GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
JT3 NOTCHES NO. 200
COMMENTARY The film “Zero Dark Thirty” misrepresents the role of torture in bin Laden’s death.
JUSTICE JOURNALISM Two students have launched an online magazine on social justice.
PROVOST’S OFFICE Robert Groves discusses the reasoning behind the reorganization of his office.
SPORTS, A10
OPINION, A3
NEWS, A5
NEWS, A7
Head Coach John Thompson III had his 200th Georgetown victory Saturday.
GUSA Hopefuls Revealed
GU Applicants 13,000
Class of 2016 Total: 20,050
12,000
Class of 2017 Total: 20,025
11,000 4,000
Percentage Change: 2.5% COL:
3,000 2,000 1,000 0
COL
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 94, No. 30, © 2013
tuesday, february 5, 2013
SFS
MSB
SFS:
1.0%
MSB:
8.0%
NHS:
4.2%
NHS NIKITA BULEY & IAN TICE/ THE HOYA
Regular Decision Applications Plateau Michael Donnay Special to The Hoya
Georgetown’s regular decision undergraduate applicant pool for the Class of 2017 was almost identical to that of the previous year, which bucks a trend of application growth in previous years. A total of 20,025 students applied in the early and regular decision cycles, down just 0.1 percent from last year’s 20,050. Of those, 13,289 were regular decision applications, down slightly from last year’s 13,351. The Class of 2016 continued a trend of year-to-year application increases, with a jump from the previous year’s 19,228 applications. Although the College received the largest number of applications out of the university’s four schools with 11,714, this figure marked a 2.5 percent decrease from last year. The School of Foreign Service had the second largest pool with 3,690 applicants, marking an increase of 1 percent. A record number of students ap-
plied to the McDonough School of Business and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, with the MSB experiencing an 8 percent increase, with 3,370 students applying, and the NHS receiving 1,251 applicants, a 4.2 percent increase. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon said these figures, which reflect national trends, have stemmed from ongoing concerns about the economy. “Students are more concerned with job security,” he said. “They are gravitating to science and pre-med tracks.” While the total number of applicants remained consistent with last year when a little over 20,100 people applied, this year, the diversity of the student body continues to expand, Deacon said. African Americans made up 7.6 percent of the applicants, Asian Americans 15 percent and Hispanic Americans 11.8 percent. International students also made up 12.8 percent of this year’s applicant pool. Between 2,200 and 2,400 See ADMISSIONS, A6
Info session attendance indicates five tickets for upcoming GUSA race Danny Funt
Hoya Staff Writer
Although students running for Georgetown University Student Association president and vice president cannot formally begin their campaigns until Thursday, attendance at mandatory information sessions Jan. 31 and Feb. 4 offered an unofficial confirmation of the five tickets entering the 2013 race. The GUSA election committee required students to attend one of the two sessions in order to appear on the Feb. 21 ballot. There were a total of 10 students in attendance, and multiple sources confirm that the presidential and vice presidential pairings include: Spencer Walsh (MSB ’14) and Robert Silverstein (SFS ’14); Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14) and Maggie Cleary (COL ’14);
EUGENE ANG/THE HOYA
From left: Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson, Maggie Cleary, Adam Ramadan, Andrew Logerfo and Cannon Warren are among the 10 contenders vying for executive GUSA positions in the Feb. 21 election. Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson (SFS ’14) and Joe Vandegriff (COL ’14); Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) and Adam Ramadan (SFS ’14); and Cannon Warren (COL ’14) and Andrew Logerfo (COL ’14).
The group features no underclassmen, no members of the GUSA executive and no varsity See CANDIDATES, A6
Alum Joins Race for NYC Mayor Meghan Patzer Hoya Staff Writer
COURTESY JOE LHOTA
Joe Lhota (MSB ’76) is leading early Republican polls for the New York City mayoral election.
Georgetown students eager to make a splash in politics have no shortage of role models in Hilltop alumni. But it is rarer for alumni to throw their hats in the ring for the mayor’s office of the largest city in the country. Joseph Lhota (MSB ’76) has entered the New York City mayoral race, whose November winner will replace current mayor Michael Bloomberg when he steps down at the end of the year. Lhota, whose daughter Kathryn is a senior in the College, filed the necessary documents to register as a Republican candidate for the position Jan. 17 and has since revved up his upcoming campaign for the city’s top office, which will be decided on Nov. 5, 2013. A longtime New York resident, Lhota was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island. He then
came to Washington, D.C., to study at Georgetown in 1972. Although he earned his degree in business administration, he says his time spent on the Hilltop helped guide him toward politics. “As a Georgetown student in the ’70s, all of us were particularly interested in politics as an effective route for change at that time,” he said. According to Lhota, 58, his experience in student government was an early indicator of his lifelong dedication to public service. “I was part of the [Georgetown University Student Association] in the early stages of its creation,” he said. “I was the campaign manager for someone who was running for president of the student body, and I held the same position for another candidate the year before that. I think all of that certainly played a role in my doing some work on See MAYOR, A6
Soapy Joe’s Mistakenly Overcharged Students
SUPERFOOD, SUPER SINGING
Kylie Mohr
“I said, ‘This is ridiculous — there is no way,’” Barry recalled. Students who use Soapy Joe’s regisSoapy Joe’s, a Washington, D.C.- ter for either a semester or year-long based dry cleaning and laundry service, plan of 15, 20 or 25 pounds of launovercharged 35 Georgetown students dry per week. Bags are weighed and scanned each time they go into the throughout the fall 2012 semester. According to Matt Sternberg, presi- facility. Students are billed $1.50 for dent and co-owner of Soapy Joe’s, a every additional pound over the limit specified in the technical error purchased plan. was to blame “They never give Thus, Barry was for the incorrect overcharged $120 charges and the you any notification. during the one company is workweek he cited. ing to refund cus- They just charge you According to tomers. straight to your Sternberg, stuMany students dents are notified were alerted to credit card.” of overages halfpotential billing Daniel Sandoval (SFS ’16) way through and errors through a Soapy Joe’s customer at the end of the Facebook post on semester. Jan. 15 by Alex OrSome students who were overndahl (COL ’16). “I noticed at the end of the semes- charged, however, received no such ter that they were definitely over- notification. “They never give you any notificacharging,” Orndahl said. “Seventy-five pounds over [the weekly limit] was a tion. They just charge you straight to your credit card,” Daniel Sandoval (SFS little bit impossible.” After seeing the post, user PJ Barry ’16) said. When PJ Barry called Soapy Joe’s to (MSB ’16) was prompted to look at his bill and saw that he had been charged inquire about the overage charges, twice for some weeks. One week, his he was told the scanner must have statement stated that he had 100 been broken. pounds of laundry — 80 pounds over See LAUNDRY, A6 his limit.
Special to The Hoya
AMY LEE/THE HOYA
Joan Abbot (SFS ’16), pictured center, led Superfood in two solos during the group’s Friday night performace at the Georgetown Chimes’ Cherry Tree Massacre in Gaston Hall. Also performing Friday were the Phantoms, Gracenotes, Chamber Singers, Saxatones and Chimes. The Chimes will invite other a capella groups from both Georgetown and neighboring universities to perform at events during the next two weekends. Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947
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