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GUSA CAMPAIGNS BEGINS PAGE 4

BASKETBALL LOOKS TO WEEKEND ON THE ROAD PAGE 6

IMPROVFEST TO BRING DOWN BULLDOG ALLEY PAGE 10

Georgetown University’s Weekly Newsmagazine Since 1969  February 7, 2013  Volume 48 Issue 5  georgetownvoice.com

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february 7, 2013

Letter from the Editor: Dear readers, I am writing to inform you about two changes to our news magazine regarding staffing changes and back page content.

William Cannon Warren, a staff writer and current columnist of “Loose Cannon” announced today his candidacy for Georgetown University Student Association President. In order to maintain the integrity of the Georgetown Voice as an unbiased, on-campus news source, Warren has decided to take a leave of absence from his duties at the Voice. An interim columnist, Umar Khan, will be filling the void, writing “I Knew You Were Treble,” a bi-weekly column about music. Through these measures we hope to maintain the trust of our readers as our editorial board, news, and blog staff cover the GUSA election.

On another note, we are also transitioning our back page content. The “A Day in the Life” serial we began in our Jan. 24, 2013 issue has proved unviable due to a lack of quality submissions.

In its stead, we are hoping to bring on either a fashion or fiction editor to take over the content on that page. But until such an editor can be located, we hope to create a campus artists’ corner on our back page that will feature submissions of original photography, poetry, short fiction, or anything creative that can be effectively conveyed on our pages. Artistic submissions should be sent to thevoice@georgetown.edu by 10 p.m. on the Monday prior to the desired publication date. We look forward to seeing what the creative community at Georgetown can come up with.

Also, if interested in working as a potential fashion or fiction editor, stop by our weekly board meetings Fridays at 6:15 p.m. in Leavey 424 to meet with our management team.

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Thanks again for your faithful readership, Keaton Hoffman, Editor-in-Chief

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Voice Crossword “February Themeless Challenge” by Tyler Pierce 38. Sugar coating 40. Clark of the Daily Planet 41. Vinegary 43. Kosher ___ 45. ___ publica 46. Natural pigment responsible for freckles 48. Beach bird 50. Authorizes 52. Thingamajig 56. Bach composition 57. Mozart’s “L’___ del Cairo” 59. Care for 60. + end 61. Reprimand 63. Protective covering 64. Odorless, colorless material found in plants 65. Cow catcher 66. Indian bread 67. Rocky peaks DOWN

ACROSS 1. Entice 5. Perlman of Cheers 9. Kaffiyeh wearers 14. People who live in Yerevan 16. Newswoman Zahn 17. One of seven 18. Black ___ (cattle breed) 19. Like Krypton

20. Cousin of an ostrich 21. Domesticates 22. Deli offering 24. Clothes 26. Farmer’s place, in song 28. Corrode 30. German resort 33. Kind of rock 35. Trojan War figure 36. Trousers

1. Groundwork 2. Madison Square Garden, e.g.

3. Drive forward 4. Foursome 5. Dead letters?

6. Fit 7. Butt bag 8. Penetrating 9. Pale green mineral 10. Threw the dice 11. One who does boob jobs 12. Basalt relative

13. Be rude to 15. Apple pie spice 23. Illegal 25. Knotted 27. Fond du ___, Wis. 29. Crumbs 30. Cheese in a ball 31. Alex the Great’s land 32. Bone systems 34. Prefix with night or day 37. Stirrup bone 39. After-tax amount 42. How a fetus surgery is done 44. Like some humor 47. Reaganite 49. Chewy candy 51. La ___ opera house 53. A Malfoy 54. Buzzing 55. Accomplishments 56. Washington locale, with “the” 58. Away from port 62. Canterbury can

Answers to last week’s sudoku

Answers to last week’s crossword

editorial

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VOICE the georgetown

Volume 48.5 February 7, 2013 Editor-in-Chief: Keaton Hoffman Managing Editor: Gavin Bade Blog Editor: Connor Jones News Editor: Matt Weinmann Sports Editor: Steven Criss Feature Editor: Julia Tanaka Cover Editor: Neha Ghanshamdas Leisure Editor: Julia Lloyd-George Voices Editor: Sara Ainsworth Photo Editor: Miles Gavin Meng Design Editors: Amanda Dominguez, Madhuri Vairapandi Projects Editors: Alec Graham, John Sapunor Puzzles Editors: Andrew Duverney, Tyler Pierce Contributing Editors: Leigh Finnegan, Kevin Joseph Assistant Blog Editors: Isabel Echarte, Ryan Greene, Caitriona Pagni Assistant News Editors: Lucia He, Julia Jester, Jeffrey Lin Assistant Sports Editors: Chris Almeida, Chris Castano Assistant Cover Editor: Lauren Ashley Panawa Assistant Leisure Editors: Alex Golway, Kirill Makarenko Assistant Photo Editors: Tiffany Lachhonna, Andres Rengifo Assistant Design Editor: Teddy Schaffer

Staff Writers:

Emilia Brahm, Rachel Calvert, Will Collins, Emlyn Crenshaw, Brendan Crowley, Umar Khan, Alex Lau, Lindsay Leasor, Keith Levinsky, Claire McDaniel, Liana Mehring, Vanya Mehta, Joe Pollicino, Cole Stangler, Melissa Sullivan

Staff Photographers:

Rebecca Anthony, Max Blodgett, Julian de la Paz, John DelgadoMcCollum, Matthew Fried, Robin Go, Kirill Makarenko, Tim Markatos, Tess O’Connor, Larissa Ong, Matt Thees

Staff Designers:

Karen Bu, John Delgado-McCollum, Christy Geaney, Mike Pacheco, Tom Pacheco, Sebastian Sotelo

Copy Chief: Morgan Manger Copy Editors:

Kathryn Booth, Grace Funsten, Tori Jovanovski, Rina Li, Natalie Muller, Sonia Okolie, Caitriona Pagni, Ana Smith, Dana Suekoff, Kim Tay, Suzanne Trivette

Editorial Board Chair: Patricia Cipollitti Editorial Board:

Maitane Arana, Aisha Babalakin, Gavin Bade, Nico Dona Dalle Rose, Keaton Hoffman, Julia Jester, Caitriona Pagni, Julia Tanaka, Galen Weber

Head of Business: Aarohi Vora

LET’S GET WEIRD

GUSA candidates have a legacy to live up to

Today the tickets for the presidency and vice presidency of the Georgetown University Student Association announced their candidacies and released their platforms. While the Voice Editorial Board will provide an official endorsement before the Feb. 20 presidential elections, we feel it is important to state our priorities prior to selecting the most competent ticket.

One of the biggest strengths of the Clara Gustafson (SFS ‘13) and Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ‘13) administration has been its eagerness to take on large initiatives, effectively mobilize student support, and score landmark wins for Georgetown’s undergraduate population.

Most notably, they were able to successfully raise the standard in the burden of proof regarding a majority of on-campus incidents from “more likely than not” to “clear and convincing.” Although critics note their failure to extend this standard to off-campus incidents, this was an ambitious project that required strong student support and heavy, prolonged negotiations with University officials. The

This newspaper was made possible in part with the support of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress,

online at CampusProgress.org. Campus Progress works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter. Learn more at CampusProgress.org.

Mailing Address: Georgetown University The Georgetown Voice Box 571066 Washington, D.C. 20057

Office: Leavey Center Room 424 Georgetown University Washington, D.C. 20057

Email: editor@georgetownvoice.com Advertising: business@georgetownvoice.com Web Site: georgetownvoice.com 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. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Editorial Board. 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. The Georgetown Voice is produced in the Georgetown Voice office and composed on Macintosh computers using the Adobe InDesign publishing system and is printed by Silver Communications. All materials copyright the Georgetown Voice. All rights reserved.

On this week’s cover: “Politics Survey” Cover Design: Neha Ghanshamdas (SFS ‘14)

next administration should be unafraid to engage in the tactics used to bring about this change.

Although Gustafson and Kohnert-Yount have done much for the University, there are many critical issues that have yet to be tackled. The next GUSA executives should not refrain from taking a congenial but firm stance in holding the University administration accountable to its promises and its duties to students.

To prevent a loss of momentum or of institutional memory, the future leaders of GUSA should focus on building on the successes of the current administration. This not only includes extending the “clear and convincing” standard to off-campus incident evaluation, but also continuing Gustafson and KohnertYount’s efforts to improve how sexual assaults are reported and dealt with on campus. Other issues that must be promptly addressed include reform of Georgetown’s antiquated and restrictive free-speech policy as well as its ineffective bias reporting system.

It is particularly crucial that the presidential and vice presidential successors prioritize student engagement. This includes being plugged into student movements, such as the newly launched Fossil Fuel Divestment campaign and supporting them in any way they can. Like Gustafson and Kohnert-Yount, the new executives must be committed to openness and transparency—for example, as a student-run news publication, we appreciate the current administration’s willingness to cooperate with student media.

Essentially, GUSA’s new leaders should view themselves not as administrative figureheads, but rather as advocates for Georgetown’s wide variety of student voices.

Furthermore, the Voice would like to see candidates emphasize their capacity to promote social justice and social change on campus.

We sincerely hope that the candidates will take the urgent student needs expounded here to heart, and expect nothing more than productive, meaningful dialogue in the next two weeks.

IN THE BIG LEAGUES

Mayor Gray envisions a bigger, better D.C. This Tuesday District Mayor Vincent Gray addressed city residents in his annual State of the District address. In a speech riddled with sports metaphors, Gray outlined the many successes of his two-year administration and announced his plans for the improvement of this “big-league city.” The mayor’s readiness to face the challenges and embrace the opportunities afforded by the city’s dramatic growth is promising, and we hope that the coming year will be a testament to the leadership his words inspired.

The underlying theme of the address was undoubtedly the District’s economy.

Although unemployment remains unacceptably high in lower-income wards, D.C. has committed to a commendable governmentprivate sector economic development strategy that is projected to create 100,000 new jobs and generate $1 billion of additional tax revenue for the District in the next five years.

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Additionally, the mayor announced a plan to untie the District’s economic growth from federal contractors.

We particularly laud Mayor Gray’s efforts to prevent gentrification in the District. As part of his efforts to preserve affordable housing in a city with a booming real estate sector, he announced his plans to spend $100 million to create 10,000 new units of affordable housing on top of existing initiatives. While D.C. housing advocates are quick to remind us that $100 million will not solve this complex and growing issue, Mayor Gray’s commitment is encouraging.

While the accomplishments of the Gray administration are impressive, most notably the city’s second budget surplus in a row in the context of a weak national and global economy, his speech failed to address many of the problems persistently plaguing District residents.

To begin with, the Mayor did not mention HIV/AIDS in his speech, despite the fact that the overall rate of HIV in D.C. is a whopping 3.2 percent, according to a June 2012 PBS’s Newshour report. While the mayor praised the District’s improved public safety record in terms of homicides, robbery rates have actually increased in the past year. Sexual violence also remains an ugly problem, especially in light of last month’s Human Rights Watch report on the Metropolitan Police Department’s treatment of rape cases.

Gray failed to address these concerns.

Although Gray’s successes are numerous, and deserve to be recognized, there obviously remains a lot of work to be done. If the District is really to become the “State of New Columbia,” as Gray asserted in his address, it will have to step up to the plate for all of D.C.’s residents, particularly its most vulnerable.

FREEDOM TO LOVE

A satisfying compromise on contraception In a meaningful act of compromise last Friday, the Obama administration expanded the number of religiously-affiliated organisations exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to provide free contraceptive coverage to female employees. Originally the mandate only exempted houses of worship from the act’s requirement for the provision of contraceptive coverage in employee health plans.

Heavily criticized by religious groups as infringing upon their religious liberty, the mandate now extends to religiously-affiliated hospitals and schools—Georgetown included—which will no longer be required to provide contraceptive services to their female employees.

Of course, employees of these organizations will still have access to stand-alone contraception directly through health insurance companies. Alternatively, religiously-affiliated organisations that choose to self-insure can instruct a third party to provide coverage for employees through separate individual insurance policies.

About 99 percent of American women over the age of consent have used some form of birth

control at least once in their lives, even though adequate preventive care was unaffordable for many women prior to the act’s contraceptive mandate. The mandate is thus crucial to women’s health in this country, having granted an estimated 47 million women access to free contraception and other preventive health services since it went into effect last August.

Unfortunately, the Roman Catholic Church, which officially opposes the use of contraception, and other religious institutions were quick to take up arms against the mandate and its frontwoman, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. They insisted that the mandate infringed upon their First Amendment rights to behave according to their individual religious beliefs, including their refusal to provide coverage for birth control. Nearly 50 lawsuits have been brought against the administration since August 2012.

By providing a third-party option, Sebelius straddles the line between two fundamental liberties afforded by our Constitution.

While preserving the religious liberty of the

newly-exempt organizations, she ensures females in the workplace their individual right to choose. In the Secretary’s own words: “The administration is taking a step in providing women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns.”

We congratulate the secretary for reaching a smart, suitable compromise in what formerly seemed an uphill battle, as well as for her unwavering support for the current administration’s commitment to female health. Now that the Obama administration has pushed as far as it can on this issue, it is time for those who oppose the mandate to respond appropriately. The National Association of Evangelicals has rejected the announcement, but U.S. Catholic leaders have yet to respond. To save face, its response should be one of gratitude.

If its objection to the old mandate was truly about freedom, and not about a desire to control female reproductive rights, the Church should acknowledge this as a veritable win for religious liberty.

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february 7, 2013

Five tickets start competing for GUSA presidency

by Connor Jones Early Thursday morning, five campaigns declared their candidacies for the presidency and vice presidency of Georgetown University Student Association. Campaigning will last for two weeks until voting starts on Wednesday, Feb. 20 and the election is called on Thursday, Feb. 21.

The field includes two students who have already run for the GUSA executive last year: Maggie Cleary (COL ‘14) ran for vice president and finished fourth while Nate Tisa (SFS ‘14) ran for President and finished fifth.

All of the candidates have either experience in GUSA or in larger public life at Georgetown. Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson (SFS ’14) is running in the president’s slot and boasts receiving the highest number of votes for a single senator-at-large in the history of GUSA. Her pick for vice president is Joseph Vandegriff (COL ’14), who served as the president of College Democrats in his sophomore year.

Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14), another member of College Demo-

crats, chose to run with Cleary, the former chair of College Republicans. Appelbaum worked in the Student Activity Commission for two years and served as its chair last year. In terms of their GUSA experience, Appelbaum represented SAC on the GUSA Student Activities Fee Endowment Commission, which recommended how $3.4 million should be spent.

Among the other candidates with extensive GUSA experience is Tisa, who has served as the speaker of that body for a year. During his tenure, GUSA passed the resolution authorizing the “clear and convincing” referendum, accomplished the age reduction for student Zipcars, began composting programs in Village B, and pushed for changes to the disciplinary system. His running mate Adam Ramadan (SFS ‘14) has served as a board member of Hoya Blue and has been a Blue and Gray tour guide since his freshman year.

The final ticket with experience in student government is Cannon Warren (SFS ‘14), with Andrew Logerfo (COL ‘14) as vice president.

Warren has served as an at-large senator for nearly two years and works

as the vice chair of GUSA’s Finance and Appropriations Committee, while Logerfo works as the Corp’s director of accounting.

The last presidential hopefuls market themselves as GUSA outsiders: a leader in Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union, Spencer Walsh (MSB ’14) is running with Robert Silverstein (SFS ’14), a member of College Democrats and the Philodemic Society.

While candidates’ platforms were not fully available when the Voice went to print, most candidates emphasized general themes of student advocacy and promised to reduce red tape and streamline the room reservation process for clubs.

Walsh and Silverstein count SAC and the Office of Campus Activity Facilities among the organizations whose regulations are burdensome for students. “[T]he bulk of our platform is about cutting red tape and empowering the student body,” they wrote in an email to the Voice. “Specifically, we want to devolve more power to student groups and make it easier for them to schedule events and reserve

space on campus, chipping away at the bureaucracy that organizations like SAC and OCAF represent.”

The Appelbaum/Cleary ticket lists similar proposals as their priorities but emphasize Appelbaum’s service reducing needless bureaucracy on the Student Life Report Committee. “[I] also spent nearly a year working on the 2012 Student Life Report, a comprehensive document that examined student life and bureaucracy on campus and made over 60 recommendations for improvement,” wrote Appelbaum.

Warren and Logerfo enumerated finding solutions to other popular student gripes among their priorities. “We are dedicated to improving student life on and off campus by addressing the responsiveness of the Facilities Department, sensibilizing the student code of conduct for the benefit of all students, and promoting efforts to reduce the University’s rat population,” Logerfo wrote.

Tisa and Ramadan consider broadening the University’s freespeech policy and sexual assault prevention programs their higher priorities: “Our ticket will be advocating for an amendment to the free

speech policy, expanded student space, a rejuvenation of the Center for Social Justice, further addressing of the disciplinary process, and a comprehensive changes to sexual assault prevention,” wrote Zach Singer (SFS ‘15), GUSA Vice Speaker and Tisa/Ramadan campaign manager.

Corbin-Johnson and Vandegriff declined to list concrete proposals as their priorities, opting instead to focus on listening to student proposals “through mobilizing the student base.”

Contenders for the executive office can spend a maximum of $300 on their campaign and must turn in all receipts to the GUSA election commission. While GUSA election season inevitably involves profuse flier distribution and dorm-storming, at least one campaign has promised that it will not be knocking on any doors. “[O]ur campaign will not consist of any door knocking, since we respect students’ privacy and peace of mind while they are in their dorms or apartments,” Logerfo wrote in an email. “Basically, we do not want to be seen as Georgetown’s version of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Sexual Assault Working Group hasn’t met for more than a year

by Jeffrey Lin According to national statistics one in four women will be sexually assaulted in college, but many groups at Georgetown are trying to reduce that statistic. Their efforts receive support from the Sexual Assault Working Group, a collection of students, staff, and community members dedicated to the issues of sexual assault and relationship violence on campus. But unfortunately for the cause, the group has not met in a year, indicating SAWG might be apathetic toward its mission.

“A few examples of work that has been done by SAWG include making recommendations around changing the definition of sexual assault in the Student Code of Conduct to make it more survivor-centered,” wrote Jen Schweer, the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Services Coordinator for Georgetown, in an email to the Voice. SAWG has also been the leading force in bringing the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Liaison position to GU’s Law Center.

SAWG is reaching out to other groups on campus and in the D.C. area that want to foster discussions on sexual assault.

“The University worked extensively with the Office of Victim Services in the Mayor’s Office around the UASK [University Assault Services. Knowledge.] app, in addition to other programming and outreach,” wrote Rachel Pugh, Director of Media Relations at Georgetown in an email to the Voice.

Involvement from student groups and the Women’s Center has also been an integral part of addressing sexual assault.

“For over 20 years the Women’s Center has been involved in raising awareness about intimate partner violence and sexual assault and has provided a safe space for survivors to come forward and share their stories,” wrote Laura Kovach, the Women’s Center Director in an email to the Voice. “The work of ending violence does not take one group or one approch.”

Some Georgetown students, however, have voiced concerns that SAWG has not done enough to push these efforts forward.

“I agree that SAWG has not been sufficient to address sexual assault on this campus, and there are many institutional barriers to them doing so,” wrote Lisa Frank (COL ’13), a Women Advancing Gender Equity Fellow at the Georgetown Women’s

Voice ArchiveS

The Vagina Monologues use survivors’ stories to educate about sexual assault.

Center. “Some are Georgetownspecific, like the Catholic tradition which can often stifle conversations about healthy sexual relationships, and others are near-universal, like the view that sexual assault is a woman’s problem.”

Even though some students do believe Georgetown’s Catholic background can deter discussion on sexual assault, other students and administrators disagree.

“If anything, our Catholic background should be a positive influence. Georgetown is incredibly open-minded and bold,” wrote Jordanna Hernandez (COL ‘15), one of the directors of the Vagina Monologues.

The larger issue remains that the main committee of SAWG has not

met this year.

“While SAWG hasn’t met as a larger group this year, I know that they have been working in smaller groups around various initiatives, including being in contact with the GUSA Sexual Assault Working Group as they try to work toward making sexual assault a larger conversation on campus,” Kovach wrote.

These subcommittees have worked on initiatives such as mandating sexual assault education, collaborating with student leaders, and implementating letter campagins to Congress.

In conjunction with student groups, such as GUSA Sexual Assault Working Group, SAWG is pushing to reach out to freshmen

during New Student Orientation to educate them on sexual assault, because the most likely time for sexual assault to occur on a campus is during the first six weeks of school.

Part of this involved advertising the UASK app, which provides information about medical help and locations for victims of sexual assault to get help at universitis around the city. “The app was announced at NSO and included in the materials for the play,” Pugh wrote .It is unclear how many students have the app.

“They want to add a sexual assault education component to NSO, so they want to have some sort of workshop that every person goes through, like Pluralism in Action,” said Lindsay Horikoshi (NHS ‘16), another director of the Vagina Monologues.

Students and administrators with SAWG and other groups focusing on women’s issues on campus believe that these initiatives will better address the issue of sexual assault on campus, but even those heavily involved with events such as the Vagina Monologues have not felt the effects of SAWG. When asked what she thought about the effectiveness of SAWG, Horikoshi said,

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Provost reorganizes office, creates rotating positions

by Claire Zeng Last September, in his inaugural blog post, Provost Robert Groves wrote to the student body that we live in a time of transition in higher education and he declared his goal to examine ways to increase efficient learning and incorporate the best methods as soon as possible. Over the last six months, Groves has taken many steps to implement this reassessment of Georgetown’s academics and his next step is the reorganization of his office.

In an email to the student body last Wednesday, as well as in an accompanying blog post, Groves announced he will be creating three new vice provost positions which will be filled by existing faculty.

The vice provosts will specialize in education, faculty, and research, and each position will rotate every three years. A selection committee is currently in the works and will be composed of faculty members from multiple schools who are highly respected across campus. Groves is also creating the new positions of Vice President for Finance and Program Analytics and Chief Operating Officer for the main campus.

Currently, Groves is the only fac-

cLAire ZeNG

The reorganization is part of a broader set of changes Groves plans to implement. ulty member in his office, which in Groves’s opinion is unsustainable.

“Not having faculty members down the hall isn’t good for me,” Groves said. “I really need to be able to walk into someone’s office and say, ‘What do you think about this idea?’ and have it be answered by someone who knows the faculty.”

Groves is seeking to bridge the gap between faculty and academic administrators common to many universities. In an email to the Voice, Prof. James Collins, who has 27 years of experience at Georgetown, wrote that although he is always suspicious of adding another level of administration, he approves of filling spots with rotating members of faculty. “That way,” Collins wrote, “the ex-administrator has to live, as

Students know best

Over the past few years, it’s been difficult to be sure about anything at District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). An unprecedented number of principals, teachers, and central office staff have come and gone since Michelle Rhee burst into town in 2007 with a slew of new policies, chief among them a new teacher evaluation system called IMPACT and a plan to close over 20 under-enrolled schools. She left back in 2010, but current Chancellor Kaya Henderson (SFS ‘92, G ‘07) has kept the reforms rolling with two subsequent revisions to IMPACT, more school consolidations, and new graduation requirements.

If there’s one constant, it’s change.

Another might be antipathy.

While the DCPS reforms have made it the most talked-about school district in the country, they’ve also generated a lot of anger in the city. Opposition to Rhee’s school closures and authoritarian leadership style helped push Mayor Vincent Gray over the top in the mayoral race of 2010, and now Empower DC, a local advocacy group, is suing DCPS over Hender-

son’s decision to shutter 15 schools.

Whether the closings are good policy or not, it seems clear the district needs to do something to regain public confidence, and that’s why it’s puzzling to me that the chancellor has been so mum about yet another new reform.

Another revision to IMPACT, this new policy would grant students the power to evaluate their own teachers by answering a survey and then link their opinions to hiring and firing decisions made by DCPS. The idea is rather new, but it’s gaining traction in educational circles. If Henderson would take it to the public, this change could help show parents that they and their students have a genuine say about the decisions in both the principal’s office and Central Office.

Currently, DCPS teachers are evaluated based on student test scores on the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System and a number of observations by principals and “master educators.” The scheme is a marked improvement over the initial IMPACT system, but it is still plagued with issues. Test scores are

a faculty member, with decisions he or she took.”

Prof. Robert Lieber, described the idea of rotating vice provosts from faculty as “advantageous … it means they will know a great deal about the University.”

Groves admitted there are potential setbacks to his plan, including the fact appointed faculty would have less time to teach, narrowing student access to talented professors. Additionally, the rotation of the vice provosts means that new training will be required every three or six years.

One of the biggest challenges to Groves’s reform efforts is a lack of hard data. “If a program wants to get better … and they say, ‘How are we doing?’ we haven’t actually a clumsy quantitative tool for ascertaining teacher performance, even in a value-added system like IMPACT that takes into account a student’s educational starting point. It also invites cheating—teachers telling students the answers to the test or simply changing incorrect responses themselves, both crimes in which DCPS has been implicated.

Observations put the human element back into evaluation, but they have their own problems.

DCPS teachers commonly worry personal issues with administrators

city on a hill

by Gavin Bade

A bi-weekly column about the District can affect their observation grade and put their jobs in jeopardy.

Bringing in master educators helps to balance the system out, but it’s difficult to ascertain the true culture of a classroom in three visits or less.

Enter student surveys into the fray. Much of the confidence in them stems from the work of Harvard education professor Ronald Ferguson, who helped author a landmark study on teacher evalu-

assembled the data for them to answer that question,” Groves said.

Collins agrees this is a problem that needs to be addressed. “We do not seem to have what I consider to be sound information about our various programs,” Collins wrote.

“For example, what sort of return are we getting for our investment in the History PhD program? Without such data, we are just guessing.”

By appointing a new Vice President for Finance and Program Analytics who oversees both the main campus Finance Office and the Office of Assessment and Program Analytics, Groves aims to integrate financial and academic performance data.

The reorganization of the office also includes the appointment of a main campus COO to report to both the provost and Georgetown’s current COO Chris Augostini, which Groves describes as the “instantiation” of the integration of administration and academia.

The main campus COO will be concerned more with common student issues. For example, Groves recently met with representatives from disabled students who pointed out accessibility issues on campus. “[They gave] a bunch of examples, and with each added example, it be-

ations by the Gates Foundation. In it, over 3,000 teachers were assessed in seven cities, and their students were asked to grade their teachers in extended surveys. The results were striking. Not only were the teachers the students liked best also the ones who raised test scores the most, but students’ perceptions were remarkably uniform. As the study put it, “Students seem to know effective teaching when they experience it: student perceptions in one class are related to the achievement gains in other classes taught by the same teacher.”

This may be understatement.

As The Atlantic’s Amanda Ripley noted in her October 2012 article “Why Kids Should Grade Teachers,” math teachers rated highest by their students in surveys can deliver over six months more learning than teachers with the lowest student ratings.

What’s more, student surveys proved to be more effective in measuring teacher performance than any other evaluation technique.

Of course, students can have a grudge against a teacher just like administrators, but with so many

came more embarrassing,” Groves said. With the creation of the new COO position, Groves will be free to focus on big picture issues.

Groves’s overarching concern is adapting Georgetown to a rapidly developing economy and role of academia. “The hardest thing to know … is what is the knowledge set that we should preserve and promote for students to learn as knowledge itself greatly expands and diversifies?” Groves said. “At a certain point, we really have to talk about the organization of knowledge.” He emphasized the significance of faculty involvement in these discussions, stating that “any change has to be really accepted and hopefully led by [faculty].”

All of this is laying a foundation for broader changes to come.

Groves wants to expand undergraduate research and interdisciplinary opportunities; strengthen science, technology, engineering, and math education, and cultivate a more diverse faculty—but these changes will not come at the expense of any one program or school. “It’s not a zero-sum game,” Groves said. “It’s interdisciplinary. If there’s a niche for Georgetown, that’s it—blending together the disciplines.”

of them taking the survey it tends to balance out. Henderson has already made the survey used by the Gates study available to teachers for use on a voluntary basis, but she was coy about adding it into IMPACT. “You gotta do it right,” Henderson told Ripley. “Otherwise, it will torpedo our chances of doing it again.”

That’s all well and good, but Henderson should broadcast this innovation sooner rather than later.

It’d be good for DCPS, taking some focus off the contentious closures.

But more importantly, the public needs to know about any coming changes to teacher evaluations so they have time to comment and critique.

For a school district that prides itself in its improving transparency and dialogue with the community, it’s shocking there hasn’t been more discussion. Henderson and her staff should fast-walk student surveys going forward. They don’t just deserve a good headline—the District deserves a teacher evaluation scheme that works.

Submit your survey to Gavin at gbade@georgetownvoice.com.

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february 7, 2013

Basketball beating trend with four straight wins

by Chris Almeida This is the time of year that usually has Hoya fans praying for wins. In the recent past, the turn of the new year usually coincides with a slip from a non-conference hot streak for the Georgetown men’s basketball team (16-4, 6-3 Big East). While this is not unreasonable given the strength of the Big East, the slaughter at the hands of Pittsburgh after a tough loss at Marquette, in addition to the loss of sophomore forward Greg Whittington left the Hoya faithful with a familiar feeling of worry.

Since the Pitt loss, the Hoyas have rebounded to go 6-1, the lone blemish being an unfortunate three point loss to the University of South Florida. Along the way, the Blue and Gray have knocked off two ranked opponents—an impressive win over then-No. 24 Notre Dame led to a hard fought victory against then-No. 5 Louisville in front of a raucous crowd at the Phonebooth.

“Earlier in the season we would play well at times. We defended as a team at times. Now, we defend as a team for the entire game. We are a much more consistent team and we just keep getting more and more consistent,” junior forward Nate Lubick said of their efforts.

Play has elevated across the lineup, starting with sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr., who has averaged 18.1 points per game in the seven-game stretch. Junior guard Markel Starks has also stepped up his scoring, putting up double digits in five of the last seven games, as well as hitting shots at key, momentum-shifting moments.

“They have to be there every night...because everyone else could possibly, probably will be up and down. I think for the most part during this stretch they have been here every night doing their job,” said Head Coach John Thompson III.

Freshman guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera has been a key factor, recovering from a scoring slump that stretched through most of non-conference play. Smith-Rivera has had a rough time shooting the ball recently, shooting only 36 percent from the field, but has been a factor on the offensive boards by running down his shots and has stepped up significantly on defense. His most notable accomplishment came in the Louisville game when he and Starks nullified guards Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, who make up debatably the most formidable backcourt in the country. Lubick had a career day in the Hoyas’ most recent victory against St. Johns with 16 points and 10 boards, leading the squad in both categories for the day.

“He’s been playing at a very high level for a long time now, to tell you the truth. I said a couple of games ago, he wasn’t up here, but I said Nate gave us quality stats, not quantity stats,” said Thompson of Lubick.

The bench has also been making a push for the Hoyas. Junior guard John Caprio saw first-half minutes against Seton Hall and St. John’s. In the earlier matchup, Caprio had a career best 4 points and 3 boards. Caprio, who has mostly seen garbage time in the past few seasons, could yet prove himself to be a legitimate in-game option for the Hoyas, who were already playing a shallow lineup before Whittington’s departure.

(RS) Sophomore forward Aaron Bowen, of SportsCenter Top 10 play fame, has also contributed solid minutes recently.

In the final season for the Big East as we know it, seven of its 15 teams are now ranked in the AP Top 25. This strength is reflected in the remaining schedule for the No. 20 Hoyas, who sit only a game out of the Big East lead. After a trip to Rutgers,

Nate Lubick has emerged as a leader for the Hoyas this season.

MILES GAVIN MENG

the Hoyas return to D.C. to play No. 24 Marquette on Feb. 11, immediately followed by a road battle with the No. 17 Cincinnati Bearcats on Feb. 15. Then, the Hoyas have a matchup with UConn, looming just out of the rankings, giant-killer Villanova, and two matchups with archrival Syracuse, in what may be

the last meetings between the historic programs for the next few years.

The Hoyas have stepped up and held their composure in a series of tough games, but will seldom have a break in the coming month. With Porter Jr.’s draft stock rising, the window for a big run in the coming seasons seems to be closing, but

this season holds a great amount of promise with one of the most resilient Hoya squads in recent years.

With Whittington’s future unclear, the Hoyas look to continue to optimize production from their current lineup, which has exceeded expectations in the last month. The Blue and Gray travel to Piscataway, New Jersey to take on Rutgers on Saturday.

the Sports Sermon “If you really knew how God works, he don’t use people who commit anything like that [murder] for his glory,” - Ray Lewis on past murder trials after Super Bowl XLVII for those more invested in the game, and Beyoncé did not live up to that mark.

During the 13-minute set, Beyoncé sang for a total of only 4 minutes and 30 seconds. For much of the rest of that time period, viewers were faced with recordings of her and backup singers while she danced her signature moves. With a voice as strong as hers, it is a real shame that she did not belt out more lines of her songs.

One possible reason for the lack of singing was the amount of dancing, which surely takes a physical toll on a performer. This did not seem to bother Mick Jagger, though, during Super Bowl XL. Jagger did not stop moving during his 14-minute perfor-

quoi that allowed her to connect emotionally with the crowd and Super Bowls are remembered viewers worldwide. But asking for a few pivotal plays or colorthe crowd to reach toward her ful characters on the field. With and touching a few hands falls over 100 million people tuning in short of deserving praise. to watch the event, though, there At Super Bowl XXVII, Miare bound to be those who are not chael Jackson made a salute to avid football fans, preferring the the children of America and the spectacle of a glitzy halftime show world by having the fans hold up to the back-and-forth movement signs that collectively displayed of the pigskin. massive drawings of children of This year Beyoncé took over all colors spanning the entire stathe halftime show in a perfordium. Bono of U2 at Super Bowl mance that Grantland writer WesXXXVI made his way to the stage ley Morris called “honest-to-God by traveling through a sea of fans perfection.” With one of the most and then went on to deliver one successful musical artists in histoof the more emotional halftime ry performing at the most popuperformances in memory. With lar televised event in America, the a scrolling list of names of the stage was set for nothing less than victims of the 9/11 attacks prothe miraculous. And the reaction jected onto a screen behind them to her performance only months after Pete Rose Central throughout the methe catastrophe, U2 dia seemed to reflect brought the crowd Da bettin’ line just that. The show together in rememDookies Margin Hoyas was put on par with brance of those lost. (underdogs) (duh!) some of the greatest (favorites) Compared to Super Bowl halftime these performances, Alex Collins Home Cookin’ Beyoncé just does Mama acts, such as Prince in 2007 and U2 in 2002.

Marquette Louisville not measure up. The Hoyas Maybe they were vocals, overall imCavallari Proposal Text pression, and emoCutler numbed by some of the more atrocious acts recently, mance, yet, at an age more than tion of her show do not warrant (Black Eyed Peas and Madonna) double that of Beyoncé, sang vig- a top spot. The disappointment in but calling Beyoncé’s halftime orously for over 10 minutes. her performance resonates mainly show anything near perfection is Another common word of from the fact that she is one of the insulting. One of the most com- praise for Beyoncé was her im- best musical artists of all time. She mon descriptions was the word posing stage presence. Other could have provided a halftime “powerful.” Beyoncé definitely than the spectacular visual effects show that will be remembered has the ability to be powerful, (props to her visual effects coor- years from now, but she did not. with a voice that is arguably un- dinator), Beyoncé did not bring Football fans deserve more matched among current female anything to the table that left an than the washed up members of artists, but the problem was that exceptionally deep impression. Destiny’s Child returning to be she just did not use it enough.

After nailing several of her old drowned out by background muThe halftime show actually hits at Super Bowl XXX, Diana sic in the middle of the season’s holds an important responsi- Ross decided to finish her perfor- most important game. They debility with ratings during the mance by having a helicopter fly serve more than four and a half Super Bowl. It has to keep mil- down into the stadium and airlift minutes of Beyoncé’s voice, which lions upon millions of foot- her out as she sat in the doorway included singing the sounds of a ball fans entertained enough waving to fans. Prince played guitar solo and over a minute of so that they do not switch through rain as he ripped on elec- the word “halo” being repeated. the channel for the half-hour tric guitar and effectively infused Of course her name alone will break in the game. It really Jimi Hendrix with the Foo Fight- bring in the necessary ratings for does take a powerful perfor- ers at Super Bowl XLI. CBS and the NFL, but the entermance to make a halftime Beyoncé was also said to tainment value the Super Bowl show worthwhile, especially have exuded a certain je ne sais deserves was just not there.

by Steven Criss

sports

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 7

Women’s basketball mired in middle Highs and lows for tennis

by Joe Pollicino This past Saturday, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (139, 4-5 Big East) failed to continue its two-game winning streak, as they fell to No. 12 Louisville (19-4, 7-2 Big East) 74-60. Despite only being down four points at the break, the Cardinals proved too much to handle for the Hoyas in the second-half as they cruised to a win.

Head Coach Keith Brown did not seem upset by his team’s second half performance, as the team suffered from minor injuries and fatigue.

“We had a few players go down and it disrupted what we wanted to do and changed the game,” Brown said after the loss. “With a shorter bench, we couldn’t press the way we wanted to which allowed them to set up an offense.”

Georgetown senior guard Sugar Rodgers, the nation’s second leading scorer averaging 23.7 points per game and Georgetown’s alltime leading scorer, struggled in

the game, scoring only 6 points. It was Rodgers’s lowest point total of the season and her first game scoring below double figures since she scored only 6 against Houston on Nov. 19, 2011.

“I wasn’t knocking the shots down,” Rodgers said. “I got some of the shots I wanted. It just wasn’t going in.”

Brown didn’t seem especially concerned about Rodgers’s performance.

“Sugar is going to have off nights—she’s human,” Brown said. “When she isn’t hitting shots, we need her to keep shooting, but to also play defense, rebound, and get steals.”

As the Hoyas’ leading scorer and go-to player for most of their offensive strategies, many of Georgetown’s opponents have focused their defensive efforts on containing Rodgers, which means she’s facing many double- and triple-teams.

“I just can’t get frustrated,” Rodgers said. “I’m going to get

Sugar Rodgers had trouble connecting on her shots against Louisville.

KAT EASOP

Lubick this year’s big man

One of the joys of college basketball, at least for fans, is watching players grow up. Many times, that evolution is startling, making it all the more memorable. Remember Henry Sims from last season?

Of course you do.

But there are certain times when that maturing occurs right under our noses. Halfway through this year’s Big East campaign, Nate Lubick’s transformation into the Hoyas’ best big man and vocal leader serves as the latest example.

Much maligned during his sophomore year for a seeming regression, the junior changed his body and mentality over the summer. Listed at 235 pounds, Lubick estimated that he had lost close to 10 pounds over the summer while gaining strength, adding that he felt more mobile.

Aside from that, though, it seems to be an increased role that has allowed Lubick to shine this season. He has always utilized his preternatural passing ability but in years past, it has been over-

shadowed by emerging starters like Sims.

His numbers still do not pop out—7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game—but that’s more a reflection of Georgetown’s balanced offense than anything else. It’s where Lubick thrives, doing all the little things a team like Georgetown desperately needs.

“He’s all about the team, he’s a grinder, he adds great value in so many ways at both ends of the floor,” St. John’s Head Coach Steve Lavin said of Lubick.

Of course, there was good reason to be impressed with Lubick last Saturday, as the junior posted his best statistical game as a Hoya (16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) in a blowout win over Lavin’s Red Storm.

“The screening, the capable passing, cleaning up the boards for garbage points and there’s timeliness to the ways he adds value,” Lavin added.

“It seems like at the critical stretch of the game he’ll have

my shots regardless. Frustration is the biggest part. You can’t get frustrated if you see a doubleteam or triple-team, so you got to just get teammates involved.”

One player who did step up for the Hoyas was freshman guard Katie McCormick who had a careerhigh 21 points coming off the bench, 18 of which came in the second half.

Brown did not seem surprised by McCormick’s performance.

“Katie finally did what we knew she was capable of all along,” said Brown. “She is an excellent shooter and we want her to look for her shot.”

Georgetown will look to rebound this Saturday when they travel to New York to take on St. John’s (10-10, 4-4 Big East), a team mired in the middle of the Big East standings just like the Hoyas. Rodgers and the Hoyas understand the task that lies ahead for them.

“We’ve got to play hard,” said Rodgers when asked about the upcoming game. “We got to contain their guards. We got to play defense. If we defend, rebound, and share the ball, then we will come out with a win. If we don’t do one of those things we will not win.”

Brown acknowledged that these upcoming games will have a crucial role in determining the team’s postseason, as March looms around the corner.

“We got to take it one game at a time,” Brown said. “We know winning the next one will keep our goals within reach so we can’t get ahead of ourselves.” a hand in helping Georgetown move forward when they most need it.”

To that end, statistics do not really matter when assessing Lubick’s game. Nor do they matter to Lubick. “I am a player that will just do anything and everything to win,” he said.

This mentality was most evident in the Hoyas’ thrilling win over Louisville a couple of weeks ago. The most poignant moment

Double-Teamed

by Kevin Joseph A bi-weekly column about sports

came after the game, with John Thompson Jr. Typically, the elder Thompson does not greet the team as they leave the court for the locker room. This effort necessitated an exception.

Going through the group of players, Thompson Jr. offered a good game and some remarks to the players. Except for Aaron Bowen and Lubick.

by Chris Castano Streaks are one of sports’ great, unsolved mysteries. For whatever reason, teams of the highest and lowest caliber can inexplicably embark on winning or losing runs that defy all logic. It’s a query both the men’s and women’s tennis teams will be pondering in the days to come, although for very different reasons.

The Georgetown men’s tennis team slumped to an 0-4 record on the road over the weekend due to a loss to Duquesne University on Friday and then another to the University of Toledo on Saturday.

“It was a little disappointing on the men’s end. I was hoping to come up with a better result,” said men’s and women’s tennis Head Coach Gordie Ernst. “We did not have the fight that we should always have going into a match.”

The Hoyas only picked up two points against Duquesne on Friday with senior captain Charlie Caris and junior Casey Distaso registering the only wins for the Blue and Gray. The Hoyas tried to improve their form against the University of Toledo, and put up a better fight, but ultimately lost the match 4-3. Caris and Distaso came away with a doubles win, while points from singles victories would come from freshman Danny Khanin and Distaso.

Ernst remained positive about his team’s performance on the second day. “On the flip

Thompson Jr. reserved genuine hugs for the two players and their effort. Certainly, Bowen’s emergence after sitting patiently on the bench for two seasons warranted such a reaction.

On the surface, such a reaction for Lubick seems a bit farfetched. After all, he only put up 6 points and 4 rebounds, an output that in actuality was one of his poorer statistical performances of the season.

Thompson Jr. has seen it all, though. He is not the most conventional with his methodology.

One of the most iconic moments of his tenure as Georgetown’s coach came after Fred Brown threw a pass away in the waning seconds of the 1982 NCAA Championship Game. The turnover lost the game for the Hoyas and crowned Michael Jordan and North Carolina champions.

But Thompson didn’t chew into his player. Instead he embraced him and, according to Brown, whispered, “Don’t worry about it. You won more games than you lost.”

side we came back against a better team the next day and ended on a sense of positivity,” he said. “You can’t win them all. But, if we can convert, we’ll get those points this year and we’ll be okay.”

The female side fared much better in their half of the action.

The Hoyas (3-1) swept play against Duquesne, walking away with a 7-0 win. Against Big East rival Pittsburgh, Georgetown was forced to fight a little more, with freshman Taylor Perez reversing a 5-0 scoreline to come up with a huge win for the Blue and Gray.

“We went up there and got two wins. Duquesne is decent,” said Ernst, “They came out hard.

They have a new coach. They beat us in the double. We had a meeting and I said, ‘Girls, this is a Big East matchup!’ That’s when they really came out and I’m really proud of them.”

Men’s tennis will try to break their recent form a week from Wednesday in a 2:30 p.m. match at the University of Pennsylvania. Women’s tennis is back in action Saturday against cross-town rivals George Washington University with the time yet to be announced.

Ernst hopes the women’s tennis team can continue their streak and remains optimistic about the fate of the men’s team.

“We have to play with urgency and intensity on all points,” he said.

Thompson Jr. recognizes overall effort. He saw the grit Lubick laid on the floor that afternoon. He saw the poise the Hoyas played with while withstanding a furious rally from the Cardinals, starting first and foremost with Lubick.

“Game recognize game,” the old basketball adage goes. Thompson Jr. saw that two of those rebounds came in the final minutes of a tight game, including a key tipin with four minutes left.

“When we need something done, he gets a rebound, makes an assist, gets a basket,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III, said.

As with Sims last season, Lubick has been thrust into that leadership role out of necessity.

But his steady contribution and confidence have been there all season, and have been crucial for the Hoyas. For Nate Lubick, statistics don’t matter all that much. He is fine with the relative anonymity, as long as the Hoyas keep winning.

Lead Kevin to the finals at kjoseph@georgetownvoice.com

8 the georgetown voice

feature

february 7, 2013

feature

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 9

Out of left field: The Voice’s 2013 Politics Survey

By Isabel Echarte Last semester, the Princeton Review ranked Georgetown University as the second-most politically active college.

Whether it’s the proximity of the Hilltop to the Hill, or the many political figures who speak on campus, Georgetown has a reputation for a strong political culture. The Voice conducted an online reader survey to see if this reputation holds true and to try to discern what political values animate our campus.

This feature is a report of our findings.

It is not intended to be a scientific representation of Georgetown’s politics or speak to the specific policy preferences of each student. Rather, the questions were designed to leave some room for ambiguity and to shed light on the underlying political ideologies of different segments of the student body. The full results of the survey are available at georgetownvoice.com.

Responses indicate that Georgetown students on the whole identify more frequently with the Democratic Party than the national average. Dems are the plurality here with 42 percent, and non-affiliated, or, independents, comprise the second largest group with 29 percent. Less than a quarter of respondents consider themselves Republicans. 2 percent consider themselves Libertarian, and 2 percent described themselves as “other.” 1 percent say they belong to the Green Party. Gallup poll numbers from January 2013 indicate a third of the national population is registered Democrat, about 38 percent is Independent, and slightly more than a quarter is Republican.

Overall the respondents tended to be liberal, especially on social issues, but there seems to be more economic progressivism on campus than the typical Georgetown moniker “fiscally conservative but socially liberal” would suggest.

For instance, a majority of respondents (around 60 percent) say they disagree or strongly disagree with the statements that regulation of business is usually harmful

and that “poor people rely too much on government assistance programs.” 71 percent disagree or strongly disagree with the idea that the rich are too highly taxed.

On the social side, 78 percent support increasing limits on the sales of firearms.

The same percentage of respondents approve of protecting the environment at the cost of economic growth. Slightly less than three-quarters believe that not only does immigration benefit the US, but that immigration laws should also be made less restrictive.

More than 80 percent agreed that samesex marriage should be legalized and that healthcare should be more affordable and accessible. Close to 67 percent of respondents disagree or strongly disagree that abortion should be illegal in most cases.

“College students tend to lean left, so that Democrats dominate at 42 percent at Georgetown is not surprising,” said Matthew Carnes, S.J., an assistant professor in the Government Department. Referring to the Gallup poll numbers, he also said that independents outnumber Republicans nationally as well, so that result is not surprising.

“Because Georgetown tends to draw, in many cases, from a more educated and, in some cases, affluent background, I would expect that [norm] to be tempered more to the right,” he said, comparing Georgetown students to other college students.

On issues of national security, however, the University is almost evenly split.

52 percent of respondents do not believe counter-terrorism measures infringe upon citizens’ civil liberties, while 48 percent believe that they do. 48 percent also disagree or strongly disagree with the statement that the U.S. military should play a significant role as a global peacekeeper, with the rest of the respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing.

Respondents are also divided on the issue of whether the primary social responsi-

bility of a company is the interest of shareholders: 47 percent reported that they agree or strongly agree with this claim, while 53 percent disagreed.

The schools vary widely in terms of their political beliefs, with the McDonough School of Business and the School of Nursing and Health Studies reporting more conservative responses than the College and the School of Foreign Service. Each school varies on which political party dominates its population. About half of the respondents from the College and NHS are Democrats, while more of the MSB respondents identify as Republicans than any other party. While Democrats are the majority in the SFS, the school has the highest percentage of independents, at about 35 percent.

MSB respondents agree with conservative views on fiscal issues, but lean toward more liberal stances on social concerns.

About 62 percent of these respondents say government regulation of business is usually harmful, compared to the Universitywide rate of 32 percent. Almost 39 percent of MSB respondents also believe the rich are too highly taxed, while the overall rate is 29 percent.

“MSB students are more tuned in to the ramifications of the fiscal crisis, recession, and crippling debt, and recognize the need for realistic solutions to the problems our economy continues to face,” said Mallory Carr (COL ‘15), Vice Chair of the College Republicans.

MSB responses match the overall rates more closely in regards to social concerns, though they are still slightly more conservative. Almost 72 percent, compared with 78 percent overall, agree or strongly agree the government should protect the environment, even if it has negative effects on the economy. About 72 percent of MSB respondents also favor the government making healthcare more affordable and accessible, compared with a school-wide rate of 81 percent. The school, however, overwhelm-

ingly supports the use of the death penalty, with over 70 percent of respondents saying it should be an option for “the most heinous of crimes.”

The NHS were, for the most part, more conservative than MSB students on fiscal issues. 71 percent say that they agree or

about 71 percent—13 points lower than the University-wide rate. About 19 percent fewer NHS respondents supported the legalization of marijuana than the rest of the schools; the others average almost 69 percent of respondents supporting legalization.

AUTHORITARIAN

RIGHT

LEFT

LIBERTARIAN strongly agree that disadvantaged rely too much on government assistance, compared with about 63 percent of MSB respondents.

The NHS responses also tend to agree with conservative views on social issues more so than other schools. The school has the lowest rate of respondents supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage at

The only exceptions to this trend are in their responses on abortion and the sale of firearms. About 62 percent of NHS respondents say they disagree or strongly disagree that abortion should be illegal in most cases. This response closely matched the school-wide rate, which is about 67 percent. Almost 80 percent also say that they believe the government should increase limits on

the sales of firearms, a rate just 0.4 percent below that of the College.

The College respondents, on the other hand, agree mostly with liberal stances, though they are divided on national security issues, similar to the overall trend. Students in the College disapprove of the idea that regulation of business is usually harmful, with over 61 percent disagreeing. Over 65 percent say they do not believe the disadvantaged rely too much on government assistance, and over 62 percent disagree with the idea that the interest of shareholders is the primary social responsibility of a company.

The College and the SFS have similar rates of disagreement with the statement “the rich in the U.S. are too highly taxed;” both are just above 70 percent for students who disagree and strongly disagree.

On many social issues, the College supports liberal stances at a higher rate than any other school. Respondents support the legalization of same-sex marriage at almost 91 percent, close to 8 percentage points above the SFS and 20 above the NHS. The College also supports protecting the environment, even if it worsens the economy, at more than 81 percent. This is almost 4 percentage points above the SFS and about 10 above both the MSB and NHS. The College is about 6 percentage points lower than the SFS in supporting the idea that immigration should be less restrictive.

The SFS responses almost mirror those of the College. The biggest discrepancy between the two comes with the statement that the interest of shareholders is the primary social responsibility of companies—14 percent fewer in the SFS disagree with the statement than their College counterparts.

The same occurred with social issues, where the two schools did not vary more than 10 percentage points. About 60 percent of SFS respondents believe counter-terrorism measures infringe upon civil liberties, compared to about half of the College.

Georgetown students do not follow national trends when it comes to voting.

11 percent of respondents say they do not vote, while the national estimate shows more than half of young voters—ages 18 through 29—did not vote in the national election, according to a study by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

The NHS has the highest turnout rate; over 95 percent vote (though their respondent pool is much smaller than the rest and may therefore be less accurate).

The MSB has the lowest voter turnout, with about 18 percent of respondents saying they do not vote. The respondents from the College and the SFS vote most often, over 40 percent in each school reporting they vote in every national, midterm, and local election.

Students do not only vote to involve themselves in politics; exactly 60 percent of respondents report having participated in a political march, campaign, or protest.

College Democrats President Trevor Tezel (SFS ‘15) described his experience with the Obama campaign in 2012. “Especially as we got closer to the election it was pretty inspiring to see so many students out there every weekend,” he

said, “even in the midst of midterms and schoolwork.”

SFS students have the highest rate of participation in such activities, at almost 70 percent. The College is slightly below that at 60 percent. Both the NHS and MSB have less than half of respondents participating in such activities, with about 42 and 36 percent, respectively.

The independent respondents, who make up about 29 percent of the student body, are the least politically active. Over 21 percent of them say they do not vote; this rate is surpassed only by 7 of the 13 students who identify their political party as “other.” Independents also have the lowest rate of respondents who say they have been involved in a political march, campaign, or protest. Almost 42 percent say they have not been involved with any of those activities.

“I guess I am a little bit surprised it’s not higher,” Carnes said about the rate of student participation in political activities.

“But having said that, in other environments I’ve been in, I’m willing to guess it’s lower there. To have more than half the student body participate in some way in elections and in campaigns, that’s pretty impressive.”

Survey Methodology From Jan. 28 through Feb. 4, the Voice conducted an online survey of readers’ political ideologies. There were 603 respondents to the survey overall. Three-hundred and three students from the College, 209 students from the SFS, 67 students from the MSB, and 24 students from the NHS responded to the survey. The questions were formulated by the Voice staff.

Each question was categorized either as social or fiscal. Social issues are graphed on a vertical authoritarian to libertarian scale on the T-chart, while fiscal issues fall on the horizontal, left-right scale. Each response (agree,

disagree, strongly agree, strongly disagree) was assigned a value accordingly, a more libertarian answer taking the respondent lower on the vertical axis, and a more fiscally conservative answer taking the respondent to the right-hand side of the horizontal axis, and vice-versa. The response that was represented on the T-graph for each cohort— Green Party, College, and so on—was taken from the answer with the highest percentage of respondents for each question. The graphs regarding specific questions were drawn directly from the percentages derived from the raw data of number of responses.

leisure

10 the georgetown voice

february 7, 2013

Live from Bulldog Alley: It’s a weekend of ImprovFest!

by Alex Golway This weekend, the Georgetown Improv Association presents its 17th-annual ImprovFest, an event that brings improvisational comedy troupes from across the country to Georgetown for two nights of unscripted comedy. In terms of content and style, anything goes, but laughs are guaranteed.

“Improv comedy can literally be anything and everything,” said Emlyn Crenshaw (COL ’15), a member of the Georgetown Improv Association [full disclosure: Crenshaw is Vox Populi’s advice columnist].

Jayant Gandhi (SFS ’13), President of the troupe, agreed.“Improv is everything. It’s living in the moment. It’s a bunch of funny people getting on stage and making fools of themselves for laughs.”

The Georgetown Improv Association has a colorful history.

The troupe has its roots in a group of friends who in 1995 began performing improv comedy for small audiences. They convinced the Department of Performing Arts to fund them as a theater organization, on one condition: the money the Improv Association earned was to be used to fund GU Children’s Theater. Only a few years ago did the Improv Association split from Children’s Theater. Notable Improv alumni include comedian Mike Birbiglia (COL ’00) and John Mulaney (COL ’04), a writer for Saturday Night Live who is currently developing his own sitcom to air on NBC. This year, ImprovFest draws troupes from Ohio State, University of Maryland, and University of Florida and includes performances from a local professional troupe—

which boasts a sizeable number of Georgetown Improv alumni among its ranks.

“The funny thing is,” Gandhi said, “that a lot of people who go through Improv end up sticking with it.” A four-year Improv veteran, Gandhi would like to do the same. “I’d like a TV show,” he laughed, but then grew serious.

“Of my time at Georgetown, the most important thing I’ve done is Improv. I view myself first as an improviser and second as a Georgetown student.”

Danny Graff (SFS ’16), shares this passion for improv and performance: “Practice is fun; the people are fun; it’s a big family, really. We do fun stuff and people love us.”

ImprovFest is an opportunity to both demonstrate the character of the Georgetown Improv Association and bring a larger improv community to campus.

“It’s nice because more than other groups, we have pretty strong connections with students at other schools,” Crenshaw said. “Lots of schools do things differently or have different styles. Groups have personalities.”

According to Gandhi, the small size of the Georgetown troupe contributes to its style of humor: “The thing that makes us special is that we’re a very small group. We’re all also really good friends. Our audience knows we’re close.”

The group practices five hours per week, but other traditions, such as sharing meals at Booey’s and hugging every member of the group backstage before a show (a tradition among many Improv comedy troupes), fosters a unique chemistry that may be harder to come by in troupes from larger schools.

MIleS GaVIN MeNG

“If the snitch is 150 points, why does anyone ever bother with the quaffle?”

Graff appreciates the egalitarian nature of Improv that may be lacking in other performing arts groups and student organizations at Georgetown. “You join Improv because you enjoy making people laugh,” he said. “There is no hierarchy; there are no trials or tribulations. It’s not an exclusive buddy club.”

ImprovFest takes place this Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m. in Bulldog Alley.

“It’s the perfect event,” Crenshaw said. “If you’ve seen us before, you’ll love it as usual. If you’ve never seen us before, you won’t come in with any less knowledge.”

Caution: Anti-Fragile

Georgetown student: congratulations, you are on the right track! On your way to being Mr. Secretary of State, Ms. President, Mr. Non-Profit Manager, (or more likely) Mr. Consultant.

You’re absolutely right—that summer internship you snagged will endear you to the right people to land a slightly aboveentry-level job after graduation, so in 10 years, your salary will be high enough to pay off your law school debt and fund a social life in your off hours.

Provided, of course, ceteris paribus, that no shit happens, no external factors interfere.

And if they do? Your hierarchical career path is fragile in the face of change—at best.

In his manifesto Anti-Fragile: Things that Gain from Disorder, Nassim Nicholas Taleb advocates against ladder-climbing. He sees “anti-fragility”—the ability to benefit from change in any aspect of life—as the path to the best life possible. Taleb argues that if you live your life in an anti-fragile way, you will not only survive, but likely thrive. This take is exciting and even inspiring … if you can get past his precious style, that is.

Taleb is maddeningly pretentious, pompous, and conceited—whining about “Soviet/ Harvard” faux-intellectualism.

He can drop a phrase like, “I can instantly tell if someone is a certain type of banker with minimal clues as I have physical allergies to them, even affecting my breathing,” and is particularly fond of pages-long, nit-picky digressions “not for the nontechnical reader,” while claiming commitment to simplicity.

Taleb seems so eager to prove he doesn’t care for anyone’s opinion he comes off as desperate. It’s hard-to-get, mixed with a superiority complex and with an ego so tender it constantly needs stroking—I bet you’ll literally roll your eyes at least once a chapter.

But you might forgive these absurdities in light of his ideas.

They attack much of our modern lifestyle: eating habits, career choices, education, philosophies.

He flips the accepted on its head to share a more intuitive, “antifragile” vision.

Remember the first time you read Nietzsche? Or at least the first time you SparkNoted him?

Whether in Intro to Ethics (wait, Nietzsche was likely not on that syllabus) or Political and Social Thought, it was probably a first shock in an otherwise tedious freshman lecture. Encountering someone who rejects Chris-

Under the covers

by Emilia Brahm a bi-weekly literary column tian morality, someone so, nonGeorgetown, is a milestone in any contemplative Hoya’s life.

Taleb is Nietzsche’s “new philosopher,” with a twist. He rejects the troubling parts of Nietzsche and adds some humanism. His book is a wake-up call—he wants you, the reader, to live passionately! Stop the daily tedium of the gym (because you have to stay in shape), the perfectly balanced meal (food pyramid, anyone?), and the econ drills you suffer even as a CULP major (a liberal education for all). Taleb wants you to do what you love and what feels right, intuitively and regardless of popular opinion, simple as that.

Taleb’s version of the good life is backed by ancient wisdom, from the Daoists of China and the sages of Greece. He refuses to drink anything that hasn’t been around for at least a thousand years—only wine, water, and coffee. Anything that has not simply outlasted, but improved from modernity, flux and revolution has proven its worth.

So you want to be the next Hillary Clinton (if you don’t suf-

“There’s no better way to spend a Saturday night than to go to a performance and watch people be funny,” Graff said.

“If you like having fun, you should go.”

Gandhi had one word of advice: “Go. Also, we throw fun parties.”

fer a Susan Rice event first)? Well Taleb offers a different, anti-fragile idol. His recurring character Fat Tony is in the minority of New Jerseyians who wouldn’t be caught dead in Georgetown, not to mention majoring in Government or going into finance.

Instead, he earned his fortune betting against the banking industry pre-collapse, and now he has the money to fund his lifestyle of choice—mostly revolving around food.

On another end of the antifragile spectrum, Taleb presents Nero Tulip, an intellectual with the means to isolate himself with his books all day, only leaving to jet set to the exclusive parties and events around the world he finds most worth his time.

Neither Fat Tony nor Nero give a damn about how they are perceived, or have bosses to limit them. They follow their intuitions wherever they may take them— the perfect bad-boy, anti-fragile lifestyle. And aren’t bad boys the most attractive?

Even though some of his ideas are over the top, Taleb’s book is the kind that ought to be read every year to force a reassessment of your most fundamental beliefs.

This is not the counsel you will get from your dean’s office.

Anyway, Taleb is not giving you a prescription to live. He is the anti-prescription, anti-formula —Georgetown has presented to us the ideal stage to fulfill the formula of a politician, academic, diplomat, or (god-forbid) consultant. But what if this formula isn’t as safe or right as it seems?

Even if you don’t agree with all of Taleb’s points (or just can’t stand his attitude), Anti-Fragile is a wake-up call for anyone who might feel obligated to tread the well-beaten path. And if you’re already anti-fragile yourself, it can only benefit you.

Adopt an alternative lifestyle with Emilia at ebrahm@georgetownvoice.com

georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice 11

“I’m a god. I’m not the God, I think.” — Groundhog Day

Side Effects follows prescribed path Reviews, Haiku’d

by John Sapunor

Jude Law could use a little Rogaine, but his acting chops in the new psychological thriller Side Effects make up for this slight but noticeable aesthetic blemish.

The prescription pill takes center stage in this taut film, serving up a frightening scenario that could keep even the drowsiest Prozac user up late at night.

Directed by the recently retired Steven Soderbergh, Side Effects imagines the consequences that follow a psychological medication snafu. Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) is married to a recently released inside trader.

Unable to mentally recover from the aftermath of his arrest, Emily deliberately crashes her car into a parking garage wall. Woken up by the happily-married psychiatrist Dr. Banks (Jude Law), Emily

is abruptly put on a cocktail of psych meds. The drugs do little to alleviate her anxiety, so Dr. Banks prescribes Ablixa, an alluring new drug in the pharmaceutical industry.

After experiencing bouts of sleepwalking, Emily’s husband begins to worry about the continuation of her drug use. One of these sleepwalks has a tragic turn, and Emily and Dr. Banks find themselves in a whirlpool of legal troubles. As the plot thickens, the line between doctor and patient is blurred; the sane and insane become indistinguishable.

There’s not much material here that hasn’t been seen, but the characters’ dips into hysteria keep the pace steady and sustain the plot for the entire length of the film. It’s extraordinarily entertaining to watch Jude Law put on his best crazy face, and Mara

“I knew wearing white after Labor Day was a really bad idea.”

IMDB

was on-target playing the role of an indecipherable mental patient.

Channing Tatum was the only actor who seemed out of place in the ensemble, but that’s probably because he and Mara had lamentable chemistry as husband and wife.

It’s a little disappointing to see a director as accomplished as Soderbergh round off his career with a movie that’s been done so many times before, but like Contagion, his style is apparent enough in Side Effects to overcome the tired script.

The dim cinematography gives the film a palpably threatening atmosphere, mimicking the sort of shots you would expect from a typical David Fincher flick. Cutting out any room for extraneous sidetracks, Side Effects kept its pace tight without sacrificing character development.

One exceptionally weak point of the movie is its ending. Without getting into detail, let’s say it gets a little too M. Night Shyamalanesque with an onslaught of “unforeseeable” twists. But hell, that’s what people pay for when they see psychological thrillers.

See this movie if you liked Shutter Island, if you like Steven Soderbergh or are just plain bored this weekend. If not, you’re not missing anything if you decide to pass on Side Effects. Sure, there are few grievances that can be directed against this movie, but like any cookie-cutter film, its lack of risk reaps few rewards.

Warm Bodies Screwing the undead Is so much more appealing Than blowing them up.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Questions of incest Are a bigger problem than Witches in this film.

A Good Day to Die Hard Bruce Willis returns To say, “yippee-ki-yay” in The Russian language.

Parker Macho heist movie Involving J.Lo getting Jiggy on the floor.

Safe Haven Nicholas Sparks writes Yet another romance set On a Southern beach.

Beautiful Creatures This film is just as Confusing as the appeal Of Twilight movies.

—Alex Golway, Julia Lloyd-George, & Kirill Makarenko

No such thing as substance abuse at the Protein Bar

by Natalie Magioncalda & Madeleine Uelk Having gone to bed way too late to be waking up at 6:45 a.m., we were both pretty groggy as we headed toward the Rosslyn GUTS bus at the start of our early morning journey to Protein Bar’s Penn Quarter location. A quick metro ride to Gallery Place (a trip that most Georgetown students know very well) and a two-block walk brought us to our destination: Protein Bar, a small café nestled at the corner of 7th and D St. that prides itself on creating interesting and fun, high-protein, low-fat dishes.

Having searched Protein Bar online the night before our adventure, we were thrilled to see that it was just as funky and as hip as the internet had portrayed it to be. Upon entering the “bar,”

we were greeted with a warm hello from the young host. Already feeling at home from the friendly greeting, we were taken aback by Protein Bar’s cozy yet alternative interior. Retro-style red chairs and comfy booths were placed throughout the room. On the walls, there were signs with inspirational phrases such as “made better tastes better” and “not all calories are created equally – choose wisely” that made us feel as if we had made the right decision to dine there. We were also impressed by the soothing music. Our breakfast was starting out on the right foot.

Everything on the menu was out of the ordinary, with “Protein Bar-Ritos,” quinoa bowls like “Pepita Spice,” scrambled egg bowls like “Santa Fe Scramble,” and sig-

nature salads. We both opted for oatmeal bowls, consisting of organic oats with a choice of chocolate or vanilla protein, milk, agave nectar, and a delicious topping of fresh fruit.

All the workers were young, energetic, and friendly, and talked up the order you had just made so that by the time your food arrived—which only took about three minutes—you couldn’t wait to try it. The oatmeal was delicious, perfectly warm, and, due to the extra protein they added, very filling. A perfect start to a freezing day packed with classes that leaves time only for a quick Grab’n Go lunch.

We also both ordered a smoothie from the drinks menu, from which every drink sounded delectable. “The Red Line” was a smoothie of vanilla pro-

tein, milk, strawberries, and bananas, and for having 16 grams of protein for 158 calories, it’s easy to drink without feeling guilty for the rest of the day.

You also have the option to add a “Booster” (such as fat-burner, flu-fighter, and hangover cures) to any drink.

While some of the menu options might scare some of the less adventurous eaters away (marinated tofu? vegan buffalo sauce?), if you are up for trying something new and delicious and getting a healthy and satisfying meal in the process, Protein Bar is definitely worth the trip.

Natalie Magioncalda

“You’ve got your freshmen, ROTC guys, preps, JV jocks, Asian nerds...”

leisure

12 the georgetown voice

february 7, 2013

C r i t i c a l V o i ces

Frightened Rabbit, Pedestrian Verse, Atlantic Records Pedestrian Verse marks the fourth major studio release for Scottish quintet Frightened Rabbit, and proves to be their most carefully contrived album to date, delivering what devotees have come to expect: darkly poetic songwriting that manages to be both blunt and nuanced. Frontman Scott Hutchison draws once more from his seemingly bottomless well of woe to craft intricate lyrics that convey great emotion without coming across as self-indulgent.

Inhabiting a middle ground between the swelling ballads found in previous albums The Winter of Mixed Drinks and The Midnight Organ Fight, the LP is the product of a band that has found its identity. The

beautiful, ethereal backing vocals and howling choruses are still there; however, there is decidedly more experimentation this time around.

Deviating from the tried and true formula of past releases, Pedestrian Verse incorporates more complex and variable rhythm, as well as marking the band’s first sojourn into the minor key.

The opening track, “Acts of a Man,” builds slowly from a soft piano melody, gradually incorporating neat guitar riffs and resounding percussion that settles like a gray fog.

Clever use of synthesizer rounds out the track without tainting the acoustic flavor. “Late March Death, March” is an upbeat, strummy number which fits right in with the band’s previous work.

Pedestrian Verse’s real highlights come in the second half of the album, however. “State Hospital” takes the form of a beautifully crafted character study, building slowly toward a thunderous, emotional finish that may contain the only thread of hopefulness in the entire album.

In “Nitrous Gas,” an achingly sad guitar melody blends with Hutchison’s mournful crooning to form the most heartbreaking—and arguably the best—track in an album full of heartbreakers. This album

Cinephiles return to the Oscars

The 2012 Academy Awards sucked. Despite Billy Crystal’s resurrection as host, the nominees (Midnight in Paris, Hugo, The Artist) didn’t possess the characteristic gravitas or ambition you’d expect from the candidates for Hollywood’s highest honors. But the tide has turned, and 2013’s high-caliber Oscar nominees are set to engage in the most nerve-racking Academy Awards show in recent memory.

To get an idea of the past year’s resurgence in quality films, let’s compare this year’s Oscar nominees to the 2012 winners. The Artist, in a campaign season fluke, managed to snag the awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay (an impressive feat for a movie consisting of 30 lines of dialogue). Countering 2012’s weak nominees, 2013 brought legions of talent to the big screen—too much talent for the Academy to handle. Of the nine current Best Picture nominees, it’s hard to imagine the best five of the

bunch losing to The Artist. In fact, if The Artist’s release date were delayed a year, there’s a good chance it would leave the 2013 awards show empty handed.

This year’s pool of candidates is marked by its variety, novelty, and well, just about everything that makes cinema worth watching. Take The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson’s most cryptic film to date: this film’s cast alone (including the back-from-the-grave Joaquin Phoenix) packs more punches than last year’s collection of nominated performances. To exemplify this year’s nominees’ range, compare the feel-good dramedy Silver Linings Playbook to the somberly historic Lincoln. These two disparate movies have garnered nearly equal amounts of critical praise, highlighting the dynamic quality of 2012’s releases.

With competition this close, predicting the winners would be a futile effort. That said, what good would an article about the

concludes with “Oil Slick,” a jaunty, yet bitter, tune characterized by sweeping guitar riffs and the very best of Hutchison’s self-deprecating lyrics. Pedestrian Verse illustrates that Frightened Rabbit knows what it’s about: making lovely, gloomy, cutting music. Whether you’re miserable or not, Pedestrian Verse makes great company.

Voice’s Choices: “Nitrous Gas,” “Oil Slick” —Bill Klein

My Bloody Valentine, m b v, Independent Hope—though mostly false— and occasional outbursts of fury have accompanied Dublin alt rock outfit My Bloody Valentine on a 12-year journey to a third studio Academy Awards be without a contentious prophecy of the night’s victors? The pre-Oscar awards shows such as the Golden Globes hint at a good night for Argo (with the exception of directing, for which Ben Affleck was notably snubbed a nomination).

If the Academy voters shun this award season favorite, there’s a good chance they’ll turn to Silver Linings Playbook or Lincoln for

Reel talk

by John Sapunor a bi-weekly column about film Best Picture. While The Master received near unanimous praise from critics, its inchoate plot arc and disconcerting characters may not agree with the Academy’s current predilection for “charming” films like The Artist and The King’s Speech.

The Oscar for Best Actor is Daniel Day Lewis’s to lose, and if there is a god, Jennifer Lawrence will win Best Actress, but the com-

album. In spite of over a decade of production, the quality of the LP was never in question; MBV delivers a hauntingly fascinating album that occasionally breaks off into seemingly absurd yet exhilarating stylistic development.

Even the album’s production reflects its age, as MBV used no digital equipment to mix the tracks. The analog process can be heard on a number of the songs, providing a particularly crisp transition between instrumental sections that removes unnecessary polish from the wall of sound present on much of the album.

“Nothing Is” provides a particularly clear example. The crunchy drums and guitars unexpectedly cut out in the final seconds to a simple, fading snare rhythm. In fact, this transition is the only distinctive feature of “Nothing Is,” since the remainder consists of a looping two seconds of rhythm. Contrary to the implications of drawing out one bar for 3:34, the track does not become an incessant sore. Minute alterations of the volume levels, whether by mere perception or design, inject variety and excitement into the would-be disorienting headache. petition for the best supporting actor categories has set the stage for a nail-biting night. The race for Best Supporting Actor is between Tommy Lee Jones and Christoph Waltz (although one should never underestimate Philip Seymour Hoffman), and in the Best Supporting Actress category, Sally Field and Anne Hathaway have garnered equal amounts of praise.

Finally, considering the exclusion of Ben Affleck, the Oscar for Best Director is up in the air. For themore prudent gamblers, betting on David O. Russell for his superb job on Silver Linings would be a wise choice. For the high rollers out there, Amour’s veteran director Michael Haneke could be a plausible choice for this accolade.

It’s hard to think of an Oscars night with more qualified nominees. The evening should be all the more enjoyable because it’s so difficult to root against any of these artists, as opposed to say, the 2010 Oscars where Avatar was at risk of winning Best Picture. The only way the Academy could re-

Indeed, the entire LP is filled with songs that simply should not work musically. The grainy guitar solo on “Only Tomorrow” should clash with the obscene distortion of the percussion and rhythm guitar, but the effect is pleasantly jarring.

Regular out-of-tune bends on “Who Sees You” should create nauseous dissonance with the ethereal vocals in the same frequency range, but the dizzying unevenness merely directs attention toward the prominently featured lyrics and soaring leisurely guitar solos.

Such functional contradictions permeate m b v, an album best described as confusingly brilliant. The LP cannot be considered this favorable simply because My Bloody Valentine created it; instead, m b v radiates excellence since only MBV could have brought such a creation into the world. Any other band, constrained by the concept of deadlines and conventional behavior, would have gotten it wrong.

Voice’s Choices: “Nothing Is,” “Wonder 2” —Kirill Makarenko ally drop the ball is by rewarding the insufferably depressing Amour in any of the major categories, but even then, it’s a hard film to criticize. It’s just so fucking sad that I pity anyone compelled to watch it.

Seriously, it makes Sophie’s Choice look like The Birdcage.

It’s been a good year for movies. No Transformers sequels came out, Sandra Bullock hasn’t been nominated for an Academy Award, and some of the era’s best filmmakers released new material.

On top of all that, James Franco and Anne Hathaway were not asked to return as the hosts of the Academy Awards and, for posterity’s sake, Billy Crystal has been safely returned to the cryogenic freezer Rob Reiner stores in his basement. Let’s keep it up, Hollywood. It would save cinephiles a lot of money spent on repairing post-Oscar night shattered television screens and hours spent bitching on IMDB forums.

Show John your little golden man at jsapunor@georgetownvoice.com

voices

14 the georgetown voice

february 7, 2013

Lacking in documents, not lacking in American pride

by Kimberly Maima On Monday, Jan. 28 a bipartisan group of senators held a press conference to reveal their plan for comprehensive immigration reform.

The key points of their five page plan include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S., increased border security, and an employment verification system. The lack of public outcry from both sides of the aisle regarding the controversial bill was not surprising, as both parties have a lot at stake politically. Immigration reform will arguably determine which political party dominates elections for many years to come.

However, how they will sell this plan (and particularly the pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people) to their constituents is less clear. Why should Americans sympathize with people who have made a choice to evade the law?

And if they do sympathize, would Americans come to believe that undocumented immigrants deserve a pathway to citizenship?

My answer to these questions may seem obvious; I am an undocumented immigrant and have been since I arrived in this country nearly

18 years ago. In spite of or perhaps because of my own story, my feelings about whether my family and families like mine across this country deserve a pathway to citizenship have always been complicated.

From an early age I understood how incredibly blessed I was to call this country my home. I remember how proud I was to sing the national anthem and how with great passion, I tearfully dedicated my first speech for my high school debate team to my parents’ immigration story. Even as a child, I deeply questioned what it meant to be an American and I knew that it was a privilege that I could not take for granted.

It was not until the summer before my senior year, that I learned that I was undocumented. It is difficult to recall my exact emotions at that time but I do remember feeling a sense of relief. I finally understood why my parents had struggled so much for most of my life.

However, when I returned to high school in the fall my sense of relief turned into confusion and frustration. I became reclusive, losing touch with many of my closest friends, as I grew to resent my classmates who took their American citizenship, and the rights it endowed them, for

granted. Worst of all, I felt completely alone because I could not explain my pain to anyone without revealing my immigration status. Out of this frustration, I decided to never become a victim of my circumstances and to pursue my education.

My family and I drove 22 hours from Texas to Georgetown to drop me off for my freshmen year. I will never forget when they left me on campus because it was the first moment that being undocumented became a reality to me. I had no idea when I would ever see my family again because at that time, I did not know if I could attempt to fly home by plane without the risk of deportation.

Despite being indefinitely separated from my family, I began my time at Georgetown determined to make the most of this experience. I hustled to find work around campus, only to be told that I lacked the proper paperwork. I shared my story with well-meaning professors and staff members hoping that they might be able to help. While some of them would break into tears as I told my story, others explained that sadly, they did not know how to help me.

I experienced many of the ironies of being undocumented at a prestigious university. I participated in a class debate in which I was required to argue against the DREAM Act (legislation that would put youth like myself on a path to citizenship). The irony of having my photo appear on the FAFSA website made me chuckle to myself, because as an undocumented student, I do not qualify for even a penny of federal money.

As I entered my second year at Georgetown, my personal and family life became increasingly difficult. My parents decided to sell my childhood home so I could remain at Georgetown and my maternal grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but due to our immigration status, my parents couldn’t return to Kenya to see him. Through all of this, I kept my faith in the promises of this country.

But my faith has waned at times.

I have often asked myself why my parents stayed in this country for so long, especially considering that they knew that our circumstances were not likely to change.

Over time I have come to believe in the power of my story. Like my parents, I hope and believe that one day the American people will

listen to the story of undocumented people who work tirelessly for the sake of their children and this country, and not judge them solely on one difficult choice. One day the American people will listen to the story of parents who, despite living in the shadows, raised their children to love and respect this nation. And maybe the American people will feel that indescribable feeling that I feel when someone asks me why I believe that America is my home.

The American people will listen to our story and feel how I felt when I stood for hours in the freezing cold to witness the inauguration of a president that I could not vote for. Maybe the American people will feel how I feel when I hear the “Star Spangled Banner” or watch fireworks explode above me on the 4th of July. And maybe, just maybe, they will decide that we deserve to be a part of this country because our story, as complex as it may seem, is American.

Kimberly Maima is a sophomore in the SFS. She likes her apple pie with a side of ugali, and her favorite American historical figure is Honey Boo Boo.

“Defenders of the Faith” betray Islamic history in Timbuktu

by Stephen Taft Around 10 days ago, jihadists of Ansar Dine “Defenders of the Faith” fled from a remote yet remarkable city in West Africa, leaving a smoldering and spiteful legacy in their wake. The city is Timbuktu, ancient Islamic center known to many in the West only as a byword for utter remoteness. Yet before the eyes of a modern world where “as far as Timbuktu” is not far at all, the retreating fighters of Ansar Dine committed a disgraceful crime against the heritage of the religion which they claim to embody.

Timbuktu is a treasure trove of at least 60,000 antique documents from across the centuries of West African and Islamic civilization—a panoply of irreplaceable theological writings, medicinal treatises, family records,

and countless other memories of bygone ages. Angered by their military setbacks, the Wahhabist “Defenders of the Faith” reportedly burned thousands of these historical documents.

Fortunately the vast majority of Timbuktu’s records have been preserved thanks to the courageous acts of private citizens who lived through the recent Islamist occupation. Nonetheless, the fighters of Ansar Dine have done a deep and short-sighted disservice to Islam, matched only by the tyrannical Shariah rule that they imposed on the people of Mali for 10 months. By violating the memory of ancient Islam, Ansar Dine have shown that they understand little of what Islam truly has accomplished for human civilization and the lives of its believers.

Ansar Dine is a conglomeration of radical Islamist fighters, drawing

MIKE PACHECO

Hell hath no fury like a Malian national soccer team scorned by jihadists.

its strength from Tuareg fighters in the remote deserts of the southern Sahara. Bolstered by the remnants of Muammar Qaddafi’s army in the north, this radical horde descended on northern Mali back in April last year and drove the Malian state almost to its knees. Only French and African Union intervention in the last few weeks have pushed Ansar Dine to abandon Timbuktu and many other conquered strongholds.

Ansar Dine espouses Wahhabism, a hard-liner, puritanical, and bellicose interpretation of Islam which lay behind much of Al-Qaeda’s beliefs. This has led Ansar Dine to destroy hundreds of Sufi (Islamic mystic) shrines and mausoleums in the Timbuktu area, regarding any such personalized and unorthodox approach to Islam as idolatry or haram (sacramentally “unclean”).

Although many of the locals believe the manuscripts were destroyed by the retreating fighters out of spite, there is good reason to believe that Ansar Dine regarded much of Timbuktu’s written heritage in the same light as the Sufi shrines.

Timbuktu’s records are drawn, not only from the history of the city, but also from the caravan routes of the Sahara during the height of the Islamic world. At its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, Timbuktu became a repository of the fast-receding memory of medieval Islam. Theological, philosophical, and scientific

works reside in Timbuktu from the Abbasid and Andalusian caliphates, golden ages of Islam which embraced far more diverse and pluralistic outlooks than Ansar Dine.

These Wahhabi radicals have turned away from the rich legacy of the Abbasid philosophers and Andalusian scientists. Wahhabism disdains philosophical attempts to understand or rationalize Islamic teachings, insisting that the Qu’ran and the Hadith simply are what they are—end of story. Wahhabism advocates returning to a supposedly purer and simpler form of Islam—before philosophers and theologians such as those preserved in Timbuktu intruded.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the fighters of Ansar Dine did not value the Islamic heritage that they found in Timbuktu and were quite ready to burn it on a bonfire.

Consciously or unconsciously, these jihadists rejected the notion that their religion can coexist with free enquiry or the ordinary pursuits of civilization. Both philistine notions do a thoughtless injustice to Islam and to religion itself.

By destroying their priceless works, the fundamentalist fighters of Ansar Dine spat on the earnest lives and ingenuity of countless Muslims throughout history, Muslims whose piety these radicals have no business questioning. The scholars of ancient and medieval

Islam simply tried to understand timeless questions such as free will and the nature of God, questions which the thinkers of any religion owe it to their followers and consciences to contemplate.

The radicals of Ansar Dine need to realize that Muslims inhabit a complicated and diverse world that does not look to be facing final judgment any time soon. The ingenuity and scholarship of medieval Islam are more relevant than ever.

As for ordinary citizens of Timbuktu who are now lost to history, the militants of Ansar Dine have been terribly detrimental. The teachings of Islam are most potently played out in the lives and simple acts of kindness of ordinary people, not martial acts of violence and gloryseeking. The so-called “Defenders of the Faith” forgot this when they hubristically left the marriage contracts, poems, and prayers of these ordinary folks smoldering on a funeral pyre in Timbuktu. Our prayers and praises can only go to the courageous librarians who smuggled countless manuscripts to safety, as well as the citizens of Timbuktu who endured months of repressive rule.

Stephen Taft is a senior in the College. He sees himself as a modernday Guy Montag, except for when it comes to The Hoya.

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georgetownvoice.com

the georgetown voice

15

Part-time professors deserve their full-time rights

by Syndey Browning Our education shapes us.

What we learn and how we learn determines who we are and how we think. And while books, newspapers, and the internet are important sources of learning, some of our most powerful academic influences are our professors. They cultivate our creativity and inspire us to think for ourselves. When we take a class at Georgetown, we don’t determine the value of the education we are receiving based off of whether our professors are parttime or tenured, but by what we learn and how well we learn it.

Good professors aren’t determined by their status within

the University. Good professors are those who are able to challenge us and make us think. My favorite professors have been people that have taught classes where, at the end, I am a better person and a better student.

Some of my professors have taught me how we have a responsibility to respect and value the dignity of labor. But we often don’t think about how our professors are workers too. In addition to actually spending time with us in lectures, they spend countless hours preparing for classes, holding office hours, and grading papers and other assignments. They have families at home whom they have to support and provide

CHRISTIE GEANEY

In all seriousness, adjunct professors are people too. Just like the Jedis.

A frank portrait of anorexia

Those in the medical community will tell you that anorexia nervosa is characterized by depression, a negative self-image, and appearing underweight. I can tell you that there is a paralyzing fear of gaining weight, where you restrict yourself to only 500 calories a day, counting every single one. I can tell you that you won’t let too much water pass your lips because you are so terrified that it would make you bloated and look fat. Depression?

That can’t even begin to describe the horrible, crushing loneliness of crying yourself to sleep every night.

When I was in high school, I was anorexic.

I used to hate myself. I hated how I looked, I hated how I had no self-esteem and that I felt out of place. I felt like I didn’t belong, because I wasn’t pretty enough to belong. Today, now, I am happy. I love myself, I love my body, and the only things that can get me down are midterms. But it wasn’t always so, and I still feel the impacts from my past disease.

Starving myself wrecked my body. I was weak and perpetually dizzy. I can’t even remember how many times I almost fainted just walking up a flight of stairs.

I didn’t have my period for half a year, which my gynecologist says might mean it’ll be harder for me to have kids. That was the extent of my symptoms, but oth-

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for and often have large student debt loads from their years of study in order to earn PhDs and other advanced degrees. But much like grade school teachers, many University professors are greatly underappreciated.

Somehow, as a society, we stress the value of education but cannot appropriately value the labor that provides education.

In the 1970s, part-time faculty made up about a fifth of all faculty at American colleges and universities. Currently, it’s about half and is still increasing. Parttime faculty earn just a fraction of what full-time faculty members make per class taught. They must cobble together schedules at multiple colleges in order to scrape together enough money to support themselves and their families, often causing their academic work to suffer. At most colleges and universities, part-time faculty have no decision-making power in their departments, are not given office space, and at some schools, they do not even have access to copy machines.

Worst of all, because of their lack of job security, half of adjunct professors nationwide do not know if they will be teaching the next semester and cannot count on any steady academic work.

The situation at Georgetown is not much different. Part-time

ers who have had eating disorders can have permanent organ damage, crippling psychological impacts linked to depression, and, in some cases, die.

You see, those aren’t things that you’re thinking about when all you’re trying to do is be thinner. You don’t think about the physical effects, the psycho-

Carrying On

by Claire McDaniel

A rotating column by Voice senior staffers

logical scars. I, and others like me, never thought about those possibilities, because it never seemed weird that it was happening. I thought it was normal to be so sad, to hate myself and my body because I didn’t think I was attractive. It’s not. It is not normal, and it is not alright.

There is this ethos that women should look a certain way, a certain skinny way.

Some will scoff that there’s any outside pressure to be thin, but those who scoff aren’t young women. Whether it’s the horri-

professors make up 48 percent of the faculty here. This means that 48 percent of professors at Georgetown do not know if they will teach another class in a few months. 48 percent of professors do not have access to space in which to hold office hours, and many of these professors work at multiple universities in order to pay back student debt and support their families. The income discrepancies between adjunct and tenured professors mean that these part-time faculty don’t have as much time to devote to their students as they would like.

A typical class of 25 students produces $100,000 of revenue for the school and only a very small percentage of that goes toward a part-time professor’s salary.

Here at Georgetown, many of our part-time professors are currently organizing in order to form a union and improve their collective standing at the University. Following in the footsteps of part-time professors at George Washington University, American University, and Montgomery College, these professors hope to raise their salaries and gain more respect on campus. Many feel like they are not appreciated as full members of the University community and feel that unionization is the best way to address their grievances.

bly destructive ‘thinspirational’ Tumblrs, the pages of magazines, or the legions of students trekking up to Yates, there is pressure even here at Georgetown to not just be fit, but thin.

Don’t get me wrong, being healthy and working out is fine, really good even. But working out for hours and burning thousands of calories, only to go home and binge is bad. Pretending to eat by pushing around a Sweetgreen salad and then saying you’re full is not okay. We are surrounded by a paradigm that we must conform to a conception of being beautiful that hinges upon the need to be thin, and as a society we created that paradigm.

Simply placing the blame for this ethos on magazines that have stick-thin models, or some glorification of Hollywood, is naïve and incomplete. I refuse to believe that the debilitating anxiety to be thinner is dictated

by Anna Wintour deciding to put a size double zero model on the cover of Vogue. They probably don’t help, but it’s so much more than that. Something has to change, and soon, because we can’t keep strolling along

Students are beneficiaries of these professors’ work and need to stand in solidarity with them.

We need to support all professors’ rights to join together in standing up for better salaries and more job security. Georgetown faculty care about their students and now it’s time for us to reciprocate the action and support them as well. Some of my best classes have been taught by adjunct faculty, and if being a parttime teacher doesn’t determine whether they are good teachers are or not, then why should it determine their paycheck?

Georgetown is a Jesuit institution dedicated to social justice. A university dedicated to the Catholic principles of the dignity of labor should support the unionization of adjunct faculty. We have an opportunity to make our University a leader in higher education and make sure all professors feel respected on campus. So now, I’m calling on Georgetown students to support their professors in the same way that they support us in the classroom.

Sydney Browning is a sophomore in the College. Even she has a space in which to hold office hours: the womb room.

ignoring that there is a significant portion of society, even at Georgetown, that needs help.

It’s up to us as a society to change. It’s up to us to make sure that every single person who is walking around this campus is aware that they are wonderful and beautiful just how they are. It’s up to us to make sure that our fellow Hoyas understand that having a destructive relationship with eating, or working out, or their bodies are bad. It’s up to us to talk about eating disorders.

I might be happy now, but underneath my newfound confidence, there are still the remnants of a broken teenage girl crying out for attention.

Look into the eyes of your fellow students and tell me you don’t see it reflected in some of them, too. Georgetown is not immune to the pervasive, destructive influence of the need to be thinner, always to be thinner. That’s wrong, and it’s about time it stopped. It’s about time we stopped creating this pressure to be thin.

And it’s about damn time we talked about eating disorders.

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