The Hoya: Feb. 12, 2013

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GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 94, No. 32, © 2013

tuesday, february 12, 2013

MAKE IT SIX

EDITORIAL Suspect description in DPS alerts could do more harm than good.

New No. 15 Georgetown continued its winning streak against Marquette. SPORTS, A12

LAWSUIT GU is battling a lawsuit for alleged discriminatory hiring practices.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Several Georgetown alumni are working to deliver cheap data to Africa.

NEWS, A4

NEWS, A5

OPINION, A2

Candidates GUSA Tickets Diverge on Budget Proposals Spar in VP Debate Emma Hinchliffe Hoya Staff Writer

BUDGET REQUESTS

GUSA funding, outreach dominate first debate of executive leadership race

Appelbaum & Cleary

$48,500

Corbin Johnson & Vandegriff

$41,500

Tisa & Ramadan

$44,600

Walsh & Silverstein

$41,500

Warren & Logerfo

$31,145

Annie Chen

Hoya Staff Writer

The five vice presidential candidates for the GUSA executive advocated their tickets’ respective platforms yesterday in a debate largely centered on funding reform and the student association’s relationship with the student body. Approximately 40 students attended the debate at White Gravenor Hall, which featured one hour of sparring in advance of the presidential debate Feb. 18. While the other candidates emphasized their experience both inside and outside the Georgetown University Student Association, Rob Silverstein (SFS ’14), who is running alongside Spencer Walsh (MSB ’14), stressed that the pair is no less qualified despite its lack of prior involvement in the student government. “Spencer and I don’t feel [that] having GUSA background makes you qualified to better understand students’ needs on campus,” Silverstein said. When asked to evaluate the term of current GUSA President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13), candidates largely agreed that the executives’ main achievement was successfully raising the evidentiary standard from “more likely than not” to “clear and convincing.” “When GUSA does one great thing each year … most freshmen don’t know what GUSA does,” said vice presidential candidate Joe Vandegriff (COL’14), who is running with GUSA Senator Shavonnia Corbin Johnson (SFS ’14). “So we have to constantly build on that and strive for so much more than just a referendum a year.” Maggie Cleary (COL’14), who is running with former Student Activities Commission Chair and current member of the GUSA executive cabinet Jack See DEBATE, A7

ZOE BERTRAND/THE HOYA

Candidates for GUSA president and vice president submitted budget proposals Sunday in anticipation of the Feb. 21 election, outlining a specific fiscal plan for their terms and requesting corresponding funding from the university. Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14) and Maggie Cleary (COL ’14) requested $48,500, the most of any ticket this year. Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) and Adam Ramadan (SFS ’14) followed with a proposed budget of $44,600, while Shavonnia Corbin Johnson (SFS ’14) and Joe Vandegriff (COL ’14) requested $41,500 for the upcoming year, as did Spencer Walsh (MSB ’14) and Rob Silverstein (SFS ’14). Cannon Warren (SFS ’14) and Andrew Logerfo (COL ’14) submitted a proposed budget of $31,145 with the title “Smaller Is Better.” Georgetown University Student Association President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13) requested $23,400 during their 2012 campaign — not including funding for Collegiate Readership, which costs

around $15,000 — the lowest of the contenders in the 2012 election. This year’s funding requests are a fraction of what some candidates proposed last year, when Colton Malkerson (COL ’13) and Maggie Cleary requested $165,000 and Tyler Sax (COL ’13) and Michael Crouch (MSB ’13) requested $76,000. There was some confusion among candidates regarding budgeting for the Georgetown University Farmer’s Market and Collegiate Readership, a program which distributes newspapers on campus at no charge to students. Most candidates allotted between $10,000 and $16,000 for Collegiate Readership in their budgets. Corbin Johnson and Vandegriff, however, did not specify it as a line item in their budget, but Vandegriff said they would like to continue the program. This would increase their budget by at least another $10,000, surpassing Appelbaum and Cleary in funding requests. Similarly, all candidates except Walsh and Silverstein budgeted $5,000 for the farmer’s market in their plans. Walsh said that he See BUDGET, A6

Details of New South Pub Established in Memo Penny Hung

Hoya Staff Writer

Student staffing and events for patrons 18 and over were among the main tenets of a memorandum of understanding between GUSA and Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson regarding the New South Student Center pub. The Feb. 7 memo was the latest development in the effort to create a student center on campus that serves alcohol, which originally began with a movement to reopen Healy Pub, a proposal that was formally denounced by University President John J. DeGioia in November 2011. The New South pub is slated to open in fall 2014. The memorandum, which was signed by Georgetown University Student Association President Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) and Vice President Vail Kohnert-Yount (SFS ’13), as well as Olson, represented an understanding between GUSA and the university, guaranteeing student

input and involvement in the development process. “I am very pleased that we have reached a clear understanding with students about the vital student role in the New South Student Center,” Olson wrote in an email. “Students have played a tremendous role in the design of the center and in expanding the project through their generous support. It is heartening to know that we are committed to the same goals and are working together effectively to bring this new student center to life.” Gustafson agreed, stressing the importance of putting the agreement in writing. “We all came to a verbal understanding about what we would want in New South — all those things are written up in the memorandum — and we wanted to formalize it in writing, get all parties to sign on, so it could be something that is referred back to and held in See PUB, A7

EUGENE ANG/THE HOYA

An agreement between GUSA and GU ironed out details for the operation of the pub designed for the New South Student Center.

GU Law Student Gets Motives Questioned in First Papal Four Years for Meth Resignation in Six Centuries Hiromi Oka

Hoya Staff Writer

One man’s pursuit of a degree from Georgetown Law Center came crashing to a halt Jan. 31 when he was sentenced to four years in prison

COURTESY YE DOOMESDAY BOOKE

Marc Gersen (SFS ’04) was charged with intention to sell 500 grams of methamphetamines.

for selling methamphetamines. Marc Gersen (SFS ’04) pleaded guilty to selling wholesale quantities of meth after police found over 500 grams of the drug in a Dec. 1, 2011 deal that was intercepted by authorities. Gersen had an experience as a Georgetown undergraduate that was defined by success. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honor society. He won a medal in the Philodemic Society’s Hamilton Homecoming Debate in 2003. He graduated summa cum laude with a 3.91 grade point average and was recognized as one of the best economics students in his graduating class. But for Gersen, the academic challenges of graduate school proved trying. According to a sentencing memorandum obtained by The Hoya, Gersen began using and selling meth during his time at the University of California, Berkeley. Although he was able to attain a Masters in Economics in 2007, he was forced to abandon his Ph.D. studies. His downward spiral started after

Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947

See METH, A6

Hiromi Oka

Hoya Staff Writer

Pope Benedict XVI announced yesterday that he would resign as head of the Roman Catholic Church, becoming only the fifth pontiff to step down from the position in the history of the papacy and the first in over 600 years. Benedict, 85, cited “advanced age” and health as factors in his decision. “Both strength of mind and body are necessary — strength which, in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me,” he said Monday in Rome. Members of the Georgetown faculty expressed astonishment upon hearing the news. “It is rare that the world is surprised in today’s age, but no one knew this was coming, no one in the Vatican,” said Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry. Published Tuesdays and Fridays

FILE PHOTO: ALEX WONG/THE HOYA

Pope Benedict XVI, shown here at a mass at Nationals Park in April 2008, announced his resignation for health reasons Monday. Others, though equally surprised, said they had recognized the pope’s health beginning to decline. Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., an assistant professor in the government department, said that while Bene-

dict still seemed “fairly vibrant,” the pope had slowed down in recent years and was often seen riding in a cart. See POPE, A7

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