaufman, yuna ko, samantha lee

business

editor@georgetownvoice.com Leavey 424 Box 571066 Georgetown University Washington, DC 20057

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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.

general manager tim annick senior associate, finance and alumni outreach naiara parker senior associate, accounts and sales jessica ho

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

read more on georgetownvoice.com University Announces Climate Survey Launch Liz Teitz reported on the launch of Georgetown’s first Sexual Assault and Misconduct Climate Survey on January 14. The survey aims to collect data on students’ experiences with sexual assault and misconduct, as well as on awareness of resources and services liz teitz

Critical Voices: Anderson .Paak, Malibu Daniel Sheehan reviewed Anderson .Paak’s standout new album, Malibu. Paak mixes the classic and the modern to produce innovative new sounds. empire

Review: Awake Remixes by Tycho Megan Howell reviewed Tycho’s online release of Awake Remixes.

The ambient electronic album is an eclectic mix of some of Scott Hansen’s contemporaries remixing his work and is sure to please any fans. thissongslaps.com

Halftime Report: Week of 1/18 Halftime published their first edition of the Halftime Report, a weekly article that details the best in upcoming music and entertainment, as well as local DC events.

MOVIEPILOT.COM

screenrant.com

Last issue’s crossword solution

consequenceofsound.net

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EDITORIALS

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JANUARY 22, 2016

A Need for Numbers The University’s Sexual Assault Survey

Brooke Dudek

On Jan. 14, Georgetown University launched its first-ever Sexual Assault and Misconduct Climate Survey, open to all degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students at the University. This confidential survey will remain accessible for student participation until Feb 6. This new effort taken by the University stems from both student requests and the campus sexual assault guidelines issued by the White House and the Department of Education. The survey itself was developed by the Association of American Universities (AAU) during the spring of this past year and is a modified version — customized for Georgetown — of the AAU’s survey administered to 27 universities last year.

This Editorial Board strongly supports this initiative and encourages all students to take the survey before it closes.

Sexual assault prevention efforts are often impeded by a lack of information and data. The majority of incidences of sexual assault are unreported, and many reported cases are not pursued to fruition. The goal of this project at Georgetown is to create a survey which provides accurate information and allows students to feel safe; an “escape”

button is even placed on the survey, allowing participants to quickly exit it at any point.

This effective survey offers a valuable channel of communication and study between students and the University to prevent sexual assault at Georgetown.

University officials have made it clear that this effort will not stand alone. The data resulting from this survey will make for a promising step to better understand the problem of campus sexual assault, and it will be coupled with the refined continuation of existing programs. At a briefing regarding the survey on Jan. 13, Rosemary Kilkenny stated that the Climate Survey Working Group (CSWG), created to develop this survey, will remain active going forward. In addition, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson discussed an expansion of outreach programs toward graduate and professional students and the strengthening of bystander intervention training programs through the information gathered in the survey.

The University has taken up an aggressive marketing campaign for the survey to ensure large-scale participation,

most notably a large thermometer banner hung in Red Square to challenge students to best the participation levels recorded at other universities. Although this Editorial Board supports all of the proactive efforts that the University has taken, certain methods, specifically financial encouragement for student participation, have been somewhat poorly relayed to the student body. A select group of students, numbering between 4,000 and 4,500, are to receive $10 gift card for completion of the survey. All other participants will be entered into a raffle for the chance to win either a $500 gift card or one of five $100 gift cards. The $10 gift card recipients were chosen as a sample group, but the disparity between awards for participation can be confusing and perhaps even discourage participation among those outside of the selected 4,000 to 4,500. Though financial incentives such as this are considered standard procedure and are in line with best practices for surveys of this nature, their communication to students has been somewhat unclear.

Despite this miscommunication in student outreach, the other aspects of the University’s campaign appear to be effective in encouraging participation. University students are largely to thank for the marketing and customization of the survey for the needs of Georgetown students. Notably, specific questions are tailored toward finding out which campus resources are most used by those who are survivors of sexual assault and gauging student awareness of existing resources, including Health Education Services, CAPS, and the LGBTQ Resource Center.

Understanding is the most beneficial means of progress for ending sexual assault at Georgetown and on all college campuses. The data, set to be released to Working Groups and then the student body in May 2016, is a promising step for the University. This investigation, deeply ingrained in active communication with the student body, reflects the University’s strong commitment to sexual assault policy reform and the protection of survivors’ rights shown by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was approved this past September. Assessments of the campus climate on these issues are to be repeated every other year to ensure the upkeep of an open understanding between University students and administrators with the ultimate goal of sexual assault prevention. Considering the gravity of this issue, relevant to all college campuses, this Editorial Board proudly embraces the efforts of Georgetown University and the students who have worked and continue to work fervently to ensure the safety of all students.

An Inflammatory Ban

On Jan. 7, in the final days of winter break, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Augostini announced that the use and storage of “transportation devices known as hoverboards or self-balancing scooters” will be prohibited from campus. Considering his penchant for the four-wheeled, manual versions of these devices, this Editorial Board thinks that this move would be an upsetting development for Jack the Bulldog, if he were to gain sentience. Sure, these hoverboards might occasionally catch fire and threaten the lives of their users, but hey: no pain, no gain. sam k lee

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Diversity Beyond the Statistics

Carrying On: Voice Staffers Speak

Self-Segregation Among Student Groups Whether you are thousands of miles away from home, or a D.C. native, university life is terrifying at times.

Dropped into the unknown, we often search for the familiar to orient ourselves. Some of us join the intramural rugby team, some of us go to church, and some of us join clubs of our respective culture. Each of these are ways we remind ourselves of home and make Georgetown feel like a new home. However, the popularity of student cultural associations and the establishment of cultural housing has been counterproductive to the values Georgetown wants to instill through diversity. While I respect and admire the work of these clubs, often the diversity they advance also fosters an environment in which each ethnic group remains with its own. These clubs act as pillars of diversity on campus; however, diversity on campus is barely felt by many of us when we mostly only interact with members of our own ethnic group outside of class. We will only truly become an open and tolerant society when each group understands each other. However, this is only possible through social cohesion and interactions between each group.

Historically, racism has always been a more prevalent problem in Southern and border states, even though it is present everywhere in the U.S. While the days of Jim Crow are over and many discriminatory laws have been abolished, the Ku Klux Klan still exists, and the Confederate flag, a symbol of the South’s struggle to keep slavery, continues to fly in many parts of the South and remains a part of the state flags of Mississippi and Georgia. A recent study from a UC Davis School of Law Professor has also shown that the states with the highest rates of prejudice against black people include Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. This matters because these states that are more prone to racism aren’t less, but more diverse than many other states.

Georgia’s population is 71 percent white, and Mississippi’s white population represents 59 percent of its total population. The states of New York and California have a white population of 75 percent, and 80 percent respectively.

These states are seen as more accepting of other cultures, yet they are relatively less diverse. Diversity doesn’t seem to correlate with tolerance, so what does?

While diversity doesn’t always lead to tolerance, a lack of diversity can contribute to racism. A lack of exposure to other groups leads to stereotypes and misinformation, and in the extreme it can turn into hatred. In order to fight racism, we have to fight our differences and unite. Last March, a group of fraternity members from Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma was found singing a racist chant. It is worth noting — and perhaps not surprising — that the fraternity was almost entirely white.

The lack of diversity within social circles is most likely a source as well as a consequence of their racism, but in order to break this endless cycle of racism, something must be done.

As students join clubs that attract people they are culturally similar to, many clubs have become relatively ethnically homogenous. Take the Voice for example: even though only around 48 percent of Georgetown’s student body is white, the white population of its board is around 70 percent. A look at GUASFCU’s website reveals that roughly 80 percent of its staffers are white. Some clubs that are supposed to be open to all have become culturally white, acting as a deterrent to people of other ethnicities and forming a vicious cycle where clubs become ethnically homogenous. Neither of these clubs should be seen as racist, and this homogeneity probably isn’t due to a prejudiced admissions filter (The Voice doesn’t have an application process). However a lack of exposure to people outside of your race surely can’t have any positive impact.

These clubs represent a large part of people’s social lives on campus, which often develop into lifelong friendships in many cases. As a result, a lack of diversity within clubs likely leads to social circles remaining relatively homogenous even after graduation. After all, people change much less in their adult lives, and once you have lived the first twenty years of your life surrounded by people similar to you, why would you opt to change? Staying within the social circle of cultural clubs makes many people comfortable, so to take away that comfort would require some very strong justifications.

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Eleanor Sugrue

It is naive to believe that Georgetown is immune to the racism we find everywhere in the U.S. and the world.

I’d like to think that prejudice is much less common here than at the University of Missouri, but even if I am right, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to combat or avoid it.

So what should be done? Obviously, the existence of the cultural clubs isn’t the problem — they are instrumental to Georgetown’s diversity and a part of the solution. Instead, I believe more effort could be made to link these different cultural clubs. The integrity of these clubs should not be threatened, but why not have shared events? Last September, many of Georgetown’s cultural clubs helped to organize Taste of the Hilltop to showcase some of the diversity in food each culture has to offer. That is a great idea, but why stop at food stands? Sharing more official as well as social events would allow different groups to come together and learn more about one another, forming friendships and bonds between these communities. This is how we will create a more tolerant Georgetown and truly embrace our diversity. It won’t be easy, and it’s always tempting to stay within your comfort zone, but isn’t that what Georgetown is about?

BY CHARLES EVAIN

He is a junior in the SFS.

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VOICES

An Inspiration Remembered The Passing of Another Musical Genius While many people on social media have paid tribute to Bowie’s legacy, I would like to take the time to reflect on Frey and the Eagles’ influence

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JANUARY 22, 2016

This week the music world lost two great icons — David Bowie and Glenn Frey. Perhaps to most readers, the name David Bowie is more recognizable. However, the latter is known to many older fans as one of the founding members of the Eagles. While many people on social media have paid tribute to Bowie’s legacy, I would like to take the time to reflect on Frey and the Eagles’ influence on the world of music as well as my early memories of music.

Bowie was a very versatile artist and his music spanned across many genres, each with an accompanying persona to match. He is remembered by his fans for always adding a theatrical touch to his work, both in his stage presence and his vocals. He passed away after an 18-month battle with cancer. Just before his death, Bowie released an album, Blackstar, that further confirms his love for and his dedication to the evolution of music. However, his legacy lives on in the lives of the artists he influenced, such as Ozzy Osbourne, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and Joan Jett.

Glenn Frey of the Eagles has a different life story to tell. Frey dated musician Linda Ronsdadt in the mid-sixties. In need of a backup band, Ronsdat asked Frey and three others to work together. They worked so well together that they decided to become a band and call themselves the Eagles. Frey would help to write some of their most immensely popular songs, such as “One of These Nights” and “Take it to the Limit” and even lending his vocals on the song “Lyin Eyes.” The Eagles’ biggest hit of all time is arguably “Hotel California,” written in 1976 that would go on to win a Grammy and become a cornerstone of the classic rock genre for years to come. In 1998 the Eagles were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with other famous musicians such as The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and Michael Jackson. However, Frey would be plagued by health issues for the next ten years that would force him to take frequent breaks from performing or recording. He passed away on Jan 18 from complications from rheumatoid arthritis and acute ulcerative colitis as well as pneumonia.

Most people my age probably do not listen to the Eagles, or only recognize the iconic song “Hotel California.” Additionally, it is clear from the social media attention that Bowie’s death received that he is the more well known of the two. However, this doesn’t take away Frey’s brilliance, and for me his death also brought back some old memories from my childhood. When I was in middle school my dad took up playing the guitar after not having played for 30 years, and it quickly became his passion. I played with him for a number of years, but while I wanted to learn Taylor Swift songs on the guitar, he was busy mastering the Beatles and U2. It became commonplace in our house to have him playing guitar as we went about our day. When my dad joined a local band, his “hobby” took on a newfound degree of seriousness. He would practice the same guitar solo for hours until every chord was perfect. He was his worst critic. More than once in high school did he wake me up at 8 o’clock in the morning on a weekend practicing a power ballad on the guitar. While he never actually

Megan Howell

did quit his day job and pursue guitar full time, he does spend every possible moment playing. When his band was practicing to play an all Eagles’ songs show, I thought I would lose my mind if he played “Lyin’ Eyes” one more time early on a Saturday morning.

My dad’s constant guitar playing taught me what it really means to be dedicated to something. Never before have I seen someone so devoted to an activity that shows results only over long stretches of time. It can takes months to master a song, and years to learn how to play certain chord combinations correctly. Despite this my dad has been resilient in his insistence to learn. Now, when I hear an Eagles’ song I almost immediately think of my dad. Their songs were some of the first complex songs he learned to play, which means he practiced them incessantly. The whole family would sing along to “Take it Easy” and “Hotel California” at birthdays, holidays, and regular Sunday afternoons. When I hear their music, I remember dad and I playing guitar, going to his shows with my family, and singing along together in the car (my personal favorite).

So, while most people reflect on their associations with Bowie’s music, I am more inclined to be nostalgic about Frey’s. I will always be grateful to Frey and the happy, funny, and fond memories that his music brought my dad and me.

BY ALEX GARVEY

She is a junior in the MSB.

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VOICES

Shutting Down

Access to Health Care on Weekends As I woke up on a Monday morning, the lower half of my face swollen to an unnatural size, my immediate reaction was panic. At first, I was panicking because it looked like I had had my wisdom teeth removed when I hadn’t. Then, after consulting a friend, I realized that the Health Center was closed and that brought on a whole new dread.

Now, although my swollen face did not seem life-threatening (I could still breathe, but opening my mouth was a chore), I was in need of pretty quick medical attention or, at the very least, a same-day diagnosis. Luckily for me, a family member living nearby is a doctor and was kind enough to come around and reassure me that I was not dying, as I had previously suspected. I had just unluckily contracted an infection in my salivary glands.

Gory details aside, the problem with the situation was that I was at a loss for how to seek help. I knew that during the week, I could call up the Health Center straight away, and they would hopefully be able to squeeze me in. But on weekends, when the Health Center is closed, it seems the hospital is the only option.

As most Georgetown students may have unfortunately experienced after a night out ended in the GERMS ambulance or a hospital bed, only to be greeted the next morning by a pounding headache and ridiculous bill, going to the hospital is, for some, not a viable option. The issue of cost is one consideration, but so is the issue of waiting in a potentially extremely crowded waiting room most of the day, and being let off with an “it’s nothing, just take an aspirin” diagnosis. In this case, not only do you probably pay much more than necessary to be told you are not in need of urgent care, which you probably guessed, but you have also lost your whole day.

The Health Center, when it is open, is a very useful place that provides a diagnosis and the necessary next steps for recovery at a reasonable cost (on student insurance).

Despite the efficiency demonstrated during the week, the Health Center being closed on weekends is a massive problem, mostly in situations where someone is clearly very ill, but not ill enough that they might think about dragging themselves to the hospital.

This can be potentially dangerous. Most of the time when we’re ill at college, we don’t seek immediate medical help if we don’t deem the ill-

ness too severe. Or worse, we can’t find the time (a common Georgetown problem). If our schedules during the week are too busy, then the weekends are the only time we can make for our health, though Georgetown does not provide affordable health care at this time. Having to wait two days for medical attention for something that doesn’t seem life-threatening may not be terrible in the case of a mild cold, but in the case of say, a ruptured appendix that the person thinks is just a stomach bug, it can be very dangerous.

Last year, I had a cough and a head cold that lasted a month, but I was always “too busy” to get it checked out because I had just started taking Arabic. That cough turned into a sinus infection that needed treatment by antibiotics due to my neglect and reluctance to make time for my health during the week. Had the Health Center been open on weekends, it may have been avoided. Especially in a situation that doesn’t seem severe enough for the hospital but still warrants medical attention, we need an open health center on the weekends.

Coming from the UK where healthcare is publicly funded, I would not hesitate to go straight to the emergency room in a situation like the one I previously described. In the US, the bill looms over one’s head so ominously that one tells oneself that maybe one isn’t slowly dying. Cost is a massive issue when it comes to American hospitals, and not everyone has great insurance.

All in all, even though my giant chipmunk face turned out to not be too severe, I wouldn’t have wanted to wait 24 hours before seeking help or going to the hospital. I needed timely medical help in a non emergency room setting, and Georgetown was not there to provide it for me. The sinking feeling at the thought of a potential hospital bill was not one I wish to have again, and I can only hope that some day Georgetown decides to use our tuition money to open the Health Care Center on the weekends.

BY LEILA LEBRETON

She is a junior in the College.

In a situation that doesn’t seem severe enough for the hospital but still warrants medical attention, we need an open health center on the weekends.

Erin Annick

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JANUARY 22,2016

Behind the Times

Understanding the Health Care of Transgender Students

by Graham Piro and Daniel Varghese

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ast June, Alexa Rodriguez filed a discrimination complaint against MedStar Georgetown University Hospital with the D.C. Office of Human Rights. The hospital had allegedly denied her request for breast implant surgery on the grounds that she is a transgender woman.

Rodriguez, Vice President of D.C.’s Latino LGBT History Project, had been referred to MedStar Georgetown for the surgery by her primary care physician at Whitman-Walker Health, a D.C. nonprofit community health center that specializes in LGBT and HIV care.

Whitman-Walker was providing Rodriguez with the full array of necessary treatments and services to go along with her gender transition, according to a report from Washington Blade, including hormone therapy and mental health counseling.

“Whitman-Walker routinely refers transgender and other patients to qualified specialists, including Georgetown, for health care needs that we do not offer in-house,” the center’s Director of Communications Shawn Jain said in an interview with the Blade. Rodriguez recalled that she had known of other transgender women who had transition-related breast surgery at MedStar Georgetown in 2014. According to Ruby Corado, Executive Director of Casa Ruby, a bilingual multicultural LGBT community center, one of these surgeries occurred as recently as January 2015.

It was then that Rodriguez visited Dr. Troy Pittman, a respected plastic surgeon at MedStar Georgetown who has specific expertise in reconstructive and cosmetic breast surgery, who conditionally cleared her for the procedure. Initially, Rodriguez’s insurer, UnitedHealthcare, denied her request for coverage of the surgery, but reversed its decision five months later in response to her appeal of the denial.

On May 8, Rodriguez called a hospital employee who schedules Dr. Pittman’s appointment to schedule her surgery, only to find out that the hospital was no longer taking transgender women for treatment or surgery. According to Rodriguez, one of her female transgender friends was denied breast-related surgery from Georgetown that same week.

Representatives of MedStar Georgetown could not be reached for comment for this story, but in a statement released to the Blade, Marianne Worley, Director of Media Relations for MedStar Georgetown, explained the decision by saying that the hospital has a policy of not discriminating against patients based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, among other categories. “A high-quality gender transition service is best delivered in the context of an integrated program rather in a one-off manner, and such a program does not exist at MedStar Georgetown,” she said. As it stands, because it chose to deny Rodriguez treatment due to her identity as a transgender woman, MedStar Georgetown could be in violation of the Human Rights Act of

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Megan Howell

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

1977. Should the hospital be found guilty, it could appeal the verdict, and the case could find its way to the federal courts.

Rodriguez’s story is one that didn’t receive much press coverage outside smaller D.C. media organizations, yet the story made waves in the district’s LGBTQ community. And for the transgender members of Georgetown’s student body, the incident served as an unwelcome reminder that the sorry state of transgender health care in the United States follows them to campus.

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ast semester, Willem Miller (COL ‘17) came down with Mononucleosis (commonly referred to as mono). Mono is a fairly common illness, but it can cause severe symptoms that only start about four to six weeks after you are exposed to the virus. These symptoms include a high fever, painful sore throat, and unusual weakness and fatigue. The best treatment for patients with mono is usually bedrest, which might prevent a student from attending class. But as long as students can provide professors with a sick note from a doctor, this is an acceptable reason for absence.

For most Georgetown students, this hurdle poses no problems. Students with illnesses can simply schedule an appointment with the Student Health Center (SHC), get tested, and have a doctor’s note excusing you from class by the end of the day.

This was not the reality that Miller, a transgender man, faced.

Every day, transgender and gender nonconforming people face marginalization due to their gender identities, which can prevent them from finding work and getting housing. The effects of this marginalization have a profound impact on their health outcomes.

A 2010 study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found that transgender and gender nonconforming people reported what were deemed to be very high levels of postponed medical care when they were sick or injured: 28 percent due to discrimination and 48 percent due to an inability to afford care.

Respondents also faced significant hurdles to accessing care. Fifty percent of the sample reported having to teach their medical providers about their specific health care needs. Nineteen percent of the sample reported being flat-out refused care due to their transgender or gender nonconforming status.

“I’m just not confident that I will be treated properly as a transgender individual … Many doctors don’t know what to do when they have a transgender patient.”

- Lexi Dever Unfortunately, this population represents some of those in the most dire need of medical care. Respondents in this survey reported an HIV infection rate over four times larger than the national average. More than a quarter of the population report the misuse of drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with discrimination. And worse, 41 percent report the attempt of suicide, compared to 1.6 percent of the general population.

For Miller, who serves as the Vice President of Community for GU Pride, and other transgender students on campus, some of the health care institutions at Georgetown, like the SHC, MedStar Georgetown, Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service (GERMS), and Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), seem as unwelcoming as these statistics might indicate.

When asked by his friends why he waited for over a week to seek treatment and help for his mono at the SHC, Miller expressed unease.

“I just didn’t want to deal with [them],” he said.

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his trepidation toward Georgetown’s health care institutions is common among the members of the small population of out transgender and gender nonconforming students.

One member of this community, Lexi Dever (COL ‘16), a transgender woman and a Student Assistant for the LGBTQ Center, initially expressed her apprehension about these services in absolute terms. “[I have] never [visited] the Student Health Center, I’ve never called GERMS, and I have no intention of those things changing,” she said.

Andrew Sullivan

Dever, like Miller, attributes this steadfast hesitance to a belief that these institutions are not suited to meet the specific needs of transgender students. “I’m just not confident that I will be treated properly as a transgender individual … Many doctors don’t know what to do when they have a transgender patient,” she said.

Dr. Matt Schottland, a staff psychologist and LGBTQ specialist at CAPS, agrees. “I think [that] to better address needs of transgender students, health care institutions at Georgetown can better educate their staff about issues specific to this population,” he wrote in an email to the Voice.

According to Schottland, these institutions need to do a better job educating their staff to promote knowledge about the issues transgender students face, including discussion of appropriate language and a “thorough examination of one’s own biases, assumptions, stereotypes and privilege.”

This information is vital to being able to adequately treat any issues that transgender students may encounter. “This would include, but not [be] limited to, hormone treatment, referrals, [and] when appropriate and asked about, to clinics specializing in sex reassignment surgery, health problems that may arise related to the biological sex of the individual, etc,” he wrote.

According to Schottland, these institutions need to do a better job educating their staff to promote knowledge about the issues transgender students face, including discussion of appropriate language and a “thorough examination of one’s own biases, assumptions, stereotypes and privilege.”

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JANUARY 22,2016

4x

Respondents reported over the national average of HIV infection

48% 50%

Postponed medical care because of inability to pay

Needed to teach medical provider about transgender

28%

28%

Subjected to harrassment in medical settings

Postponed medical care due to discrimination

19%

Refused care due to transgender status

Data from a 2010 study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

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nfortunately, Schottland appears to be one of the only individuals in the Georgetown health care apparatus formally trained in issues of transgender and gender nonconforming people’s health. Fortunately, one organization seems to be poised to join him.

Currently, GERMS lacks formal medical training sessions in this area. “Obviously this is something that has been coming more into the light of what medical organizations need to adapt to be able to do,” GERMS President Justin Gregg (NHS ‘16) said.

Last semester, GERMS began holding informal educational sessions with their members regarding issues of transgender health. “We’re planning on having an official training session with the LGBTQ Resource Center, or the Women’s Center, one of these organizations, during this semester,” he said.

“There are people in [GERMS] that really want to change the organization,” said Miller, “I think that’s great.” At the same time, he still holds concerns about the group’s membership.

“Their whole model is based on the idea that it’s your peer who is coming to help you,” he said.

Miller believes the group needs to increase their efforts to reach out to queer students that might be interested in applying to become members.

Ryan Jeffrey (SFS ‘16), the captain of GERMS’ Crew Chief Council, explained that GERMS has personnel that work to make sure that the organization stays up to date with the changing health needs of students. “We have directors within the Education Department whose job it is to make sure we have, as an organization, the newest and best training, and meeting our training needs,” he said.

But while GERMS appears to be taking steps to adapt to the changing needs of transgender

“I’ve never seen anything about trans resources, like pamphlets or anything.

I’ve never heard of anybody there asking about pronouns,” - Renleigh Stone 10

students, the Student Health Center did not point to any concrete plans for the future. “At the Student Health Center, we work sensitively to understand and address the health needs of all our students,” SHC Director Roanna Kessler wrote in an email to the Voice. “I envision the role of the SHC to be a place where students feel comfortable sharing their unique health concerns and establishing their primary care medical home while they attend Georgetown.”

“I just don’t think they’re concerned, to be honest,” said Renleigh Stone (COL ‘17), regarding the SHC. Unlike Miller and Dever, Stone, a non-binary trans person and the Co-Chair of GU Queer People of Color, occasionally visits the SHC for matters unrelated to their gender identity.

“I’ve never seen anything about trans resources, like pamphlets or anything. I’ve never heard of anybody there asking about pronouns,” they said.

Yet while Stone is clearly unhappy with this situation and wants to change it, they do not seem surprised by how little those at the SHC seem to understand their identity. “I’m just really good at lowering my expectations,” they said, “I don’t really expect that much out of [the SHC].”

I

n 2013, Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson articulated the University’s view of gender as a binary. “There is an emerging view that gender identity is sort of something you play with,” he said. “I think that is quite a different view than the Catholic view of identity and of human sexuality.”

Needless to say, Georgetown’s relationship with its transgender students has a complicated history.

“As an institution, Georgetown has done some things that make them renegades in the Catholic sphere,” said Stone. Indeed, Georgetown was the first Catholic university to hire both a fulltime rabbi and imam as chaplains, a progressive step outside of the norm for a Catholic university.

Yet perhaps fully accommodating transgender students might be too direct of a challenge to established doctrine.

“We have a lot of conservative donors, and we don’t want to lose our Catholic affiliation,” they said. “So there are a lot of barriers.”

With that being said, the situation for transgender students has certainly improved in the last few years. “I’ve definitely gotten the vibe from administrators I’ve talked to about trans issues in general, that the people in the University care, and they do want to be supportive,” Dever said.

“They just aren’t sure what to do.”

“That’s further complicated with an issue like health care since the trans community is very distrustful of medicine,” she said. With a community still searching for access to necessary health care, and institutions unable or unsure of how to provide it, it would seem that building trust will be a long and challenging process.

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

On the Record:

Georgetown’s Title IX Coordinator

“

I want to be a face, I want people to feel comfortable coming and talking with me.”

- Laura Cutway

Alli Kaufman

Title IX Coordinator

On Jan. 11, Georgetown hired its first full-time Title IX Coordinator, Laura Cutway. Previously, according to the University website, Georgetown employed several deputy coordinators for the main campus, law center, and other Georgetown campuses. Cutway’s position includes overseeing Title IX compliance on all campuses, a role that is still under construction, much like her office. However, she is jumping right into her role. The Voice had an opportunity to sit down with Ms. Cutway to discuss her new position.

Voice: What brought you to Georgetown?

Laura Cutway: I did my undergrad and my master’s at Villanova University. My master’s is in counseling and in human relations, and then I moved down here shortly after and worked at Catholic University before switching over to Georgetown. I have been with Georgetown University at the Law Center for the past five and a half years working as the Director of Disability Services and then for the last four and a half years as the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Liaison. I’ve been involved with the main campus since we began talking about Title IX. I’ve definitely been involved in the sexual misconduct policy, when we revised the website, working with Health Education Services on the different resources, so I’ve been a part of main campus in that process.

V: What was the hiring process like?

LC: It was pretty seamless. I knew that they searched for a while for a candidate. I ended up talking with [Rosemary Kilkenny, Georgetown’s Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity] about it, and it’s something that I’d been interested in and was thinking about. Then I just applied and went through the interview process. Luckily, it was really helpful that I know a lot of the different stakeholders here, so I knew a little bit about what to expect coming into the position because I was so familiar with the people.

V: Talk about what your role is and what the responsibilities of the Title IX coordinator are.

LC: It’s definitely an oversight role. I see there being three main initiatives under this position: education, prevention, and

response. The University has been doing hugely important work for many years, but I think that it is very important that we have a full-time person that can be completely dedicated to this role. There have already been a number of initiatives, but [we want to make] sure that students are aware of the resources on campus, that they know where to report, they know what our definitions are, they’re fully knowledgeable about what would constitute sexual misconduct. Also, our trainings that we’ve been doing, educating the student population, and this role oversees all campuses. We train undergraduates and are also launching training for graduate students as well. So there’s a huge component for education here.

The second initiative is preventing sexual misconduct. I’d love to get to a place where we don’t have any sexual assault on campus. One of the best practices that I know that’s been

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JANUARY 22, 2016

recommended would be a bystander intervention program, so I’d love to be part of that initiative to get that up and running in a robust program there. Then, lastly would be response, so responding to sexual misconduct on campus and making sure that the process is fair and equitable for all parties involved.

“

I think that’s a responsibility of all of us on this campus, to respect one another and be there for one another, stand up for one another. ”

V: Can you explain exactly what the bystander intervention program would be?

LC: Sure. It would be educating students on what to do and encouraging and empowering students to stand up and say something when they feel like something maybe isn’t quite right. That can often be an awkward conversation for students to have, so it’s giving them tools on how to actually engage in that process. That involves a little bit of a culture shift. I don’t think that people naturally want to get involved in other people’s business, so it’s giving them ways to naturally have those conversations so we can protect one another. I think that’s a responsibility of all of us on this campus, to respect one another and be there for one another, stand up for one another.

V: As for the reporting process, what are some of the flaws that you see in the process as it is right now, and what are some of the more positive aspects?

LC: I think that generally there’s some confusion over roles. I think that students know that there are a number of different resources. I’m very proud of Georgetown and how they’ve invested in the resources that they already have on campus.

We’ll be streamlining some of those processes so that people know where to report and they know what to expect when they report. I think that would be very important in this position.

I think that the greatest strength right now are the resources that are there. There’s a lot that’s offered for students, a lot of great people doing really thoughtful work, and I think that that’s hugely important.

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V: Can you talk specifically about some of those resources?

LC: When I was in my sexual assault counselor role, at the Law Center, I was part of Health Education Services, so I came to know what support they offer, and they’re very talented counselors and really make a world of difference for students.

I think our counseling system is very good. We also have a very streamlined conduct process, and I think that that’s been very helpful for students going through it. I also am really excited about the Campus Climate Survey. It was launched last week. I actually probably couldn’t have started at a better time because I’m going to inherit all of this data, which is going to be wonderful. I’ll be able to take it and really be able to tailor my efforts and my priorities and be able to make changes moving forward.

V: Can you talk about the mindset that went into the survey and the planning? How effective do you think it’s going to be, and what are you going to be able to draw from it?

LC: Sure. It’s been a very thoughtful process, there were many many stakeholders involved, students included, staff and faculty, so I think they used the best practices. We were able to see the results of the survey that AAU [American Association of Universities] did, and I think that helped us reform what we wanted to do … [There were] 27 different universities that took part in the climate survey last year, including Harvard and Yale, and all these big name universities, and they were able to publish their results. We were able to see that and then make some changes on our end. We need as many students to take it as possible and so we have a huge marketing campaign that was really wonderful in coming up with all the slogans that you see around campus, and really promoting the need to take the survey. If you see the thermometer in Red Square, it creates an environment of excitement around it, and also the importance of why we’re doing it. I’m hoping to see themes. Fifty percent [participation] would be wonderful, in that themes emerge that I can really work from to determine where I need to target my efforts. Is there a particular place on campus that needs some specific targeting or is it students that are confused about the process? It’ll really show, I’m hoping, what the climate feels like here for students.

V: Can you talk a little bit about specific initiatives?

LC: I think it will really depend on what comes out of the survey … The results will be available in May and we’re really planning this summer to talk about specific programming that can happen.

V: Can you talk a little bit about your past, and what sort of experiences do you think will lend them to helping you do the best job here at Georgetown?

LC: My background is in disability services and sexual assault services. My role was focused on the ADA, the American with Disabilities Act, and it was a compliance based role.

I’m overseeing the University’s response. I think that that background will really help me to understand what’s required of the law, what’s in the spirit of the law, and where we want to be as an institution. And my experience as a counselor, specifically crisis counselor, will be hugely helpful in working with and connecting with students and being approachable and not being this person that is just a person in an office. I want to be a face, I want people to feel comfortable coming and talking with me.

There are restrictions … I’m not a confidential person anymore, and so I’ll have to navigate that conversation upfront with the student, but I want students to be part of this process and to partner with me to make the changes that need to happen on campus. But I also think I have the four and half years of

working with survivors, and I know a lot of what can be difficult for them going through this process. I’ve worked closely with the survivors and then with our Deputy Title IX Coordinator at the Law Center, and so I’ve seen also what comes, what the respondents need, and what would be helpful for them.

So I think I have a good understanding of the students. Now, granted, it will be different [with undergraduates], so I do look forward to getting to know the needs of this particular campus.

V: As Title IX coordinator, will you be working in conjunction with other services such as Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS)?

LC: Absolutely. I see this role very much being connected to Health Education Services, CAPS, Student Conduct, all the Deputy Title IX Coordinators, and Student Affairs. It’s really a connection between all of the different campus stakeholders that are working with students on these issues that come up.

V: When we were talking about the reporting process, you already spoke about some of the flaws that you might see. What sort of steps do you think you’ll take to sort of improve on this?

LC: I think students in general are reluctant to come forward, for a number of different reasons. It can be re-traumatizing, and it’s just not in their best interest or not worth it at this moment to go through the reporting process. And that’s a conversation a student would have to have with their counselor, and that’s why we’ve invested so heavily in our confidential counselors.

“

I see there being three main initiatives under this position: Education, prevention, and response. ”

But I think some students also won’t come forward because they don’t know what to expect, and I think that’s a problem.

And I think it’s not specific necessarily to here, I think it’s in general. It’s a new process. Usually, people don’t pay attention to the sexual misconduct process until you actually have to go through it. And so if I can make that process as clear as possible for students, so having a road map, having information online, updating different websites to have just a clear process, I think that would be helpful for students to know what it’s going to feel like and what to expect if they were to go through it.

By GRAHAM PIRO

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

LEISURE

Nomadic’s The Metal Children Captivates Through Controversy

by Elizabeth Baker

O

ne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and Catcher in the Rye — what do these three books have in common?

They have, at some point, been banned within the United States.

While many of these novels are now considered classic, yet controversial, reads, they were once driven out of American classrooms, with many wondering what would happen to the minds and hearts of the younger generation should they get their hands on such material.

One question, however, has always remained, even as these books have returned to the local shelves and school curriculums: did authors like J.D. Salinger know just how much of a stir their words could elicit? Do authors of such controversial books intend to jar the public in such a way, and intend to present various interpretations to various readers? Or, as fictional author Tobin Falmouth explains about his own work, “I wrote it because I had to?”

Nomadic Theatre’s production of Adam Rapp’s The Metal Children brilliantly addresses these questions and more, exploring the power of the human spirit and the disconnect between rural and urban America. When the struggling Falmouth, played by Greg Keiser (COL’16), discovers his novel also titled The Metal Children has been banned by a local school board in Idaho due to its content regarding teen pregnancy and abortions, he is urged by his agent to visit the small town of Midlothia to personally defend his novel.

brooke dudek

What follows is an intense clash of ideas, ranging from modern feminism to religious beliefs, particularly when Falmouth discovers his book has inspired a group of local teens to rebel in alarming ways. The lackluster author encounters several individuals who have created compelling and profound interpretations of his work, from eager English teacher Stacey Kinsella to rebellious yet riveting student Vera (respectively played by Conor Canning (COL ‘16) and Amanda Weiss (COL’16)). Yet while the individuals of Midlothia find humanity’s deepest truths within his text, Falmouth himself could not feel more disconnected from his own humanity, struggling to rediscover his “character and center” after his wife leaves him for another man.

While tackling such controversial issues head-on, The Metal Children leaves little to the audience’s imagination with harsh descriptions, moments of verbal and physical cruelty, and partial nudity. As Falmouth says, after all, “we live in an ugly world” — and he’s certainly not wrong. Despite the fact that Falmouth had written The Metal Children twenty-six years prior to the play’s events, the youth of Midlothia struggle under the same traditional grip, prevented from truly expressing themselves and discovering the flaws that, as Vera describes it, “make us all human.”

Although certainly confronting heavy subject material, the production presents various moments of levity, alternating rapidly between the slapstick and the serious, the comedic and the catastrophic. In one moment, the audience will be laughing alongside Falmouth’s agent, Bruno, played by Andrew Walker (COL’16) as he berates Falmouth for his substance abuse and one-night stands — the next, the two characters are on Falmouth’s floor, as the dejected author mournfully asks, “Why did she leave me, Bruno?” These sharp, unexpected changes within the scene only heighten the play’s intensity, jarring the audience’s emotions and rendering us breathless from laughter in one moment, and breathless from shock and concern in the next.

Rapp’s play also introduces audiences to a host of beautifully complex characters, portrayed effortlessly and with captivating energy by Nomadic’s performers. Edith, played by Vanessa Chapoy (COL’18), wonderfully embodies the struggle of a smalltown woman. While she may have memorized Falmouth’s work word by word, the local town’s motel owner simply can’t decide how

she should feel about it, caught between what she has been taught as right and what she truly feels is right. Roberta Cupp, played

by Emily Lett (COL’17), strikes the audience primarily as the religious zealot one would likely find in the cast of Inherit the Wind — until it is revealed that, like Falmouth, Cupp has experienced the pains of unimaginable loss and loneliness. While at times the modern audience member may want to berate the small-minded citizens of Midlothia, it is important for us to remember that individuals such as these still exist; breaking from the everyday norms, especially in isolation, can be close to impossible.

In the end, however, what does Falmouth’s work — or any author’s work — truly mean?

Which interpretation is right — or is there any intention behind a novel at all? And is the author truly responsible should an audience take his or her interpretation to the extreme?

“I think the show demonstrates the problems that a lot of authors and other artists have with intentionality,” wrote Keiser in an email to the Voice. “Some authors have a specific impact they want to make on their readers, whether politically, emotionally, or otherwise. But some, like Tobin, don’t really have any motive besides self expression. Either way, no artist has control over the ways in which their art is interpreted.”

The Metal Children fearlessly confronts topics that today are still difficult to navigate, captivating the audience with boundless energy and passion for the subjects at hand.

Although The Metal Children certainly

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brooke dudek

brooke dudek

addresses a rural-urban, insider-outsider dichotomy, the conversations had on stage are still ones beneficial for students to witness and participate in today on campus today.

“I hope that the play starts a conversation,” wrote Walker in an email to the Voice. “I think that it is stylized and shocking in all the right places to take audiences to the point where they can’t not talk about what the play covers.”

While today’s world may certainly be entrenched in the digital age, it’s nice to be reminded, once in awhile, of the power found within the pages of a good book.

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JANUARY 22, 2016

14

The Revenant

LEISURE

Nominated for 12 Oscars No one likes a show-off. There are undoubtedly some moments throughout Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant that feel as if the director is simply showing off what he can do with a camera. Despite this, The Revenant is a spectacle to behold. Iñárritu made the film with such ferocity that it is impossible not to marvel at what he and his star Leonardo DiCaprio have achieved. Iñárritu manages to overcome one-dimensional characters and forgettable dialogue to create a cinematic experience unlike any in recent memory.

The plot of the movie is straightforward enough: Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is left for dead in the American wilderness, and his son is murdered by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Glass survives against all odds and then sets out to find Fitzgerald in order to exact revenge. Where Iñárritu’s previous offering, last year’s Best Picture winner Birdman, was twisty and ambiguous, The Revenant’s story unfolds predictably. But it is how the film plays out that makes it so triumphant.

Much has been made of the film’s arduous production process, as Iñárritu made the controversial decision to shoot the movie solely in natural light, making no use of artificial lighting. The result is spectacular. Every shot Iñárritu constructs is a visual feast: the sunlight illuminates the characters in an unbelievably realistic manner that places the viewer in the action. Iñárritu also makes brilliant use of the long takes that made Birdman remarkable. A particular highlight is an early scene involving a raid. The camera moves steadily through the carnage that plays out, never once cutting or shaking to amplify the action. Iñárritu is an absolute master of the tracking shot, and this film puts his talents on full display.

The film’s most harrowing scene is undoubtedly the bear attack, which was heavily promoted in the film’s trailers. An unsuspecting Glass is attacked by a bear while separated from the rest of the group. Once again, Iñárritu captures the entirety of the action in one long take, making it impossible to look away. The bear is rendered with CGI, but DiCaprio reacts in a frighteningly accurate manner to its attacks. Iñárritu refuses to let the viewer relax, as every seeming moment of calm instead ratchets up the intensity until the attack’s conclusion. This scene alone is worth the price of admission.

It is DiCaprio’s performance that gives the film a core. He puts himself through hell to fully embody Glass’ ordeal, and although the performance feels like Oscar bait at times, it is simply too devoted to be denied recognition.

There are long stretches without any dialogue, and Iñárritu chooses to let the sheer physicality of DiCaprio’s acting

Voice’s Oscar Thoughts 14

The Revenant The Big Short Carol

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THE GEORGETOWN VOICE

The Big Short

Nominated for 5 Oscars Leave it to Adam McKay, director of the Anchorman movies and Step Brothers, to find humor in the economic collapse of 2008. That is not to say that he has produced a laughfest with The Big Short, but his ability to find spirited and relatable characters amongst the greed and absurdity of Wall Street’s finest hour makes for a tongue-in-cheek triumph, which proves to be one of the most uniquely enjoyable films of the past several years.

The Big Short, based on Michael Lewis’ 2010 book, follows several men as they recognize and attempt to capitalize on the housing bubble collapse that helped spark the global financial crisis. While each of the men has profitable intentions, their pursuits’ greatest accomplishment is the exposure of Wall Street’s ignorance and neglect in the months and years leading up to 2008’s crash. The film has dynamic energy and characters, thanks in large part to a crackling screenplay, written by McKay and Charles Randolph.

Leading the way are Christian Bale and Steve Carell, both of whom earned Golden Globe nominations for their performances (Bale has also added an Oscar nomination). Bale’s Michael Burry is eccentric and antisocial, and watching him leave others feeling uncomfortable and inferior makes for great entertainment. Carell plays Mark Baum, and his performance is a mix of the actor’s best qualities. He plays Baum with no filter and an inability to accept others’ stupidity, ramping up the nasality of his voice effectively. Both actors do great work with their characters, even if one could point to a scene or two as purely awards-chasing. Either one may have found even greater success this awards season had they not shared the film with so many talented and capable actors. Brad Pitt

and Ryan Gosling provide entertaining, if half-hearted, supporting performances, and one can not help but laugh at Gosling yelling gleefully “I’m jacked to the tits!”

The star-studded cast could easily have succumbed to overacting if not for the presence of McKay and his comedic mind. With his most notable awards before this year coming in the form of Emmy nominations for things like Drunk History and Saturday Night Live, some may question how McKay found his way into the Oscar conversation. The answer lies in his ability to mock and scorn people with inflated egos, an ability evident even in films like Step Brothers and The Other Guys. Right from the start, McKay makes it clear that this is a film for the audience, and several times throughout the film he has stars speak directly to the camera to explain how exactly the financial crisis came about. McKay plants himself squarely on the side of the audience, or at least on the side of individuals who suffered as a result of the crisis, and he tugs at our emotions by emphasizing the selfishness and stupidity of a wide variety of characters. He simplifies the financial concepts that drive the story, allowing the story to zoom forward without plodding through the complexities of the bookkeeping.

The film possesses a strange but compelling dynamic, for the heroes of the story do not remedy the oncoming economic catastrophe. It is easy to root for them to make their (hundreds of) millions and to root against the avaricious banking professionals they encounter, but when the profits finally come, it is at the expense of countless Americans. All the excitement that comprises the film’s first hour leaves the audience salivating for piles of money and numerous chances for “I told you so’s.” As the film moves along, however, McKay undercuts the positive energy with images of emptying offices and angered ex-employees, stark reminders that these were actual events that affected real people, some of whom could be sitting in the theater. Even as Baum and Burry and the rest cash out for unfathomable amounts of money, there is no solace in their triumph over the now-suffering bankers and prognosticators, for the pain extends far beyond the bounds of New York’s financial district.

by Brian McMahon

Carol

Nominated for 6 Oscars The thing about most great romances, and romantic films in particular, is how much they rest on what is implied, and how they can fit maximal meaning into minimal gesture. There is plenty of nominal romance in film, but like every shoehorned romantic subplot in a large blockbuster, it often lacks that spark that makes it all believable and true, telegraphed so obviously that no one could mistake it for the real thing. To watch even just the first scene in Carol, then, is to take a lesson in how to convey that subtlety.

The film begins with Jack, who while waiting for his friends in a restaurant catches a glimpse of an old friend, Therese. As he walks over, he sees an older woman, Carol, sitting across from Therese. We see this meeting from Jack’s perspective, and as he obliviously calls for Therese and puts his hand on her shoulder, we know that he has interrupted something. In an instant, we forget all about Jack, as the tension between these two women is far more interesting than what he has to offer, and from these first few minutes we have a hint that we are seeing a master at work.

Carol then takes us back a few months. Therese works in a department store, and one day near Christmas time she meets Carol, who is looking for a present for her daughter. They speak – again, only briefly – and the mood of the film suddenly changes. Therese is no longer sure how to do her job, but Carol, in all of her wealthy New York housewife mystique, keeps her cool.

As she leaves, Therese notices that she has left behind her gloves, the kind of accident that could have only been intentional. Naturally, one thing leads to another: a lunch date, a weekend together, a road trip to nowhere in particular, but then also treachery and disappointment.

Therese, caught in the whirlwind of romance, is never entirely sure what it is she wants or what she’s looking for, while Carol is hiding from a few problems of her own, all too concrete and precise.

Carol is the first film in almost ten years from director Todd Haynes (HBO’s Mildred Pierce notwithstanding), and it hits upon several of his trademarks: it’s a lavish mid-century period piece overflowing with beautiful costuming and lush imagery, focusing on the inner lives of queer characters with a sprinkling of social consciousness to enliven the proceedings. What it does away with, enjoyably, is Haynes’ penchant for downer endings — there are no tragic lesbians to be found here, but instead one of the most triumphant closing sequences in any film this year, though it may just be Therese walking across a room. It showcases his sensibility wonderfully, marrying a very classic Hollywood feel and format with modern aesthetic and social sensibility — Carol, though it premiered just a few weeks before Obergefell v. Hodges, isn’t just a topical movie, but one that stands on its own merits. If Haynes wasn’t already one of the today’s best working directors — and he should be with the likes of Safe and I’m Not There under his belt — he’s certainly become a contender.

Of course, credit must be paid to Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett. Their performances are both accomplished, but quite different; Mara is the meek ingénue, keeping everything behind a veneer of innocence except for a few key moments when the levee breaks open. Blanchett, well, does the Cate Blanchett thing, taking control of every eye in the theater, crystallizing every emotion down to its essence before she lets it loose. The pair’s performances, filled as they are with subtle gestures and expressions, are the meat of the film, and fully deserve the praise they have been receiving since the film’s release.

A common criticism of Carol is that it’s a cold film, too focused on capturing the luscious costumes and sets and maintaining too distant and clinical a camera to really capture the romance between its two characters. It’s said that the film may be technically pristine, but the emotion is lost beneath the calculating, perfectionist attitude of the cast and crew. This is bitter counter-hype — there were precious few films in the last year that could manage to convey intimacy and love as convincingly as Carol does. It is the kind of film that invites skepticism, because there is nothing it does not do well, and it never resorts to cheap tactics. The truth is that we are used to the cheap blockbuster romance; we’ve been fed that weird lie for so long that the better product feels wrong.

Many were dismayed last week when Carol failed to secure a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, but maybe that is just as well. Unlike the desperate baiting of, say, The Revenant or Brooklyn, Carol doesn’t need to lust after glory. It is simply glorious already.

by Andrew Gutman

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LEISURE

carry the movie. Iñárritu’s penchant for extended tracking shots put DiCaprio to the test, and he responds brilliantly.

Such a tour-de-force performance cannot be matched in the film, but Tom Hardy’s villainous performance as Fitzgerald comes close. Although Hardy’s mumbling makes the character difficult to understand at times, his trademark intensity helps give Fitzgerald enough character to be a compelling villain. Hardy is also up for a well-deserved Oscar nomination.

Without DiCaprio and Hardy, the film would risk becoming trite. The script is not anything special, and is filled with some downright clichéd lines. The characters are also extremely one-dimensional, and it is only the leads’ performances that make them compelling in any way. Outside of Hardy and DiCaprio, all of the other characters are quickly forgettable, save for Domnhall Gleeson’s solid showing as the leader of the hunting party. With dialogue that consistently stumbles or fails to make an impact on the viewer, the best stretches of the film are undoubtedly the long, silent sequences where Iñárritu lets the visuals tell the story.

Fortunately, the weak characters and poor dialogue do not undermine a spectacular cinematic experience.

The Revenant should earn DiCaprio his first Oscar, and it will be an award that was hard-won. The film is certainly one of the most unique offerings in recent memory, and it will immerse the viewer with its realistic lighting, gorgeous cinematography, and brutal editing. If this is Iñárritu at his best, then he should make it a point to show off more often.

by Graham Piro

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