The Georgetown Voice, 9/22/23

GEORGETOWN MUST REBUILD EQUITABLE ADMISSIONS AT EVERY STAGE

By the Editorial Board

COME ONE, COME ALL TO THE “GIRL DINNER” TABLE

By Barrett Ahn

NEW-LOOK GEORGETOWN FOOTBALL LOOKS TO BUILD A WINNING CULTURE

By Andrew Swank and Ben Jakabcsin

Editor-In-Chief Nora Scully

Managing Editor Graham Krewinghaus

internal resources

Executive Editor for Resources, Diversity, and

Assistant Editor for Resources,

Editor for Sexual Violence

Advocacy and Coverage

Ajani Jones

Lukas Soloman

Katherine Hawes

Service Chair Lizzie Short

Social Chair Archivist Margaret Hartigan, Francesca Theofilou

Lou Jacquin

news

Executive Editor Margaret Hartigan

Features Editor Amber Xie

Georgetown must rebuild equitable admissions at every stage EDITORIAL BOARD

editorials 11

halftime leisure “Winner” by Conan Gray is a devastating deep dive into familial abandonment

SAGUN SHRESTHA

News Editor Alex Deramo

Assistant News Editors Angelena Bougiamas, Eddy BinfordRoss, Ninabella Arlis

opinion

Executive Editor Lou Jacquin

Voices Editor Barrett Ahn

Assistant Voices Editors Aminah Malik, Lukas Soloman, Olivia Pozen

Editorial Board Chair Andrea Ho

Editorial Board Jupiter Huang, Connor Martin, Dane Tedder

leisure

Executive Editor Maya Kominsky

Leisure Editor Isabel Shepherd

Assistant Editors Hailey Wharram, Eileen Chen, Rhea Banerjee

Halftime Editor Zach Warren

Assistant Halftime Editors Nikki Farnham, Sagun Shrestha, Caroline Samoluk

sports

Executive Editor Lucie Peyrebrune

Sports Editor Jo Stephens

Assistant Editors Langston Lee, Thomas Fishbeck, Ben Jakabcsin

Halftime Editor Henry Skarecky

Assistant Halftime Editors Bradshaw Cate, Sam Lynch, Andrew Swank

design

Executive Editor Cecilia Cassidy

Design Editor Sabrina Shaffer

Spread Editors Olivia Li, Dane Tedder

Cover Editor Tina Solki

Assistant Design Editors Grace Nuri, Madeleine Ott, Elin Choe

copy

Copy Chiefs Donovan Barnes, Maanasi Chintamani

Assistant Copy Editors Cole Kindiger, Lizzie Short, Eileen Miller

multimedia

Podcast Executive Producer Jillian Seitz

Podcast Editor Romy Abu-Fadel

Assistant Podcast Editor Lucy Collins

online

Online Executive Website Editor

Assistant Website Editor

Pierson Cohen Tyler Salensky MJ Morales

Social Media Editor Kristy Li

business

General Manager Rovi Yu

Assistant Manager of Alumni and Outreach Sheryn Livingstone

support

Contributing Editors Staff Contributors Adora Adeyemi, Francesca Theofilou Meriam Ahmad, Elyza Bruce, Romita Chattaraj, Leon Cheung, Yihan Deng, Julia Kelly, Ashley Kulberg, Amelia Myre, Nicholas Romero, Carlos Rueda, Ryan Samway, Michelle Serban, Isabelle Stratta, Kami Steffenauer, Amelia Wanamaker, Fallon Wolfley, Brandon Wu, Nadine Zakheim

“bean on my grind” TINA SOLKI

"But Twisted Pine is still playing. They still agreed to perform a free show to a room full of strangers, in a much smaller, colder room than they’d expected, because they love what their music can do."

PG.

4

graphic by andrea ho; layout by sabrina shaffer

Page 3

→ GRAHAM'S CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1. They may be targeted

4. Cry over spilled milk?

7. Part of the machine

10. LAX regulator

13. Lament

14. Eggs, to a scientist

15. Shade

16. https://www.georgetownvoice. com, for one

17. Song butchered following "Am I a Nicki fan?"

19. As a horde

21. ___ the line

22. Cul-de-___

23. Short self-descriptions

24. Creator of 34-Across

28. Cariou of "Sweeney Todd"

29. "Ben-___": early epic film

30. Ages and ages

31. Cleaned one's plate

32. Spanish surrealist Joan

33. EMT skill

34. Comic strip that began, "Tigers will do anything for a tuna fish sandwich!"

→ TUNE IN TO PODCASTS

40. Protestant denom. of Rosa Parks and James Clyburn.

41. Jordan or LeBron, as often debated

42. Cartridge contents

43. ___-fi

44. Mine, in Milan

45. Fieri or Ritchie

46. Intergalactic alter ego in 34-Across

51. Macbeth, for one

52. Tottenham and South Korea star Heung-min

53. Much ___ About Nothing

54. They often end in "or else"

56. Preceder for deprivation or overload

60. Ram's mate

61. Observe

62. Affirmative, to a pirate

63. ___ time: when to golf

64. They can be faux, or de deux

65. "For ___ a jolly good fellow"

66. Hair goop

67. Place to be pampered

An eclectic collection of jokes, puns, doodles, playlists, and news clips from the collective mind of the Voice staff.

If you want to hear more about writer Cole’s experience at the Twisted Pine concert, make sure to tune into this week’s Post Pitch podcast!

DOWN

1. Steep price, with "a leg"

2. Security authentication app

3. Guard in the watchtower

4. Holiday Inn, per Pitbull or the Sugarhill Gang

5. Night before

6. All's fair in love and ___

7. Hoodwink, or bamboozle

8. Wee bit

9. Precious stone

10. Fission's opposite

11. Burning desire?

12. Pub pints

→ A SPECIAL MESSAGE...

18. Sun in space lingo, or Spanish

20. Soak it all in

22. Folklore's John Henry, or Hercules, for two

24. Software test version

25. Moan and groan

26. Mystical glow

27. Transplant

28. Fond du ___, Wisc.

32. Act like another

33. Bedlam

35. Get outta there

36. Cartoon Isabella's "Whatcha ___?"

37. Sasquatch and yeti, e.g.

38. Sufficient, informally

39. Chicago basketball team

43. Future fungi

46. Unstressed vowel sound

47. Cosmetician Lauder

48. Red Sea parter

49. Array of experts

50. They may be checked at the door

51. Big first for a baby

55. Volcanic spew

56. Droop

57. Requisite for 61-Across

58. Gym iteration

59. Affirmative, to a Senator

→ PIA'S SPECTACULAR REUBEN

crossword by graham krewinghaus; "happy six" by sabrina shaffer; "autumn rat" by olivia li; "pia's spectacular reuben" by pia cruz

→ GOSSIP RAT

Twisted Pine branches beyond its

he concert hall was freezing. It was Sept. 10, the second show of the free American Roots Concert Series at Eastern Market’s Hill Center. The concert, originally scheduled for the center’s gorgeous outdoor pavilion, was moved indoors because of rain. Instruments, sound equipment, and foldable chairs were hastily carried into a much smaller space. In a futile attempt to battle the moisture, the air conditioning blasted. It wasn’t the place for a bluegrass concert.

Then the band started playing. Within 10 seconds, a little girl—no more than six, sporting overalls and an unruly mop of brown hair—walked to the front of the room, head held high, and began to dance.

Her father jumped up, trying to coax her back into her seat. She gestured at the crowd, confusion on her face. Her unspoken question was clear: why isn’t anyone dancing? The adults, chuckling but encouraged, began to sway in their seats. They didn’t stop for the rest of the show.

Twisted Pine prides itself on its ability to turn crowds into communities. The band— composed of fiddler and lead vocalist Kathleen Parks, mandolinist Dan Bui, bassist Chris Sartori, and Anh Phung on flute—knows that kinship lies at the heart of their music.

As for what kind of music that is, the jury’s still out. On Bui’s battered mandolin case, a sticker reads “FOLK” in bold letters, giving one answer. But that isn’t quite right.

Twisted Pine seems equal parts folk, pop, jazz, and funk. One of the first songs in their set, “Papaya,” feels nothing like a traditional bluegrass tune. The bassline’s heavy, the rhythm’s groovy. While performing it, the whole band couldn’t help but rock in sync.

Their eclecticism is largely due to the band’s refusal to impose limits on their music. “We don't think about what [genre] it is when we’re recording or writing,” Sartori said, chuckling, in an interview with the Voice. “We just start with an openness and that informs where things go.”

Often, they go places most bluegrass bands would never think to go. Halfway into their set, the quartet performed the Rolling Stones’s “Dead Flowers,” complete with percussive mandolin bursts, a gravelly bass riff, and Sartori’s affected Southern accent. In a brilliant stylistic move,

TParks stuttered her vocals in the tradition of icons like Talking Heads’s David Byrne and the Who’s Roger Daltrey. With a fiddle, a mandolin, an upright bass, and a flute, Twisted Pine tapped into pure rock ’n’ roll.

They performed other covers, too. Some, like a jamming rendering of Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved,” continued to display their virtuosic talent for genre-bending. But their renditions of bluegrass classics, like Bill Monroe’s “The One I Love Is Gone”—first performed by trailblazers Hazel Dickens and Alice Foster—did something more profound.

At the most basic level, Twisted Pine said they simply love the bluegrass canon and want to share it with the world. “The people have to know!” Sartori said.

But that’s not to say they perform these songs by rote; they always add their own flare. Halfway through “The One I Love Is Gone,” its smooth and syrupy tempo ratchets up, each instrument hurtling full force into an epic finale that brings down the house.

That’s another thing about Twisted Pine: they couldn’t perform a single song without inspiring listeners to erupt in applause halfway through. Even to avid fans, every verse—every riff—feels fresh. There’s a sense, throughout their performance, that the band thrives in the unexpected.

Twisted Pine’s song “Right Now” epitomizes that instinct. "That song has had, since we recorded, the most dramatic shift—in how we play it, how we sing it,” Parks said.

Originally recorded as an airy three-minute pop ballad, when performed live, “Right Now” became something altogether new. It more than doubled in length, largely from a show-stopping bass solo, Sartori’s best performance of the night. The mandolin, fiddle, and flute roughen up, giving the song a harsher texture underneath Park’s ethereal vocals.

The moment the bass jumps into its solo, Sartori—who normally holds a focused frown while playing—broke out into an ear-to-ear grin. His eyes shifted around to his bandmates, each jamming out in their own right. In that moment, it became clear why they’d devoted their lives to music.

After the show, a staff member called out: “Make sure to buy merch! It's what pays for these shows." The audience cheered in approval, but most didn’t make their way over to the table.

When asked what they’d been losing sleep over, the band members collectively sighed.

"I always sort of joke that the only constant in our economy is how much musicians are getting paid,” Sartori said, a self-deprecating smile on his face. Phung added, "My rent is so much more than what it was 10 years ago. But I'm getting paid exactly the same.”

Twisted Pine, like many other up-andcoming bands, occupies a tenuous position: it’sthey’re releasing music at a time when streaming services pay them pennies for millions of clicks. The model privileges the already-famous, and makes it difficult for young artists to stay afloat. Add “the rising cost of doing anything right now,” Sartori points out, and the picture becomes even worse.

But Twisted Pine is still playing. The band members still agreed to perform a free show to a room full of strangers, in a much smaller, colder room than they’d expected because they love what their music can do.

"Sometimes I think about the point of pursuing music as a career,” Bui said. “Like, what are you contributing to the world compared to a nurse or a social worker?” He paused, and the corners of his mouth tipped up in an earnest smile. “Music gives communities a reason to come together and gather."

A room full of applause for a four-part harmony.

A Case for the Classics: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

BY ELSPETH CAMPBELL

“1, 2, Freddy’s coming for you…”

Released in 1984, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street left a permanent mark on the horror genre and popular culture. It spawned countless slasher tropes, seven total sequels and reboots, and an invasively catchy nursery rhyme parody that countless children recite before knowing its origin. Most notably, it introduced the iconic figure of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), and normalized the violent reprobation of teenage delinquency that would become a mainstay in the genre for the next several decades.

Because Nightmare was so influential on its successors, it can feel cliché in retrospect; modern audiences will recognize many of its tropes regardless of whether or not they have seen the source material. The film’s mainstream success enabled Craven to widely share his observations on American culture, influencing countless genre movies from Craven’s self-parody Scream (1996) to David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows (2014). This cultural legacy is ultimately more than enough to cement Nightmare as a classic.

“3, 4, better lock your door…”

Nightmare’s tone oscillates from suspenseful to comedic to horrific as Craven carefully imbues each scene with emotional affect. The film opens on a shot of Krueger assembling his infamous razor glove in a gritty industrial setting, with close-ups used to cultivate a feeling of claustrophobia. Despite the revelation that this sequence was simply a dream of Tina’s (Amanda Wyss), jagged cuts have manifested on her nightgown in real life. Nightmare frequently blurs the line between dream and reality, instilling a sense of constant paranoia as the audience questions what is real or imagined.

Because Nightmare is a slasher, it, of course, has kills; and, since it follows in the tradition of predecessors like Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), all of the kills have morals. Despite learning that the rest of her friends also had nightmares about the gloved murderer, Tina quells her fear and decides to sleep with Rod (Nick Corri), solidifying her place as the first victim of Krueger’s violent didacticism. In Tina’s next dream, Krueger compares his glove to the “hand of God,” capable of executing judgment unrestrained by human laws. He kills Tina in her dream, while in real life, an invisible force rakes wounds across her chest. Rod—now the primary suspect in Tina’s murder—is next to go, leaving Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) and Glen (Johnny Depp) in hysterics over their friends’ gruesome deaths. Without a rational explanation beyond her dreams, Nancy is steadfast in her conviction of Krueger’s existence. Her unconvinced parents install bars

over her windows, however, trapping her in a house of nightmares.

“5, 6, grab your crucifix…”

At this point, the main antagonist effectively becomes Nancy’s parents. This fact is cemented by revealing Krueger’s origin: a child murderer who escaped prosecution and was killed by a mob of concerned parents, including Nancy’s. Despite acknowledging their responsibility for Krueger’s death, Nancy’s parents seem unable to comprehend how their actions have endangered their daughter and her friends. The parallels to issues like the Vietnam War, economic recession, and the climate crisis are both implicit and timeless—parents are willfully ignorant of the effects of their decisions on the next generation, good intentions be damned. Nightmare’s critique of traditional sources of protection is not limited to parental figures. In one dream sequence, Nancy ventures into her school’s basement, revealed to be the setting of the opening scene. The canker that haunts her dreams quite literally undergirds American pedagogy.

“7, 8, never stay up late…”

Though it may seem cartoonish and over-thetop, the violence in Nightmare is deliberate. Craven is an incredibly intentional filmmaker, juxtaposing emotional affect with slapstick comedy. The themes of senseless cruelty, teenage dejection, and the failures of American government are present throughout Craven’s filmography, particularly in his first endeavor, The Last House on

the Left

Both films mimic the violence of the Vietnam War, the Kent State Massacre, the Manson murders, and other contemporary atrocities rooted in intentional abuse or gross negligence from American bureaucracy. Nancy’s father represents more than just parental shortcomings; as the chief of police, his refusal to heed his daughter’s warnings allows more preventable deaths to occur. For House, Craven felt that fictitious depictions of violence should reflect brutal reality in light of the ongoing conflict in Vietnam, writing a script that was incredibly graphic and explicitly pornographic. The film follows a teenage girl who is kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by a family of killers, and is avenged by her parents. One of the first American entries in exploitation cinema, it was banned in several countries and censured by critics for its overt violence.

Despite their thematic similarities, the two films have been remembered in the collective consciousness very differently. Nightmare holds mainstream classic status

while Last House garnered a more niche cult following several decades later—a dichotomy which speaks to the somewhat arbitrary nature of “classic” films themselves. Craven received cult recognition as a cultural commentator by spoonfeeding through metaphor in the commerciallysuccessful Nightmare on Elm Street rather than the brutal realism he originally pioneered in Last House. In 2023, Last House feels like a much more modern horror film, particularly in light of the 2000s torture porn genre, while Nightmare feels charmingly dated. In the ’80s, we wanted brutality to be confined to our nightmares—not our neighborhoods.

Nevertheless, Nightmare’s prevailing influence in pop culture is sufficient to justify its classic status. The film is ripe with terrifying fantasy scenarios that intelligently comment on the horror of life in the ’80s. The tonal shifts in the narrative contribute to the thematic conflict between the notion of the American Dream and the lived experience of ’80s teenagers who were confronted by American militarism and a domestic economy that promised less prosperity than their parents had enjoyed.

Furthermore, the film’s violence feels morally charged rather than arbitrary—transgressions must be punished to uphold the status quo. As Glen comments early on, “morality sucks,” but even still, it won’t save you from senseless violence. The brilliance of Nightmare is its inversion of the American Dream through sadistic

graphic by ayushi das; layout by madeleine ott

Georgetown must rebuild equitable admissions at every stage

BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The Supreme Court’s decision to repeal raceconscious affirmative action has brought inequitable college admissions practices to the forefront of discussions on higher education. Make no mistake, however: affirmative action was never enough to mitigate racial and socioeconomic inequities within the student body. It is now more urgent than ever that Georgetown lays out a clear roadmap to rebuild its admissions process.

Georgetown’s admissions process has always been inequitable by design. Even when affirmative action was in place, Georgetown’s student body skewed overwhelmingly white and wealthy. As of 2021-22, Black and Hispanic/Latino students comprised 4.8 and 6.7 percent of Georgetown’s undergraduate student body, respectively. In the last admissions cycle, only 6 percent of accepted students were Black. This not only falls short of Dean of Admissions Charles Deacon’s goal for Black students to comprise “at least 10 percent of the student body” but, more importantly, also fails to mirror national racial demographics. On its own, affirmative action was unable to truly actualize Georgetown’s supposed commitment to diversity, especially racial diversity.

A recent report found that 60 percent of Georgetown students come from families in the top 10 percent of national incomes, whereas only three percent come from families in the bottom 20 percent. Ultimately, the previous affirmative action model did not curtail the high socioeconomic disparities that have persisted at Georgetown. Similar to college admissions as a whole, students who stood to gain the most from affirmative action were middle- and upper-class BIPOC students.

Simply changing one element of the admissions process will not be enough to dismantle layers of barriers faced by students of marginalized identities. Instead, the editorial board calls for a comprehensive revision of Georgetown’s admissions process at every stage, from outreach to accessibility.

From the beginning of the admissions process, first-generation low-income (FGLI) students, who are majority BIPOC at Georgetown, are systematically disadvantaged. Wealthy private high schools and schools in the Northeast and California receive better access to alumni and Georgetown admissions staff.

Georgetown needs to expand outreach to schools serving historically excluded communities, notably Title I schools, which receive federal funding to support low-income students. While the administration touts partnerships with pipeline programs and Georgetown’s own Institute for College Preparation, only a limited

number of students benefit. The administration must develop and commit to a roadmap on lowering barriers for students to apply, such as specific correspondence to FGLI students and implementation of more local information sessions.

Even after students are convinced to apply, the inaccessibility of Georgetown’s application requirements poses a barrier. Especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, we recommend that Georgetown mirror its peer institutions and adopt permanent test-optional policies. Standardized tests tend to give white and affluent students an edge—they can generally afford prep courses and tutors, retake their exams, and can commute longer distances to test locations. As Georgetown is not on the Common Application, we further posit that Georgetown should join similar platforms like QuestBridge and Coalition for College, which target students from low-income backgrounds.

After applications are submitted, marginalized students are once again confronted with challenges. A recent study found that students from wealthy families were up to three times more likely to be admitted into Georgetown. Consequently, we assert that the admissions department must adopt socioeconomic-based affirmative action as an alternative to race-based affirmative action. While we commend President John DeGioia’s confirmation that Georgetown will pursue classconscious affirmative action in the future in a recent interview with the Voice, the university must commit to a timeline for its immediate adoption as well as transparency for what the process will look like.

The class disparity at Georgetown is aggravated by legacy preferences for children of alumni. In 2017, legacy applicants were twice as likely to be admitted than other applicants, and the current number of legacy students at Georgetown exceeds the number of Black or Latino students. Legacy preferences, in

essence, grant the wealthy an even greater head start. Deacon has argued that legacy preferences are only applied when “straddling the line” between rejection or acceptance, but if anything, such slight preferences should count in favor of FGLI students.

Moreover, Deacon alleged that ending legacy preferences would decrease alumni donations, which would, in turn, threaten Georgetown’s ability to appropriate financial aid. In 2022, however, donations accounted for just 15.1 percent of Georgetown’s operating revenue, with Georgetown still making a $235 million profit. The year before, alumni donations comprised only one-third of total donations to Georgetown; both of these undermine the aforementioned point. More importantly, studies show that legacy preferences are not linked to higher donations; Johns Hopkins reported no decline in its donation rate after scrapping legacy preference.

Deacon’s argument that continuing legacy preferences is crucial to maintaining financial aid often places Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) students at the center of the legacy admissions debate. GSP, which works to support FGLI students, operates with a $25 million endowment from alumni donations, but the bulk of students’ scholarship money still comes from Georgetown. While GSP students receive $3,000 a year on behalf of the 1789 Scholarship through alumni donations, students often view it as insufficient when compared to the university’s $64,896 price tag. Georgetown should allocate funding toward the 1789 Scholarship to increase its scholarship amount. Hoyas are also often offered federal loans in addition to grant money, making the decision to attend difficult when schools like University of Pennsylvania offer solely grant money free of interest rates. The university’s new “Called to Be” fundraising campaign aims to raise more than $750 million for financial aid—we commend these efforts but call on Georgetown to rethink their aid policy and work to increase scholarship and grant money, especially for GSP students.

Our calls for admissions reform aren’t new. From the SFS Academic Council’s 2020 petition advocating for many of the same reforms we are seeking to the 2023 petition to end legacy admissions, the university has time and time again been presented with solutions to the problem of equitable admissions. Students shouldn’t have to fight tooth and nail for necessary changes. The administration must immediately adopt changes in all stages of its admissions process and rebuild it from the ground up. G

Student petition calls for at Georgetown

BY NINABELLA ARLIS AND CLAIRE PHAM

More than three years ago, several students began circulating a petition calling for the end of legacy admissions. The authors cited several sources confirming the role of legacy admissions in historically discriminating against racial and religious minorities. The petition garnered only 517 of its goal of 1,000 signatures before it was sent to administrators in January 2022, but ultimately administrators did not meet with students or rethink preferential admissions.

But in light of the June Supreme Court decision declaring affirmative action unconstitutional, Georgetown University College Democrats (GUCD), after a conversation with the 2020 petitioners, authored a new petition calling for the end of legacy preference in admissions at Georgetown. The student-run organization originally sent a letter to Georgetown administrators in early August asking for a meeting regarding legacy preference but did not receive a response, according to several of the authors.

The petition calls on Georgetown to end the preference of legacy applicants in admissions, arguing that the practice disproportionately favors white and wealthy applicants and citing it as a factor inhibiting Georgetown, a primarily white institution, from admitting a more diverse applicant pool.

Currently, nine percent of the class of 2024 are legacies, and 13 percent are first-generation students. Additionally, students of color are underrepresented from national demographics; Black and Latino students represent less than 15 percent of the student body.

While the petition calls for the removal of preferential legacy status for those related to Georgetown-affiliated alumni, faculty, and staff, it makes a notable exception for descendants of the people Georgetown

enslaved, who were granted preferential status following student protests, a sit-in, and a discussion with the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation due to the reevaluation of two campus buildings being named after the Jesuits who organized the 1838 sale of 272 enslaved people to keep the university financially viable.

“We continue to support preferential admission consideration for descendants of the GU272—the enslaved people owned by the Maryland Province of Jesuits—as a form of reconciliation,” the petition reads.

This semester’s petition has garnered over 800 signatures from Georgetown community members, including students, alumni, and faculty. The Georgetown University South Asian Society, the Georgetown University Young Democratic Socialists of America, and the Georgetown University Asian American Student Association originally cosponsored the document. As of Sept. 20, 23 additional studentrun organizations have signed on.

“We are optimistic and hopeful that the petition will create the kind of pressure on the administration to make them reconsider their policy, and we’re really excited by the amount of engagement we’ve seen around the petition,” Asher Maxwell (CAS ’26), the communications director for GUCD, said.

While the authors of the GUCD petition were inspired by the 2020 petition, they counted on the strength of a club-led petition as opposed to one led by individual students. They believed a movement stemming from an organization with the infrastructure for activism could succeed where the 2020 petition did not.

“When I talked to Asher, he said that he thought that there would be a stronger presence if it was formed around an organization and not from just one or two people,” Brandon Wu (SFS ’24), GUCD cochair, told the Voice . A club’s foundation of support, including the ability to reserve spaces on campus and approach administrators with more legitimacy, has given the new petition an advantage, according to Wu.

Although GUCD is a political organization, the board stressed that the petition is not. “This

effort is apolitical,” Maxwell said. “This is really about making sure that Georgetown protects campus diversity and fairness of admissions.”

GUCD’s Advocacy Director Ethan Henshaw (CAS ’26) said that the Georgetown Bipartisan Coalition has signed the petition and that GUCD has been communicating with the Georgetown University College Republicans.

“This is definitely something that everyone should be able to come to agree to, that admissions should be more equitable, that it should be based on how hard you work, not your connections, your wealth,” Henshaw said.

Jessica Giles, the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) DC, an anti-legacy admissions lobbying group, called for a response from Georgetown’s administration.

“[DFER] hope[s] that Georgetown University’s leadership listens to the hundreds of students who’ve signed the petition, as well as alumni and professors,” Giles said on a phone call with the Voice . She noted that Georgetown would be the first D.C. university to ban legacy admissions after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The sponsoring organizations plan to send the petition to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of Student Equity and Inclusion, and members of the administration like Vice President Joe Ferrara and University President John DeGioia, who expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court case ruling in a statement released by the university this summer.

In an interview with the Voice , DeGioia said the university’s best option for increasing diversity is class-conscious admissions. He also acknowledged the petition. “We will be engaging this question,” he said in an interview with the Hoya

GUCD plans to formally deliver the petition to university administrators in the upcoming weeks. When asked by the Voice, GUCD did not share any concrete plans for further action, but Maxwell added that “by no means [will] our efforts end at the petition.” G

Editor’s note: Brandon Wu is a staff writer for the Voice.

Content warning: This article discusses gun violence.

As classes started at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) this August, college students went into lockdown after a graduate student shot and killed associate professor Zijie Yan.

On Sept. 12, survivors of the shooting protested at the North Carolina state legislature in favor of stronger gun control, joining a generation of activists questioning how legislation protects the lives and safety of students in response to campus mass shootings.

Between January and August, there have been 49 school shootings in the U.S., 15 having taken place on college campuses, according to a CNN tally.

“It is frustrating and terrifying to know that this is happening all over the country. It’s happening on school campuses. It’s happening in grocery stores and in churches, just everywhere,” Naïké Savain (LAW ’13), director of policy at criminal justice reform nonprofit D.C. Justice Lab, said. “There’s this pervasive fear.”

Giffords Law Center, the legal branch of gun control nonprofit Giffords, creates an annual report card that grades states on the strength of their gun legislation. In 2022, North Carolina scored a C in gun safety, with points taken off for the state’s open-carry gun laws and lack of assault weapon restrictions, among other reasons.

In another instance of gun violence on college campuses, on Feb. 13, a gunman killed three Michigan State University students on the university’s campus and critically wounded five others. Michigan scored a C+ by Giffords Law Center for similar reasons to North Carolina.

In response to the shooting, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed commonsense gun violence prevention bills into law, most notably enacting universal background checks for all firearm purchases within the state.

Although D.C. lacks a rating from Giffords, the organization has written positively about the District’s gun laws. Neighboring Virginia, however, has a B. Guns are easily—and often— brought over state borders into D.C. from southern states with comparatively lax gun laws.

“D.C. does have some of the strongest gun laws in the country,” Carrie McDonald (CAS ’24), March for Our Lives (MFOL) Georgetown chapter lead, said. “But I think D.C.’s laws point to a bigger problem of the lack of federal action because Virginia doesn’t have strong gun laws. So obviously having gun laws in D.C. is really important, but we need to do more to ensure that guns aren’t brought across state lines.”

There have been notable instances of gun violence in Georgetown over the past couple of years, including the fatal shooting of Tarek Boothe on M Street in January 2022. Additionally, there are few gun violence policies on campus. While Georgetown University offers Run.Hide.Fight training for on-campus clubs and organizations,

they are not mandatory, nor have students been made aware of these trainings through flyering, email announcements, or social media since 2021.

Progress has been made, however, as emergency preparedness exercises happen periodically through the Georgetown Office of Emergency Management (OEM). While students are largely not involved, OEM conducted its most recent active shooter exercise over the course of three days in June, in conjunction with D.C. Police, the D.C. fire department, EMS, GERMS, and GUPD. A similar drill also took place at the law campus.

“A full scale exercise is where you’re practicing all of the functions without live ammunition. It’s responding to an actual incident, where we’re simulating somebody’s taking action to harm others, and then how we respond to that,” OEM director Marc Barbiere said.

The focus of gun violence prevention in the District has been concentrated on community gun violence, targeted primarily toward majority Black, low-income, and under-resourced communities in Wards 7 and 8 as poverty correlates with increases in gun violence. Michelle Chappell (LAW ’02), the legislative lead for the D.C. chapter of Moms Demand Action, emphasized the importance of prevention. “We want to prevent people from wanting to pick up guns in the first place. It’s all about trying to intervene in ways before it comes down to people shooting.”

One of Moms Demand Action’s initiatives— working conjunctively with Peace for D.C.— involves training people who were recently released from incarceration to intervene in hostile situations and shift the community dynamics that increase the occurrence of gun violence.

“We have these people that are really invested in changing the dynamics in their communities and preventing younger people from repeating the mistakes that they made when they were young,” Chappell said.

Savain emphasized the need for racial equity within gun violence policy.

“Direct community engagement is where I focus my efforts, so not just bringing people to us, but going to them, [and] making sure that we are

In wake of gun D.C. and on college students and seek out

BY AASHNA NADARAJAH

constantly centering directly impacted people in the district,” Savain said. “In the district, that means almost exclusively Black and Brown, specifically Black folks, Black residents, native Washingtonians.”

On Georgetown’s campus, two large organizations exist to advocate for stricter gun laws: MFOL Georgetown and Students Demand Action, a group affiliated with Moms Demand Action.

On campus, both Students Demand Action and MFOL Georgetown can be seen tabling in Red Square, educating students about gun violence, safety, and activism. “When we table, people come up to us and tell us their stories,” Emma Vonder Haar (CAS ’26), co-founder of Students Demand Action, said. “There’s these moments that resonate with all of us.”

In spring 2022, after the M Street shooting, MFOL Georgetown called on the university to take action to ensure public safety notifications (HoyAlerts) are sent to students more quickly and further engage with community violence intervention groups in the D.C. area.

“GUPD is the only responder we have in instances or threats of gun violence. But as we also know, GUPD does not always create a safe environment specifically for our students of color,” Ari Kane (CAS ’24), MFOL Georgetown’s former political affairs director, said.

gun violence in college campuses, and activists out change AND MARGARET HARTIGAN

GUPD was accused of racially profiling Black students during the 2020 Black Survivors Coalition sit-ins and again fell under scrutiny for their handling of video footage during last winter’s Georgetown Protects Racists (GUPR) sit-in.

MFOL Georgetown has advocated against having a police presence on campus and instead for schools and universities to “invest in creating care and community.” Still, GUPD has not implemented any significant policy changes to work toward this goal. Local activists highlight the need to act proactively on gun violence policy, before tragedy strikes.

“March for Our Lives had this initiative a few years ago where basically the focus—it was called Peace Without Police—and the idea was that school resource officers and police officers on campuses don’t really actually stop gun violence,” Kane said. “They just increase the school-toprison pipeline.”

On-campus gun violence prevention groups also promote concrete policy change—both on campus and in Congress. MFOL Georgetown, for example, occasionally takes part in “lobbying days,” when students lobby for stricter gun laws at the Capitol.

“At Georgetown, we’re in a really privileged position to be able to literally walk into the Capitol and meet with our representatives to tell them about our

experience during gun violence,” McDonald said. “Every day without inaction on their part is another day that people die.”

Despite the immense action being taken by activist groups in D.C., setbacks to violence prevention continue to arise.

Earlier this year, GUPD removed a pro-gun group, Young Americans for Liberty, from tabling at Red Square, days after a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California.

Recently, the District agreed to pay a sum of $5.1 million in a settlement for a class action lawsuit brought forth by gun owners. The plaintiffs believed their Second Amendment right to bear arms was violated by D.C. legislation that prohibited nonresidents of the District from carrying firearms outside the home. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled in their favor in August.

For organizations looking to minimize gun violence, especially within Wards 7 and 8, which are majority Black communities, community gun violence prevention has been greatly emphasized over increased levels of policing and incarceration.

“There have been shootings that have taken place where police are a few feet away or a few blocks away. They responded to the scene within 30 seconds and it didn’t stop it,” Savain said.

Rather than relying on increased policing or incarceration, violence prevention groups view more nuanced approaches—including violence intervention, stricter gun legislation, and education on conflict mediation in schools— as more effective.

“We need to prevent people from being motivated to pick up a gun to solve their problems,” Chappell said, adding that increasing investment in mental healthcare and counselors in schools could help.

The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, an affiliate organization of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, utilizes the “Racial Equity Impact Assessment.” The assessment proposes questions about gun violence policy and ensures that policymakers consider the implications of policy on Black and Latino communities, as well as the abilities of new gun policy to remedy existing racial inequities.

“We have to always remember that, while mass shootings are important, gun violence happens every day in communities of color in D.C.,” McDonald said.

In May 2022, the District’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council released a comprehensive “Gun Violence Reduction Strategic Plan.” The roadmap plan highlights three different pillars of gun violence reduction: gun violence prevention, intervention, and community transformation. The plan aims to reduce homicides in D.C. by 10 percent from the previous year through tracking year-todate data on all shootings in the area.

Advocates approach gun violence mitigation through the intersectional lens of racial justice because many of the most impacted communities are communities of color due to the legacies of segregation, systemic poverty, and other forms of systemic oppression.

“When I go to meetings in Ward 8, they’re asking for basic resources and basic supports. There are two grocery stores in all of Ward 8,” Chappell said. “People that live in Georgetown, for instance, just don’t even have to think about this on a daily basis, that people are struggling in that part of the city and that greatly contributes to the rate of gun violence.”

“There just aren’t better options for people and kids [who] get drawn into gun violence at the age of like 12 or 13 because older people can offer them things that they can’t get elsewhere in exchange for doing illegal activities,” she added. “If we just provided more resources to these kids and these families east of the river, it would be life changing.”

Those elected to Congress and local government seats—who decide what gun restrictions get passed and how funds toward schools and mental health support get funded—must also play a major role in reducing gun violence, activists said.

“We need people in those state legislatures, in their city council offices, working to pass change at the local level and that’s what’s going to move this whole country forward,” Kane said. “So get involved, stay in local organizing. Watch your state and local races. Because who we elect is so important for what gun laws we pass.”

According to each activist and gun law expert who spoke with the Voice, action is needed on multiple fronts: lobbying Congress for stricter gun laws, providing basic needs to struggling communities, and offering increased mental health infrastructure are all necessary to reduce gun violence both in the District and on college campuses.

“There’s not one piece of gun violence legislation that’s going to solve the whole crisis,” McDonald said. “We need to take a multifaceted approach to change.” G

photos courtesy of becker1999 cc 2.0, jay baker cc 2.0, and phil roeder cc 2.0

Olivia Rodrigo unleashes her bloody female rage

BY MAYA KOMINSKY

Olivia Rodrigo has always worn her heart on her sleeve; now, she’s letting it bleed. On her sophomore album GUTS (2023), the 20-yearold pop superstar bares the ugliest, messiest parts of herself in a staggeringly sophisticated work of pop-punk perfection. Confronting manipulative ex-boyfriends, self-destructive habits, and the unattainable expectations placed on young women, Rodrigo channels her anger into anthems for teens and 20-somethings who are still coming of age.

Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR (2021) mostly consisted of acoustic guitar ballads picking herself apart as she watched her ex move on while she grieved the breakup. Its unpolished sound made the record feel personal, but also unfinished. Most tracks did not employ a narrative arc or production skills nearly as complex as those on her debut single “drivers license.”

compelling on its own, with razor-sharp writing and high production value, tied together into a cohesive project by thematic and sonic consistency. “I know my age, and I act like it,” she proclaims on opener “all-american bitch”—a testament to her emotional and musical maturity, but also to the youthful energy she maintains throughout the album. The contrast between sludgy guitars, relentless kickdrums, and a thrumming bassline on the chorus with the acoustic melody on the verses foreshadows Rodrigo’s turbulent emotions throughout the work.

Bookending the album with songs about the grueling transition from girlhood to adulthood affirms GUTS’s thematic throughline: the rage that comes with the impossibility of growing up as a woman. “I’m grateful all the fucking time,” she sings on the outro to “all-american bitch” in a piercing falsetto, mimicking the suffocating constraints of femininity. Similarly, album closer “teenage dream” is a sardonic play on the titular phrase: a girl’s teen years are mythologized with empty promises of carefree fun, but they’re really full of contradictions and oppressive expectations. “When am I gonna stop being a pretty young thing to guys?” is one of the questions she poses about her liminality between youth and adulthood. SOUR broached similar topics, with Rodrigo asking, “Where’s my fucking teenage dream?” on “brutal”; but entering her 20s, she knows better than to covet something nonexistent.

he disparity between Rodrigo’s desires and her lived experiences fuels her anger throughout the album. She grapples with this frustration on “pretty isn’t pretty,” whose upbeat tune and chugging electric guitars seem incongruous with lyrics detailing the beauty standards that make young women feel a constant need to improve their appearance. In this continuation of SOUR’s “jealousy, jealousy,” Rodrigo reassigns blame for her insecurities onto external factors instead of her own flaws.

odrigo could have easily absolved herself of responsibility for the disillusionment of her teen years; instead, she musters the courage to recognize her missteps. Perhaps the most moving track on the album, “making the bed” uses a down-tempo melody of soft electric guitars to give Rodrigo’s vocals center stage. She chronicles choices she’s made in an attempt to seem adult, but concedes, “I got the things I wanted, it’s just not what I imagined.” She continues by acknowledging her role in her unhappiness: “I’m playing the victim so well in my head / But it’s me who’s been making the bed.” Not only is this a bold confession to make on a chart-topping album, but it also speaks to Rodrigo’s

attuned sense of self-awareness. This vulnerability allows her music to connect with other young women who’ve succumbed to pressure to act “grown-up.”

While Rodrigo’s capacity for heartrending ballads is perhaps unparalleled in contemporary pop, she’s also particularly adept at creating caustic, self-aware breakup bops. Her mournful depictions of loss—of both youth and of love—are balanced by angry reflections on her time with exes. “love is embarrassing” distills the dichotomous feelings of comfort and resentment in a toxic relationship that only become evident in retrospect. The bloodpumping percussive beat and guitar riffs make this the most fun listening experience on the album, as Rodrigo sneers at herself for what she tolerated: “Love’s fucking embarrassing, just watch as I crucify myself / For some weird second-string loser who’s not worth mentioning.”

These biting breakup songs encapsulate a deeply resonant feminine rage shouldered by women who’ve let a man infiltrate and excavate their hearts. Lead single “vampire” employs the metaphor of a bloodsucking monster who drained the life from a young woman—an image that’s been repeated time and again in pop culture—to represent her ex’s emotional manipulation. Starting with a soft piano melody, pit-stopping at mid-tempo with kick drums, and culminating with full percussion and guitars, the track consistently raises the stakes, and Rodrigo gives more and more of her vocals to keep up.

Later on the album, piano ballad “the grudge” articulates a similar source of resentment toward her ex with lyrics, “I hear your voice every time that I think I’m not enough.” Like “vampire,” this track uses the album’s visceral imagery in one of Rodrigo’s most poignant lines reaffirming the relationship’s power imbalance: “We both drew blood / but man, those cuts were never equal.” Her voice expands and cracks in just the right places to make each line a sucker punch. The piano motif that closes out the choruses is almost indistinguishable from the intro to “drivers license,” harkening back to when “the grudge” began. Invoking her earlier discography communicates the incessant pain of her unhealed wounds and epitomizes the songwriting brilliance that defines the album.

The concurrent evolution of Rodrigo’s lyricism and musicality coalesce in her breathtaking second act. She refines her pop-punk sound as uniquely her own while paying homage to her debut, returning to its subject matter with a matured perspective. Her willingness to reveal her insecurities, regrets, and deep-seated pain make one thing clear: Olivia Rodrigo has more GUTS than most 20-somethings. G

VOICE’S CHOICES: love is embarrassing; making the bed; pretty isn’t pretty; the grudge

graphic by pia cruz; layout by karrie huang

BY SAGUN SHRESTHA

In true Conan Gray fashion, the singersongwriter’s new single “Winner” takes on the form of a vulnerable declaration—this time revealing the scars dealt by an absent, narcissistic parent.

Best known for his downright depressing lyricism, “Winner” is not Gray’s first foray into songwriting that explores his complicated family history. Outside his typical motifs of broken romance, he has both hinted at and directly addressed his childhood wounds, from asking a friend to “go wherever we want / ’Cause no one cares that we're gone” in “Generation Why,” to questioning, “I watch the fathers with their little girls / And wonder what I did to deserve this” in “Family Line.”

Gray’s never been afraid to expose the worst parts of his life, earning him titles like “Pop’s Oversharing Next Big Thing,” dubbed by Rolling Stone. It’s this openness that has earned Gray so many of his fans, whether it be those who identify with his lyricism or those who empathize with his trauma. In exposing his emotions to the world, Gray acts as a poster boy for those who want and need their feelings validated. This is best showcased in songs like the jealousy-laden “Heather” and the incredibly nostalgic “Grow”— and now, in the deeply melancholic “Winner.”

Gray has a knack for charming audiences with both his songwriting and his social media presence. More recent song promotion features snippets on official accounts prior to his singles’ releases, while concurrently showcasing a more personal narrative on his second, now private TikTok account, @user6141013131857. The 24-year-old has even gone so far as to make his own memes set to his singles. Still, the false bravado he displays on his official social media contrasts heavily against the more mellow, often self-deprecating humor posted on his throwaway account.

When it comes to “Winner,” he’s been taking a few different approaches to promote it, posting himself screaming the lyrics while also

using TikTok filters to give himself fairy wings. Though it seems almost absurd, it is a direct reflection of Gen Z’s ravenous consumption of his music and their typical quirky behavior.

These silly little tactics by no means detract from the overwhelmingly raw tone of the song. He starts off “Winner” in the form of a simple ballad, nothing but a piano accompanying his voice. Gray sounds breathy and desperate as he recalls preparing to leave his home after being alone for days on end. He personifies “the pots and pans and roaches” claiming that “they’re glad I’m finally goin’ / ‘Cause, even them, they shudder at your name.” Here, he sows the seeds of a character so malicious as to forsake a 14-year-old, imagining even the pests recoiling at this abandonment.

The music slowly builds to a synthy and dramatic flourish—something he utilized fruitfully in his last release. Whereas “Never Ending Song” emulated the lightness of ’80s pop and had Gray experimenting with his lower register, giving him an almost standoffish, nonchalant vibe, “Winner” has him return to a higher vocal range, once again displaying his usual emotional depth.

Gray has mastered the use of his voice as his instrument, relying primarily on himself and his vocal prowess to convey what he is feeling. Here, he sounds like he is on the verge of tears at the song’s opening, something that noticeably shifts to anger partway through. Though he has used this technique before in other releases like “Jigsaw,” Gray adds additional dimension by introducing a wider range of instruments in the backing track to accompany his haunting vocals. Drumbeats at the initial chorus punctuate Gray’s animosity towards the persona he ironically refers to as the winner, because for him, “There’s no one / Who ever has done better / At makin’ me feel worse.” It is a cathartic moment, acting as the breaking point of a long-awaited realization.

“I wrote this song at 2 a.m.—everything at the piano just spilled out all at once,” Gray revealed in

it. You hurt me more than anybody ever could hurt me.’ And it oddly felt nice. I see now that there is a certain freedom that comes from recognizing that you’ve been hurt. In no longer running, and just facing the fact that ‘You win. You hurt me.’ I hope this song helps people find a little piece of that freedom.”

By the second verse, the song winds down but quickly builds back up as he ponders how he feels guilty when someone else is “the one who let it get this bad.” Gray oscillates between nearly yelling and defeatedly recounting his guardian’s wrongdoings, mimicking what a real fight between the two might look like. Still, even in this moment of weakness, he takes the high road rather than settling for low blows. In recognizing that “all you ever wanted was to fight / I was only tryin’ to survive your chaos,” Gray takes on a mature tone while simultaneously consoling his inner scorned child.

In general, Gray’s discography isn’t crowdpleasing in the way other pop is. It’s not safe, not fun, and not usually set to an upbeat tune. Even his hits tend to be bogged down by upsetting undertones, like doomed relationships and feelings of inadequacy. His music is, however, daring, as Gray bares his heart to the world, no matter the consequence.

Yes, it is corny to call “Winner” a winner; though in a way, it feels as though the song is repetitive, as the pre-chorus, chorus, and post-chorus play out, even opting out of a bridge. The lyrics also don’t seem particularly revolutionary, reiterating the same message over and over again—but in context it is this revelation that lends Gray the strength to attack his demons head on. The single truly succeeds in offering solace to all those who resonate with Gray’s message. Again, though it may be corny, that is enough to quite literally consider “Winner” a winner. G

graphic by rachel zhang; layout by madeline jones

"Winner" by Conan Gray is a devastating deep dive into familial abandonment

BY BARRETT AHN

Pickles wrapped in cheese and fried on a skillet; three separate bowls of goldfish with buttered noodles and raspberries; a beautifully plated charcuterie board for one— this is “girl dinner.”

Originally coined by the TikToker Olivia Maher, girl dinner began as a comedic take on what a medieval peasant would eat, complete with the stereotypical fixings of cured meats, hard cheese, and bread—her ideal dinner. Since then, girl dinner has evolved into a social media sensation with videos garnering millions of views. As more creators hopped onto the trend, aesthetic spreads accompanied with fun drinks quickly changed into very real depictions of the meals we eat when we just don’t have the ingredients, time, or energy. No girl dinner is the same. It can take the form of instant cheesy ramen with a fried egg on top, duckshaped roti and raw veggies, or anything you’re craving, really.

Girl dinner has transformed so-called “struggle meals,” romanticizing them to counter the idea that each meal must be well thought out and perfectly executed. Its origins are unserious, and so is the energy transmitted by the creators, who poke fun at themselves with increasingly outlandish food combinations.

What started out as a playful way to make everyday dinners more enjoyable soon took a dark turn, however, with many users distorting the trend and making girl dinner synonymous with practically no dinner at all. Videos of “meals” consisting of a single Diet Coke or a bowl of popcorn went viral. Often, their creators are adults who recognize their portrayal of food is dangerous, yet continue to do so for the video clicks.

Some dieticians and psychologists branded the trend as problematic since these clips of methodically portioned food, sometimes in incredibly

insufficient amounts, can impact how others think they should be eating, potentially leading viewers to restrict their diets. In an interview with Glamour , Vanessa Rissetto, a registered dietician, explained that the girl dinner trend can lead to disordered eating when creators promote small portions and unbalanced meals. Some girl dinner videos run the risk of normalizing and even romanticizing detrimental eating practices like orthorexia (a harmful reliance on “pure” foods), anorexia, and binge-eating disorder.

Considering that the target audience consists of young women and adolescents, concerns grew that the trend negatively influenced those who were still figuring out how to intuitively eat. On TikTok, #girldinner videos are inescapable— some accumulating more than 1.7 billion views—and have become particularly triggering for viewers recovering from eating disorders.

But in its original form, the essence of girl dinner is not meant to restrict. Balancing out the content of those who applaud the small quantity of food on their plate are the social media influencers, like Spencer Barbosa, who show the full meals they consume. Barbosa’s account spreads body positivity and intuitive eating. Instead of meticulous control or binge-eating, girl dinner is listening to what your body is telling you. Her version of girl dinner is not an every-night affair but an occasional pick-me-up. While it can be made up of snacks, it also includes small cooked plates that are discordant but somehow make sense altogether. Girl dinner is realistic: it’s a representation of the modest and uneventful ways everyone eats.

The trend also defies traditional gender norms, subverting the idea that women belong in the kitchen and should labor over elaborate, home-cooked dinners. The rise of girl dinner makers counteracts this stereotype, proudly showing that dinner should be what you want it to be—not dictated by an outside presence, authority, or societal duty. Though the word “girl” is regularly used in our patriarchal society as an insult to our intelligence and capabilities, the girl dinner world breaks out of this infantilization of women, and breaks through this constant haze

of misogyny. With this hashtag, “girl” is transformed from a condescending diminution to a badge of distinction and belonging.

Yet this emphasis on gender is another reason girl dinner has come under fire. Karma Carr’s “Girrrl dinner, girrrl dinner, girrrl dinner, oh girrrl dinner”—the TikTok sound that helped popularize the trend—plays in the background to every video, leading viewers to believe that the only way they can participate is by being a woman. Parodies, including “boy dinner,” “mom dinner,” and “husband meal,” further accentuate the binary applications of the trends.

But girl dinner is not meant to exclude. It seeks to create a community of people having fun with the everyday act of eating, taking away any shame of not cooking from scratch or not using the healthiest, most organic ingredients. “Anyone can have it,” Maher said in a New York Times article. “But it’s for the girls, gays, and theys.” The trend is built on relatability. Its name, as well as its theme song, are simple and easy—representative of what girl dinner should be for everyone.

Sure, the content is silly, but girl dinner generates a sense of pride, well-being, and support among those who want to be a part of it. New trends, like “girl math,” continue to pop up that mirror its comedic tone. Instead of being used derisively, these videos mix humor and lightheartedness to bring a new meaning to the world of “girl”—anyone and everyone who wants to feel seen by their off-the-wall and creative choices. Women have to continually fight for validation and equality, from equal pay to access to education, gender-affirming care, and safe and legal abortions. With girl dinners, we carve out our own space where we can exist outside of our politicized bodies. We can have a moment to ourselves, without fear of criticism and without having to fit a certain standard.

What I love about girl dinner is the shared joy and solidarity I feel when I dig into an objectively weird, even borderline disgusting combination of ingredients. So go ahead and boil your fusilli pasta, mix in the ketchup, and eat it straight from the pot. I, for one, won’t judge. G

2023 WNBA Finals predictions

BY ANDREW ARNOLD, BEN JAKABCSIN, LUCIE PEYREBRUNE, AND JO STEPHENS

The 2023 WNBA Finals begin Oct. 8; which Voice staffer has the best crystal basketball?

[Note: This article was last updated on Saturday, Sept. 16, and therefore does not reflect the outcomes of games after that point.]

Andrew Arnold:

Finals: Las Vegas Aces over New York Liberty in 5

When former MVPs Breanna Stewart and Candace Parker announced their intentions back in February to sign with the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces respectively, it seemed the league was destined for a collision course between the two superteams. The Aces led the league with a 113.0 offensive rating and a 97.7 defensive rating (which is good for a 15.3 net rating), finishing with a 34-6 record. New York did not slouch either, going 32-8 and taking three of four from Vegas this season— including winning the Commissioner’s Cup—with a net rating that would’ve finished first in 2022. The Finals are a toss-up with so many interesting matchups, but because the Liberty have to fight through a plucky Mystics team and Alyssa Thomas’s Sun just to get there, gimme Las Vegas in five with A’ja Wilson winning her first Finals MVP as the Aces repeat as champs.

Jo Stephens:

Finals: Las Vegas Aces over Connecticut Sun in 5

So here’s the thing: if New York makes it out of the first round, things suddenly look very different. Fortunately for me, though, that hasn’t happened yet, which means I can make the bold prediction that the Mystics are going to stun the Liberty and advance to the semifinals. With a healthy Elena Delle Donne and Aviel Atkins, Washington might just have their number. If that’s the case, I see a very clear path forward to an Aces/Sun final, because I think New York is the only team that truly has the juice to stack up against either of them in a playoff series.

From there, I’m easily picking Vegas for a couple of reasons. First, they were absolutely humming against the Sky in Game 1, which bodes well for the rest of the playoffs. With our shared South Carolina roots, A’ja Wilson will always be the M’VP of my heart regardless of the way voting goes, and her overall play has been truly spectacular this season. Between her exceptional basketball skills and the inevitable resurgence of playoff Chelsea Gray, there’s no real outcome that makes sense to me other than Aces in 5, with Wilson snagging Finals MVP for the first time in her professional career.

Lucie Peyrebrune:

Finals: Las Vegas Aces over Washington Mystics in 4

This is more wishful thinking than actual predicting, but as a D.C. basketball fan, I need to have something to hold out hope for, and it’s certainly not going to come from the Wizards. If Elena Delle Donne and Aviel Atkins are playing well, an upset over New York doesn’t feel all that unlikely. Add in Shakira Austin, who is currently set to return from injury on Sept. 22 for Game 3 of the first round, and another upset over the Sun becomes possible, even if it’s improbable.

Turning to the Western Conference, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Aces’ superteam will dominate, even without two-time MVP Candace Parker, who’s been out for most of the season with a foot fracture. A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum are more than capable of holding down the fort in Parker’s absence. In the Finals, Washington will put up a good fight, but Vegas has had a full house this season, and that’s certainly not going to change.

Ben Jakabcsin:

Finals: New York Liberty over Dallas Wings in 5

Hear me out: I know that the Aces are the real talk of the town in some parts of the Voice Sports meeting room, but I’m a smidge spooked by the fact that the Aces have, if only slightly, stumbled at the end of the regular season, losing three of their last nine games. That, coupled with Candace Parker’s injury (that’s former Chicago Sky legend Candace Parker to you), makes this team look less formidable than they did in the offseason. While I don’t love the Wings, they have a favorable first-round matchup with the Dream, a team they’ve played well against all season. Arike Ogunbowale and company have shown throughout the season that they can hang with the top teams in the league, most recently in a Sept. 5 showdown with the Liberty, and with back-to-back wins over the Sun in the last month of the regular season. Can that translate to a full series? My guess is yes.

In the East, I think the picture is a little more cut-and-dry. While Alyssa Thomas and the Sun had a great regular season, the Liberty’s talent level and consistency win out. Despite finishing with a slightly worse regular season record than the Aces, the Liberty entered the playoffs in stride, winning eight of their last nine games. In the Finals, despite a valiant run by the Wings, Breanna Stewart and (former Sky legend) Courtney Vandersloot will make the Liberty cruise to the WNBA title, ending a season that will officially make the 2023 Sky the greatest team that never was. G

New-look Georgetown football looks to build a winning culture

BY ANDREW SWANK AND BEN JAKABCSIN

The Hoyas started off the season strong with two dominant home wins, already equaling last season’s win total. However, they stumbled in a 23-20 loss to Stonehill, a team only in its second season at the Division I FCS level. But Georgetown football has a young, tight-knit group of players hungry to prove themselves this year after a dismal previous season.

Last year, Georgetown went 2-9 and did not win a single home game. The Hoyas finished last in the Patriot League, with just one conference win. However, close losses to conference opponents Lehigh and Bucknell showed that the Hoyas had potential to perform better. Still, the team’s disappointing season has contributed to the team’s poor reputation on campus.

Heading into the offseason, 10th-year head coach Rob Sgarlata saw there had to be changes. He brought in a bevy of new players to populate this year’s roster, hoping to refresh the team after an unsuccessful 2022 season. Twentyseven freshmen are listed on the roster, and four new transfers joined the team as well. These fresh faces add an exciting dimension to the team, according to sophomore cornerback Wedner Cadet.

“We have a lot of gems that are really going to help both the offense and defense and special teams excel,” he said in an interview with the Voice. “I wouldn’t say it’s changes, but it’s additions to the team that have helped us excel a lot in this offseason.”

Quarterback Pierce Holley spent the most time at quarterback for the Hoyas last year, but won’t be returning to Georgetown after transferring to Eastern Illinois University. As a result, the starting quarterback position will be filled by graduate student Tyler Knoop, who is the most experienced returning quarterback on the team. While Knoop got the nod to open the season, there are six quarterbacks on the roster,

so fans might see other players under center this season. “It's definitely a talented group, a very young

Fifth-year running back Joshua Stakely led the Hoyas on the ground last season and is returning for the 2023 campaign. In the first three games, Stakely has racked up 342 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Junior running back Naieem Kearney has split carries with Stakely, and he has totaled 252 yards up to this point. A strong start to the season from both players means Georgetown has a strong running game to rely on offensively.

Blocking for the running backs are more new faces, starting with their position coach Joey Partin. Partin—just one of the new position coaches added on the offensive line, defensive line, and secondary—was previously the graduate assistant offensive line coach at University of Memphis. On the composition of the offensive line room he inherited, Partin said, “They’re tough, they’re physical, and they’ve picked things up really quickly, which has given them an opportunity to help us, and we’re gonna need some of them to help us. I’m very, very happy with where those guys are at right now.”

On the defensive side, Cadet is one of the most exciting returners for the Hoyas. He had four interceptions (including a picksix), one fumble recovery, and 35 tackles last season. His impressive freshman season led to his 2023 Patriot League Preseason All-League Team selection.

The defensive back hopes to make a difference for the Hoyas. “For me personally, on the field, I kind of just want to be that guy, be someone the team looks to when we’re down or when we’re up,” Cadet said. The Hoyas are also hoping junior defensive lineman Ibri Harrell and sophomore defensive lineman Mateen Ibirogba will continue to be game changers on defense.

With the changing roster, the Hoyas are also figuring out a new team chemistry. “I think that is something that separates this team

[from years past],” Knoop said. “We’ve always had the talent, but it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together, and I think that begins with getting to know each other and having a good environment.”

Cadet has similar feelings. “I think that’s been [Sgarlata’s] emphasis this offseason— bringing everyone together and helping people understand each other more, because ultimately when we’re out there on the field, it’s just us and we have to have each other’s backs,” he said.

But, perhaps unlike years prior, the team is feeling more cohesive than ever. “We’re a tight team. Not only is each position group pretty strong as a family, but the team is connected, and I think that’s gonna show in the way that we play. We may not be perfect in everything that we do, but we’re gonna stick together through thick and thin,” Partin added.

Coming into the season, the Hoyas looked to be in position to secure the program’s first home win since 2019 in the season opener against the Marist Foxes. The magnitude of the moment was not lost on Knoop, who said he was excited to have a chance to lead the Hoyas to victory. “Enjoying the moment is definitely the biggest thing. We definitely don’t want to look at last year and think it will be a walkover situation or anything like that, definitely don’t want to underestimate any opponent.”

While a walkover may not have been what Knoop was expecting, it is certainly what happened. The Hoyas opened the season with a 49-7 blowout win over the Foxes. Then, they doubled down and won again the next week, defending Cooper Field against Sacred Heart. The team has been led foremost by strong play on the ground, averaging over 200 yards per game, and Knoop at quarterback has yet to throw an interception, despite accounting for seven touchdowns in three games. While the loss to Stonehill showed that the Hoyas are by no means unbeatable, new faces and strong team cohesion mean that Georgetown football has laid the foundation for an impressive turnaround. G

photos courtesy of daniel rankin; graphic by athanasios basiakos; layout by olivia li

How TV money is gerrymandering college sports

BY HENRY SKARECKY

In July, thousands of college sports fans tuned in to watch a Zoom meeting of the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents. These meetings are typically administrative affairs closed for public viewing, but this one in particular garnered a great deal of media attention.

The topic on the table was a potential change of Colorado’s athletic conference membership from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. Fans tuned into the meeting to witness a live redrawing of the map of college sports—redefining historical rivalries and changing regular opponents. School administrators, on the other hand, were primarily concerned with switching conferences to guarantee the financial future of the school’s athletic programs.

Conference membership is a key factor in determining the amount of money a university earns from athletics, in addition to determining a college team’s opponents. Ticket sales, alumni donations, and licensing fees all play a part in generating athletic revenues for a school, but for top Division I programs, the big money is in TV. Instead of negotiating contracts with individual schools, conferences are typically responsible for making contracts with TV networks, which can be worth billions of dollars. For example, over the next seven years, each university in the Big Ten will make about $72 million per year from an agreement to broadcast football and basketball on CBS, FOX, and NBC.

Schools in the SEC will make a similar amount of money from ABC and ESPN over the next ten years. Big 12 members will each make $31 million over the next six years, a figure that is significantly lower than the Big Ten and the SEC, but still represents the third most valuable TV

is looking to make more money and its current conference can’t offer a sufficient amount of cash, right now is the perfect time to jump ship to a new conference that can offer more money. This exact scenario led to the demise of the Pac-12, which saw a mass exodus of its members, including Colorado, this summer after it failed to offer a contract with a value comparable to its rivals.

The BIG EAST, Georgetown’s conference, recently announced that it is also renegotiating its TV deal, but no team has left or joined the conference since 2013, save for UConn’s rejoining in 2020. It’s quite the demonstration of stability for the Hoyas’ conference, especially considering its formation was a major pillar in the realignment chaos of a decade ago.

Finishing off the list of major conferences is the ACC, which locked its members into a 20-year TV contract nearly a decade ago. This is preventing valuable programs like Clemson and Florida State from jumping ship this time around and means that incoming ACC members Cal and Stanford will not get an equal share of current TV revenues thanks to preallocated revenue from the contract’s signing. New member Southern Methodist University, in fact, will receive no share of the current revenue, instead hoping that the publicity of being a member in a prestigious “power conference” will pay off in the long term.

Those with a bit of geography knowledge immediately notice a problem: two schools located in the Bay Area plus a school in Dallas are joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. Coaches and journalists alike have already raised concerns about how membership in a country-spanning “superconference” will

Meanwhile, university administrators, TV executives, and the NCAA are continuing to look toward the future status quo of college sports, and only one thing is certain: colleges will continue to do everything in their power to make more money.

The most likely future outcome is the consolidation of the country’s top college sports brands into one or two major conferences. This trend has already begun, with Oklahoma and Texas moving to the SEC from the Big 12, and Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC migrating to the Big Ten from the Pac-12 next year, drastically weakening the power of the other major conferences. By the mid-2030s, when the next round of TV contracts will expire, it’s possible that the most valuable schools—the universities with the largest fan bases, highest game attendance, and the best on-field performance—will abandon the less valuable schools entirely and create a “super league” of college sports, with every single matchup guaranteed to be a big moneymaker for the TV networks and universities.

A system of promotion and relegation in a structure similar to soccer leagues around the world is another possible outcome, forcing college teams to win their way into the top league and earn the money that comes along with it. Alas, this is America, and no college already at the top of the athletic ladder would support a system that only serves to potentially lose them money in the future if their team does not perform at a high level.

Perhaps the most interesting and optimal possibility, however, is the hypothetical creation of country-spanning conferences dedicated to only football and basketball, separate from the “non-revenue sports”— sports that don’t make immediate money for the university. Accommodating both athletic profits and success for student athletes, colleges can still reap the monetary benefits of football and basketball while lessening the travel burden on student athletes.

The current wave of conference realignment has given us a glimpse of what the future of college sports may look like, but in the meantime, student athletes and fans alike are stuck with multiple leagues spanning the country, organized in a clearly inefficient manner, with historic rivalries and tradition abandoned in the face of millions of dollars worth of media revenue. It may seem like whoever designed the modern map of college sports is crazy, but it’s just capitalism. The only certainty right now is that schools will continue to switch conferences, leaving us all wondering—who’s next? G

design by madeleine ott