The Hoya: November 18, 2016

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 98, No. 22, © 2016

FRIday, november 18, 2016

‘THE DAILY SHOW’ IN DC

Correspondents Hasan Minhaj and Roy Wood Jr. discuss their coverage of the 2016 election.

EDITORIAL Students should take to activism to combat climate change denial.

ALUMNI ELECTED TO CONGRESS John Faso and Francis Rooney discuss their ambitions, Trump.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A4

GUIDE, B2

WorkersVote King Advocates Turning Anger Into Activism Against GU Contract Hashwinder Singh Special to The Hoya

Christian Paz Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown facilities workers rejected the university’s proposal to increase annual wages by 2 percent Wednesday, opening up the possibility of a general strike.

In a two-part vote conducted Monday at the main campus and Wednesday at the Georgetown University Law Center, workers voted in a 2-1 ratio against the tentative agreement reached between union representatives and university administrators Oct. 26, which falls short of the 1199 Service Employees International Union’s original demand of a 6 percent wage increase.

The proposed contract was the same one the university offered workers when negotiations began in June.

The current contract expired Oct. 30 after it was extended from its initial June 30 renewal deadline.

Georgetown Solidarity Committee member Esmeralda Huerta (SFS ’17) said the workers’ next steps are uncertain. Workers will present the results of their vote to union representatives, and the university may then decide whether to continue negotiations with the union.

“For the past six months, Georgetown has refused to budge, and honestly, it’s the union that’s been giving up on its demands.”

ESMERALDA HUERTA (SFS ’17) Member, Georgetown Solidarity Committee

Following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in last Tuesday’s election, white Americans should be conscious of their role in improving race relations and standing in solidarity with racial and religious minorities, argued social justice activist and writer Shaun King at a discussion Tuesday.

“We could go two routes here in 2017. We could keep doing what we’ve always been doing, which I think has been proven not to work that well, which is to stay isolated, or we could find fresh new ways to unify that I don’t even know if it’s been done before. I think that if we get into a cocoon, it can be real problematic in the days ahead,” King said.

King, who is best known for his role in the Black Lives Matter movement, joined sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson and moderator James Peterson, an English professor at Lehigh University, in discussing ways to promote activism on college campuses. The three offered student leaders advice on how to organize resistance movements in light of Trump’s victory, which was held in the Intercultural Center.

“Young people are frustrated,” King said. “They’re not just frustrated with the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency but they feel like the system itself failed them. Like the nation failed them. The country failed them. Like the Democratic Party failed them.”

King’s visit came amid a spike in hate crimes since last week’s election. The Southern Poverty Law Center has recorded over 200 incidents since Nov. 11, while three bias-related incidents on and off campus have been announced by the Georgetown University Police Department since Nov. 1.

JESUS RODRIGUEZ/THE HOYA

Activist Shaun King called on students to participate in resistance movements leading up to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in a discussion in the Intercultural Center on Tuesday.

King’s social media presence has gained attention in recent weeks as he has called for citizens across the nation to organize and protest the election results until Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20 .

Dyson said recent racial tensions show the need for unity and solidarity.

“What we are dealing with now may be the most heinous manifestation in a generation, but it is not

new; it is recycling old evil and prejudice and bias, and what you and I must do is foster our togetherness and be determined not to be defeated by this,” Dyson said.

Dyson said it is important to not single out individuals, but to address white culture when discussing race relations.

“I’m not talking about individual brothers and sisters,” Dyson said. “I’m talking about collective

whiteness. Whiteness as an ideology and politics.”

Dyson urged white Americans who are disheartened by the results of the election to actively show support for minorities.

Certain activists have been wearing safety pins to show that they stand in solidarity with minority populations.

See KING, A6

Should university administrators choose not to renegotiate conditions, the workers may vote to hold a strike to protest against the proposal.

“The university has the power to decide whether to continue negotiating. Depending on whether or not they want to keep negotiating, if they do want to negotiate, the union and the workers will keep bargaining,” Huerta said. “If they don’t, to my understanding, the workers must then take a strike vote to say whether or not they want to go on strike.”

Senior Director for Strategic Communications Rachel Pugh said the university is awaiting the union’s next steps.

“We are disappointed that the vote to ratify the agreement was unsuccessful,” Pugh wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We understand that the union is planning to discuss the outcome and next steps with the membership as soon as possible.”

A worker who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation said the union representatives had been vague in their recommendations to workers on whether to accept the contract.

Cleaning firm contractor P&R Enterprises and cleaning workers reached a contract agreement in June to increase wages in an example of a successful union negotiation process, according to the worker. The Georgetown Solidarity Committee has organized protests against the university’s contract proposal.

Voters Push Forward Statehood Petition

See FACILITIES, A6

See STATEHOOD, A6

featured

May Teng

Hoya Staff Writer

LISA BURGOA/THE HOYA

Voters in D.C. voted overwhelmingly in favor of delivering a petition to Congress on inducting Washingon, D.C., as the 51st state.

Over 80 percent of the Washington, D.C. electorate voted in favor of D.C. statehood Nov. 8, advancing a measure to petition Congress to induct the District of Columbia as the 51st state.

The four-part referendum, which was proposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) in April and unanimously approved by the D.C. Council in July, includes measures to admit the District into the union under the name New Columbia and call for an elected representative form of government. Additionally, the voters approved a Constitution and state boundaries for the District.

Under the proposal, the state of New Columbia would be converted into a residential state with small cutouts for government buildings and monuments remaining federal district land.

The measure would further replace the D.C. mayor with a governor and the D.C. Council with a 21-member legislative assembly.

At the federal level, the new state would have one voting representative in the House of Representatives and two senators. The District of Columbia currently has

one nonvoting representative in the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D). Holmes Norton is currently only allowed to serve on committees and talk on the House floor.

“We intend to continue to educate the American people about D.C.’s needs and desire for statehood.”

PAUL STRAUSS D.C. Shadow Senator (D)

D.C. also currently has two nonvoting shadow senators and one nonvoting shadow representative in Congress. These elected delegates’ main roles are to lobby Congress to give District residents full representation.

Bowser said she hopes to deliver a petition to President-elect Donald Trump and Congressional leaders before Trump’s inauguration

NEWS

NEWS

OPINION

Simas on Partisanship David Simas, assistant to President Barack Obama, discussed the gridlock in Congress.

A5

Bias Incidents Reported Two separate bias incidents against students off campus were reported in the past week.

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Taking Steps Toward Equality Gender equality in the workplace begins with a shift in culture and perceptions among young girls.

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NEWS CAB Refuses to Endorse

opinion Behind the Curtain

BUSINESS Startup Sells Snacks

The Council of Advisory Boards voted against endorsing GUSA’s senate restructuring proposal.

A5

During the election, WikiLeaks has revealed a need for greater transparency in government.

A3

Published Tuesdays and Fridays

A new student startup began selling food and drinks at a low price on campus.

A10

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION

THE HOYA

Friday, november 18, 2016

THE VERDICT

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A Disastrous Meal — The Falafel Truck, a food truck, caught fire on the George Washington University campus this Wednesday afternoon, injuring three employees of the truck. All three are expected to survive.

Confronting Denial of Fact C

Presidential Prizes — This Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced the 21 recipients of the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Honorees include celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen, among many other athletes, artists and philanthropists.

Founded January 14, 1920

EDITORIAL

environmental future for all.

Since the news of Ebell’s appointment broke last week, a group on campus called the Students for Climate Security has begun organizing opposition against Ebell. Started by government professor Andrew Bennett and accessible through Facebook, the group is currently organizing petitions, protests and phone banks to broadcast student voices to a wider population. We encourage our student body to sign the petition circulated

by SCS that calls for Trump to remove Ebell from his transition team and not nominate climate change deniers to his administration; by signing the petition, students can demonstrate their opposition to a climate change denier being responsible for ensuring climate change’s effects can be mitigated.

Today, Bennett and SCS are organizing a protest that will call for Ebell to be removed from his position. Beyond this, students should not hesitate to call their congressional representatives about their concerns with the appointment.

Contrary to what the past election cycle may have suggested, our elected officials do not just serve those belonging to one party — they serve all citizens equally.

Therefore, to openly voice one’s concerns over climate policy would be an exercise in practicing this country’s democratic ideals. Congress has the final power to approve whomever the president picks to lead the EPA, and representatives should be aware of what could happen if a climate change denier is chosen.

The issue of climate change is one of national and international importance.

It affects every single person, no matter their race, creed, ethnicity or political beliefs. Trump should understand the value in having a team that respects facts and the consensus of scientists around the world. Through activism, students both on this campus and beyond can make their voices heard and tell leaders that climate change deniers have no place in drafting environmental policy.

C

Quick Fix — Amazon announced this week that it will be rolling out free two-hour delivery to all of its Prime members in the Washington, D.C. area. The company noted that this service will be available for “tens of thousands of daily essentials.”

C C

Highest Honor — People Magazine has declared actor Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson as 2016’s Sexiest Man Alive. Previous winners of the magazine’s coveted title include soccer star David Beckham and Georgetown alum Bradley Cooper (COL ’97).

C

In the past week since the election, President-elect Donald Trump has begun to form his administration in the White House and other governmental agencies, with a promise to change establishment politics in Washington, D.C. However, his appointments thus far have been a source of serious concern. Specifically, Trump has chosen climate change denier Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank, as the leader of the transition team responsible for environmental and energy policy. In this position, Ebell will help determine leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as draft the Trump administration’s energy initiatives.

As students who will be inheriting a future shaped by today’s leaders, we must not sit idly by and watch Trump allow a climate change denier to shape environmental policy for the next four years. Everyone has a stake in the future of this planet, and students should do their part in combatting factually incorrect views through activism, organization and political participation.

Ebell’s appointment in the Trump administration is troubling, because he is a man who has consistently ignored the facts concerning climate change and its effects on the world. Last year, he said that the consensus of 97 percent of scientists believing in climate change is “phony” and “not based on science.” He also called Pope Francis’ encyclical addressing the issues of climate change as “scientifically ill-informed.” Ebell has said all this, despite having no scientific background himself.

Every person alive today will have to deal with the long-term effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, intense droughts and more extreme weather. However, students at Georgetown possess the ability to raise concerns about Ebell’s appointment and advocate for Trump to choose someone who is actually qualified to work toward a better

Time Is Up — Speaking at Oxford University on Monday, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking offered a dire prediction: “I don’t think we will survive another 1,000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”

Grab a Slice — The popular restaurant chain &pizza is celebrating the grand opening of its Georgetown location today. The new restaurant, located on Wisconsin Ave., will be offering free pizza to the first 119 guests in line.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Elinor Walker

Partnerships Foster Inclusivity On Tuesday, the Georgetown Scholarship Program launched its third annual #GSProud campaign, which celebrates low-income and first-generation college students at Georgetown. The campaign includes events and discussions focused on economic inclusivity and honoring those GSP students who contribute to the everyday life of our campus.

In light of the campaign, this editorial board encourages all students to celebrate GSP’s initiatives and reflect on how other campus organizations can support its efforts. Many organizations can look to Students for Georgetown, Inc. as an example of how a club can ensure that all students, no matter their status or financial situation, can be served effectively. The Corp has recently partnered with GSP for a range of pilot programs to support disadvantaged students on campus, which will also make sure students in GSP are a part of an inclusive campus.

In its official partnership with GSP, The Corp is implementing programs to benefit the 625 undergraduates who currently receive financial support from GSP in an effort to bridge gaps between the organization and GSP. Some of the initiatives include helping alleviate storage costs with Corp Storage and working with students to apply to some of the 14 scholarship applications available to students every year.

They also plan on hosting specific sessions to introduce opportunities in The Corp to GSP students so they can potentially find a place in the organization.

The Corp, one of Georgetown’s largest student organizations, is taking initiative in making our community stronger and more inclusive at the same time. It also is a welcome sign of an organization reaching out to assist students that make up a core group at Georgetown. GSP serves

to connect disadvantaged students with resources for every aspect of their lives, from job opportunities to affordable excursions.

The Corp alone, however, cannot address all issues of equality and inclusivity on campus. Even after the #GSProud campaign, student groups should establish programming ties with GSP. This would serve not only to provide more equitable opportunity on campus but also to invite more perspectives to the table. Groups such as the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union could partner with GSP to assist students with financial literacy and financial services like a credit-building program.

Another group that could effectively partner with GSP is the Blue and Gray Tour Guide Society. Blue and Gray tour guides are responsible for being the face of our university for prospective applicants and families who wish to attend Georgetown. A potential partnership with the GSP could involve a direct pipeline of GSP students becoming tour guides or for tour guides to provide more extensive information about GSP to visiting students.

With The Corp’s current actions, our community as a whole should seek to make sure all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status, belong to a campus of inclusiveness. Going forward, other organizations should demonstrate their support for GSP students not only through #GSProud but also through their own programs and initiatives. Our community as a whole benefits when we all strive to assist and lift our peers. We can better embody the values for which this university stands through community action and bridging gaps between more organizations and groups of students.

Jess Kelham-Hohler, Editor-in-Chief Toby Hung, Executive Editor Matthew Trunko, Managing Editor Ian Scoville, Campus News Editor Aly Pachter, City News Editor Paolo Santamaria, Sports Editor John Miller, Guide Editor Syed Humza Moinuddin, Opinion Editor Naaz Modan, Photography Editor Jesus Rodriguez, Layout Editor Jeanine Santucci, Copy Chief Elizabeth Cavacos, Social Media Editor Meg Lizza, Blog Editor Jarrett Ross, Multimedia Editor

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The Rostrum

here’s nothing wrong with having a meal with friends and family, and I would say especially for many of us where our families have survived genocide, it’s so important for us to be able to sit down with each other and be grateful that we have food and to enjoy spending time with each other. The real underlying issue is the mythology; there’s a view that we’re this big melting pot country, or there’s a view that the natives and the Pilgrims lived happily ever after and the native people just evaporated into the woods or something to make way for the Pilgrims and all of the other aspects of the European invasion ... Everybody says ‘Isn’t that cute, that’s so nice.’ That’s not at all what happened.”

Mahtowin Munro co-leader of United American Indians of New England

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Editorial Board

Syed Humza Moinuddin, Chair Jack Bennett, Ben Card, Jesse Jacobs, Naaz Modan, Anthony Palacio, Ashwin Puri, Andrea Roos, Ellen Singer

Contributing Editors & Consultants

]

Madeline Auerbach, Kara Avanceña, Reza Baghaee, Nick Bailey, Isabel Binamira, Jinwoo Chong, Deirdre Collins, Cleopatra Fan, Gabi Hasson, Shannon Hou, Charlie Kelly, Daniel Kreytak, Catherine McNally, Naaz Modan, Suzanne Monyak, Jesus Rodriguez, Zack Saravay, Molly Simio, Emily Tu, Andrew Wallender

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Kristen Fedor, Chair Jinwoo Chong, Jess Kelham-Hohler, Arnosh Keswani, Katherine Richardson, Daniel Smith, Evan Zimmet Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-700 words. The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions.

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya.com.

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OPINION

Friday, november 18, 2016

Fault lines

THE HOYA

A3

VIEWPOINT • WITT

François Valentin

Solidify Platform, Consolidate Support

I

n France, Italy, Spain, Britain, Austria and now the United States, centerleft parties have been losing elections repeatedly and are now in shambles. Stuck between far-right and far-left groups, the center left needs to galvanize new support.

The center-left parties across the world need to find ways to reconsolidate and establish clearer policy lines to connect with new supporters.

In the 1960s, blue-collar workers, who made up roughly half of the population in Europe and America, supported parties that advocated for platforms of progress, union and strong governmental institution. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, with the falling population of blue-collar workers, social-democrats and leftist political groups, from Democrats in the U.S. to the Labour Party in Great Britain, had to adapt to attract other voters.

By the ‘90s, social-democrats such as Tony Blair in the United Kingdom and Gerard Schröder in Germany were competing with the right for economic credibility.

Competing economic theories from Maynard Keynes to Friedrich Hayek were adopted by left and right political parties, respectively, but the left began weakening. There was an increasing trouble among the Labour Party and Democrats to balance their support for unions and institutions, but also enact fiscal policies that were the norm of the era, leaving blue-collar workers disgruntled.

In the 21st century, those who lead center-left parties are struggling to maintain support because they have a problem holding onto core principles. French President François Hollande won his last campaign by promising that “finance is [his] enemy,” but then went on to cut taxes on corporations.

Hollande’s intention was to win new voters in the center, while doing just enough for the left’s traditional electorate to stay on board. This

meant promising to save working class jobs, while telling centrists he was probusiness — a perilous exercise that cost his center-left party seats in elections that followed.

Because the left was so ambiguous on its economic policy, it felt safer fighting on social issues. Marriage equality or abortion rights united deeply divided parties. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, despite profound disagreements on economic policies, could agree on these issues. The only major law that François Hollande passed in France that did not divide the Socialist Party was the 2013 marriage equality law.

When the far right challenges free-trade, leftist politicians reluctantly abandon economic treaties they previously supported, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. When the far-right says immigration is a threat for native workers, all governments, left and right, become deeply skeptical of welcoming too many Syrian refugees.

In this current political climate, the left has lost the capacity to set the battlefield.

New ideas now come from the far right before becoming mainstream, and centerleft groups are beginning to feel the consequences of their victory in electoral losses.

Lacking a clear ideological position for the last few decades, center-left politicians are paying for their ambiguity by losing votes left, right and center. Sanders wants the left to defend the working classes, others believe Republican voters can be won with business-friendly measures. Both are viable options, but whatever centerleft parties decide, they must stick to it and abandon ambiguity.

François Valentin is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. This is the final installment of Fault Lines.

Citizens are much more capable of understanding how actors might take advantage of the system if they have a wealth of data to explore and a free media to contextualize it.

Transparency Mandates Accountability

W

hile many are still reflecting on the results of last week’s election, one would be remiss to not reflect on one actor that played a large part in the outcome of the election: WikiLeaks.

A group dedicated to releasing confidential documents, WikiLeaks released a series of documents this past year that damaged the Democratic Party and its nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Even though WikiLeaks only targeted one particular party, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warned his fellow colleagues in the Republican Party that “tomorrow, it could be us.”

Although many politicians fear the damage that WikiLeaks can do to their careers and parties, the work and existence of WikiLeaks is actually beneficial for normal citizens. The organization’s work reveals the inner workings of our political system, increasing transparency and forcing politicians to always be wary that their actions, and those of their parties, such that they are always held accountable.

One of the most influential WikiLeaks releases occurred on Oct. 31, when emails emerged entangling

interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile in controversy over her apparent bias toward the Clinton campaign throughout the Democratic primaries. In an email from March, prior to a primary debate, Brazile told the Clinton campaign that an audience member would ask “what … will Hillary do as president to help the people of Flint?”

The risk for getting caught in questionable political relationships is higher than ever before.

These emails revealed the cozy relationship between the supposedly neutral DNC and the Clinton campaign, but also confirmed many voters’ suspicions about their government. A 2015 NPR poll showed that in October 2015 only 19 percent of Americans trusted the government “always or most of the time,” down from over 75 percent in 1965.

WikiLeaks managed to

VIEWPOINT • ROSE

damage one specific candidate’s campaign, yet it would be foolish to assume that corruption is more prevalent in our current political system than in other generations merely because cit is more extensively covered in the news. What has changed, courtesy of WikiLeaks, is transparency.

We must not take transparency for granted.

Research conducted at Goteborg University shows that increasing the amount of political information available is an effective method to combat corruption in government institutions. The logic behind this finding should be intuitive.

Citizens are much more capable of understanding how actors might take advantage of the system if they have a wealth of data to explore and a free media to contextualize it. For the same reason, many nongovernmental organizations such as Transparency International have advised that one of the keys to combating corruption in developing states is increasing governmental transparency.

Despite offering transparency, WikiLeaks also has its own dangers. Ju-

lian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, suggested that he saw Clinton as a personal opponent during the campaign, and this motivated him to release more leaks from her campaign. Even so, the precedence of free flowing information will be beneficial to American democracy in the long term.

Transparency is changing the game. Now, the risk of getting caught in questionable political relationships is higher than ever before.

Aspiring politicians have surely observed the dozens of leaked email scandals, documents and tapes in this election, and are taking note. Moving forward, corrupt or unacceptable behavior from anyone in the spotlight is likely to be uncovered if someone is committed to digging for it, and there is a strong chance someone is going to dig. In the future, risk-averse candidates will be less likely to undertake shady business and will be forced to limit their corrupt behavior. In President-elect Trump’s case, the digital spotlight will be on him for the next four years.

Jacob witt is a freshman in

the College.

VIEWPOINT • CHAN

Women Prosper Through Unity Modeling Modern Protests

I

n the past week, the argument of sexism and gender inequality has been used in explaining Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the presidential election.

The conversation has examined the ways in which our country still grapples with sexism. While modern feminism pushes society to accept women in positions of power, many popular feminists, such as Ann Friedman and Sheryl Sandberg, have been prominent advocates for the importance of friendship between females in the struggle for gender equality.

Yet a concept of unity seems to not carry into the real world as effectively as it should. Polling data points to the case that women actually tend to not work effectively among one another in professional industries like business, technology and consulting.

Therefore, in order for gender equality to find further success, conflict between women in professional fields should be addressed through a revision of culture and perception.

Friedman unveiled “shine theory” back in 2013, which argues that supporting other powerful women helps all women find professional success. This past summer, Sandberg supported this idea, asking women to lean in together and create more peer-mentor relationships in professional environments.

Yet the data points to the fact that women often

experience friction among one another in the workplace, whether the labels are co-workers or boss and employee. For the past 60 years, Gallup has asked employees if they prefer a female or a male boss and not once have more than 50 percent of women said they preferred having a female boss. In fact, women prefer a male boss more than men themselves do.

We must reach out to other women when intimidated by hierarchies, rather than isolate ourselves.

To understand this conflict, it should be noted that 95 percent of working women feel they have been undercut by another woman at least once in their professional careers.

There was also a University of Michigan report on the topic of the “Queen Bee boss,” one who is typified as being out only for her own success, and found that due to traditionally male hierarchies in business, women now feel threatened by other women in the workplace.

From the data, it is apparent that women are not leaning in and shining together. To address this issue, we must change the way we raise our girls and how they view one another in their professional

lives. In effect, there needs to be a cultural change in perception and expectation toward women in positions of leadership, both on an individual level and a group level.

Author Rachel Simmons proposes in her book, “Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls,” that girls, from a young age, are taught to be nice rather than how to deal with conflict or issues of competition, except by pushing the feelings away. This contributes to the lack of cohesion among women in professional industries like business and technology.

If shine theory is to ever exist on a greater and wider level, then progress begins with what girls are taught. Girls must be taught that conflict can be dealt with directly, while cooperation and problem solving should be championed. Girls must be told that their feelings deserve to be heard, not suppressed.

The next generation of female leaders can do better if we teach and emphasize such qualities. For now, women must make a conscious effort to acknowledge when we find ourselves intimidated by hierarchies — we must reach out to other women in these moments, and not isolate ourselves. Only when we come to recognize our shortcomings can we find a way to unify and truly shine.

Katherine Rose is a fresh-

man in the College.

D

uring one of my visits to the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, an elder of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe explained to me that their traditional term for water roughly translated to “the first medicine,” meaning that it serves as a wellspring of health and livelihood for those in the tribe.

As protests in South Dakota continue into November, the rhetoric of many recent discussions of the Dakota Access Pipeline often overlooks the symbolic and practical value of water. As is evident in Flint, Mich. and Newark, Calif. — and other locations in the U.S. where water sources have been compromised due to drought, pollution or oil spills — the value of water should not be overlooked.

To comprehend what the term “first medicine” means, one must understand water’s significance not only to those living on the Standing Rock reservation, but to all Americans.

The protesters, who have been active since the summer, are not only advocating for conservation. They are advocating for protecting a way of life and the livelihood of those who rely on this water. The pipeline not only runs through sacred burial grounds, it also runs close to water sources such as a significant aquifer.

Considering President Barack Obama’s recent comments expressing concern over the problems the development of the Dakota Access Pipeline

faces, the peaceful protests and mobilization of activists around the country are making an impact.

However, the issue has become increasingly polarized, with not all Standing Rock Sioux supporting the protest.

Voices of all American citizens need to be heard, and the ability for civilians to use their smart phones and other technologies, such as Facebook, Twitter and Periscope, to broadcast violent encounters with law enforcement gives the protesters a shield against the officers. It forces the press and media groups to see the physical evidence of attacks involving pepper spray and vicious dogs.

It also provides people a first-person experience of what the Standing Rock Sioux are willing to fight for: their way of life and livelihood.

The fight for clean water is a fight for a way of life, as well as a symbolic battle for all underrepresented Americans.

For Americans, what happens at Standing Rock may set a precedent for future protests and responses to other issues of Native American rights and conservation.

Obama’s suggestion for rerouting the Dakota Access Pipeline

has been met with criticism from Standing Rock Sioux protesters for being soft on oil companies and from pipeline supporters who view rerouting as redundant, expensive and ineffective.

However, Obama’s thoughts on the issue push us to see that this is more than just a Native American issue, but an American issue that mobilizes citizens to voice their opinions. In a time of technologies that allow for the struggles over Standing Rock to be shown all over the world, the protests should make us reflect on what values and principles we wish to hold as Americans. The ongoing protests are symbolic of struggles against other injustices, and thus citizens should seek to engage in the issues actively and learn from the Dakota fight.

At their core, the protests in South Dakota pertain primarily to the value of “the first medicine.”

The fight for clean water is a fight for a way of life for the Standing Rock Sioux, as well as a symbolic battle for all Americans who are underrepresented and overlooked. Protesters at Standing Rock come from all around the country and are fighting not just for water but also for justice, livelihoods and for their voice to be heard by both their government and the world.

Lucas Chan is a junior in

the College. He is a member of the Native American Student Council.

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PAGE FOUR

INSIDE THIS ISSUE A climate change panel focused on the environmentally induced displacement of refugees. Story on A8.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

verbatim

IN FOCUS EXIT INTERVIEW

“

We’re talking about potentially a billion people that are living in these vulnerable populations that are going to be migrating in coming years.”

James Olsen, Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship. Story on A8.

from our blog

THOUGHTS YOU HAVE AT YATES 4E brings you the thoughts everyone has while sweating it out at Yates.

GU POLITICS

The fifth installment of the McCourt School’s Institute of Policy and Public Service’s The Exit Interview series,featured U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, left, who said the largest danger to the economy is complacency.

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Q&A With Georgetown Alumni Elected to Congress JOE EGLER

Hoya Staff Writer

In addition to four other Georgetown alumni newly elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 8, Republicans John Faso of New York (LAW ’79) and Francis Rooney of Florida (CAS ’75, LAW ’78) will join a total of 22 Hoyas serving in the 115th Congress. In an interview with THE HOYA this week, Faso and Rooney reflected on their time on the campaign trail, their goals and their expectations under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

How will the Trump presidency affect what you do in Congress?

Faso: The American people obviously voted for change, and this is going to be an administration that is very change - oriented. A lot of the conventional wisdom, prevailing knowledge as to how government should operate, will be challenged.

It may not be changed ultimately, but certainly the conventional wisdom is going to be challenged on a whole series of fronts.

“The people spoke clearly, defied the pundits and elected Donald Trump president.”

FRANCIS ROONEY (CAS ’79, GRD ’78) U.S. Congress

Rooney: The people spoke clearly, defied the pundits and elected Donald Trump president, which gives us an opportunity to execute on the conservative government things — an effort to roll back the clock on eight years of anti-private industry and freedom-restricting liberal government policy.

How has your experience at Georgetown shaped the way you approach your job?

Faso: Well, I went to

Georgetown Law School for four years, five nights a week, and one of the greatest things that I got out of the Georgetown experience was just building a network of contacts that I still, in some respects, rely on today. So it was a great network. Obviously, it was a very fine legal education, and I’ve used that every day since that time when I graduated, which was quite some time ago.

“Georgetown’s Jesuit education has been an incredible value to me and my family.”

FRANCIS ROONEY (CAS ’79, GRD ’78) U.S. Congress

Rooney: Georgetown’s Jesuit education has been an incredible value to me and my family that me and my wife Cathleen have raised, my approach toward business, charity, civic engagement. The Jesuits teach us, first and foremost, to think and to see God everywhere.

Those are two really important principles to deploy to try to reach a successful point in life.

What challenges have you encountered throughout your career?

Faso: The challenges are many. Trying to run statewide in New York State, which is of course very difficult for a Republican — that’s certainly challenging. But I think that the challenge stays trying to get people to understand the role of government. I’m a believer in a limited government. We have gone way too far in terms of centralizing power and authority in Washington.

Rooney: Most of my career has been in business. I’m first and foremost a businessperson. To build a company from

FACEBOOK

Two Georgetown alumni, John Faso (R-NY) and Republican Francis Rooney from Florida (pictured), will join 22 other Hoyas as well as four other newly-elected alumni in the 115th Congress. a very small one to a reasonably sized one, you have to take a lot of risks, you have occasional setbacks. The key to building a good company is to have a focus on building a good culture, being honest and forthright with your employees and customers and work for the long haul and make investments for the long haul.

What are your goals for your upcoming term in Congress?

Faso: My goal is to work productively in the House to help spur economic growth in the country by tax and regulatory change.

Rooney: I’m a very conservative Republican. I have longstanding support from my party of raising money and advocating for conservative issues. So I’ll have the opportunity to advance some of those issues, pushing for limited government, getting our spending under control, getting back some of the job-

controlling regulations that the Obama administration put into place and hopefully reforming the tax codes to be more stimulative of growth, so that we can return to the kind of 3.5 to 4 percent growth that our country had for many years.

In addition, a more macro priority is in southern Florida, we live by the Everglades, and we have Lake Okeechobee.

The watershed that flows into the Gulf of Mexico through the Caloosahatchee River —

16 years ago, the federal government committed to pay half the cost to clean up the lake and the watershed, and to restore the Everglades. So far, Florida has put in a lot of money, but the federal government has not put in that much. One of my priorities locally is to work hard with other members of the local delegation to get some more of the money appropriated to execute on the Everglades Restoration Plan, which was passed in the year 2000.

friday, november 18, 2016

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Adviser Praises Obama Collaboration Bias-Related Attacks Reported

Alfredo Carrillo Obregon Hoya Staff Writer

President Barack Obama’s collaborative tendencies were put to the test by noncompliant Republicans in Congress during his second term, according to David Simas, assistant to the president and director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach at the White House, at a discussion Wednesday.

The Republican-majority Congress has rendered it nearly impossible to pass legislation.

“He does not, from the beginning, tell people what their problems are that need to be solved,” Simas said. “The job of a community organizer at first is to listen to people, to identify their needs, and then, most importantly, to begin to connect them together regardless of their opinion and their points of view to form a consensus.”

Simas’ speech was the fourth installment of the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Institute of Politics and Public Service’s “The Exit Interview” series, a six-part lecture program focusing on the legacy of the Obama administration.

Wednesday’s lecture centered on the political culture in Washington, D.C., with a particular focus on Obama’s tendency to cooperate with Republicans rather than to oppose them.

“That’s always been his orientation, from a community organizer in South Chicago to the Illinois State Senate, where he would reach across the aisle and spend time with Republicans,” Simas said. “That has always been and was the predicate of what he believes — how change occurs, but also how you can bring people together.”

During the event in Lohrfink Auditorium, Simas said despite Obama’s collaborative nature, partisan clashes made it nearly impossible for him to execute his campaign promises.

Simas said Obama’s campaign promise to fix a broken political system appealed to a country divided by the war on terrorism and the 2008 economic recession.

“When Lehman Brothers collapsed on Sept. 15, 2008, our politics changed from that moment forward. The campaigns, the rhetoric, the approaches, the issues that had existed before that moment, as of that day, changed,” Simas said. “Any discussion about the Obama presidency without being rooted in that seminal moment and then what it did, not only to the populous as a whole, but also to the two political parties in response to it, that needs to be front and center.”

Simas said Obama was able to pass his stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as well as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 because of a Democratic con-

William Zhu Hoya Staff Writer

LAUREN SEIBeL/THE HOYA

David Simas, assistant to the president, argued that Republicans in Congress challenged President Barack Obama’s desire to collaborate during his term Wednesday. gressional majority during the first two years of his administration. However, Republicans were able to take control of the House of Representatives in 2010 and the Senate in 2014 because of the perception that the economy was not improving.

“Clearly the scope of what happened was bigger than folks had anticipated,” Simas said. “And in retrospect, when you have unemployment at 10 percent in that year and recovery that was beginning in very early stages, that explains to a large extent what happened.”

Simas said while Obama attempted to spur cooperation in solving America’s economic woes during his first days in government, tense relationships between Democrats and Republicans rendered this a difficult feat to accomplish. Simas owed a lot of the gridlock in the District to Republican

noncompliance.

“Frankly, the strategic decision that was made at that point by our friends on the other side was, ‘They have the votes, this is going to be no matter what happens, deeply unpopular because of the fault lines of what happened in the final days of the Bush administration,’” Simas said. “‘There is going to be a hands-off approach.’”

Despite the difficult political situation faced by America, Simas urged students to become active in their communities.

“Remember who you are and what you represent. Regardless of what your political beliefs are, determine what is that North Star that you have — what is that passion of what you truly, truly believe — and even though things are hard, continue to work toward making your community, your

country, the state that you live in, what thing that you are most passionate about, a little bit better than when you found it,” Simas said.

The “Exit Interview” series has previously hosted Attorney General Loretta Lynch, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell since its launch Sept. 15.

Maria Cornell (SFS ’20), an attendee, found Simas’ closing remarks particularly memorable.

“It was really nice to hear what David Simas had to say,” Cornell said. “Especially with his closing remarks about staying engaged despite your possible dissent towards the upcoming administration, so it was nice to hear his perspective on that, and echoing the idea that everyone has power and you can exercise it.”

Two Georgetown students were attacked in separate bias-related incidents off campus reported in the past week, according to a campuswide email from Georgetown University Police Department Chief Jay Gruber and Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson yesterday.

Gruber and Olson wrote that a group of four white men approached a student of Asian descent and spat on him on the 3200 block of Prospect Street on Nov. 11.

The second incident occurred Nov. 13 on the 3700 block of Prospect Street A female student, who was wearing a scarf resembling a hijab, was shoved to the ground while walking and was told by a group of four to six white men to take the scarf off.

The Metropolitan Police Department is working with GUPD to investigate the crimes.

Both Olson and Gruber confirmed to The Hoya that there has been a recent increase in bias-related incidents in the week following the presidential election.

“We have seen an increase in these incidents over the past week. We are seeking to inform and support our students — through the bias reporting system, these broad communications, and the offices and services that are always there to support students,” Olson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The Georgetown Code of Student Conduct defines a bias-related incident as one in which individuals are targeted based on their actual or perceived race, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion or disability. Student instigators of bias-related incidents can be subject to disciplinary action, including expulsion from the university.

The email said the two students both submitted reports to GUPD and the perpetrators of both attacks were similarly described as a group of four to six white men, though there is no evidence of a connection between the two incidents.

“We are a community that welcomes all people and that values understanding, dignity, inclusion and respect.

Acts of hate and bias are unacceptable and antithetical to our commitment to an inclusive and respectful community. Recently we learned of two troubling incidents involving our students that are bias-related,” the email reads. “It is unclear if they are related.”

A statement from Georgetown’s Asian American Student Association condemned the attacks while expressing

solidarity with other minorities.

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Muslim Americans, Latinx, Hispanics, immigrants, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. An attack against one group is an attack against all; we do not tolerate bigotry in any way, shape, or form.

We acknowledge the intersectionality among groups and urge our community to strive towards inclusion, empathy, and understanding,” the statement reads.

Neither Olson nor Gruber provided statistics on recent bias-related incidents to The Hoya.

According to Gruber, GUPD first ensures the safety of the victims and then documents the bias-related incident.

“We make sure the person is safe, take a police report and refer the person to the bias reporting form,” Gruber wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Olson recommends that students who have experienced or witnessed similar incidents report them either through the online bias reporting system or a GUPD report.

“We have seen an increase in these incidents over the past week.”

TODD OLSON Vice President for Student Affairs, Georgetown

“We strongly encourage any student (and any member of our community) who is experiencing assaults or threatening behavior to report it through GUPD or through the university’s bias reporting system,” Olson wrote.

AASA Political Awareness Committee Chair Meredith Peng (SFS ’17) said Asian-Americans must be more politically involved with issues regarding racial discrimination given the proximity of the recent incidents.

“Now, more than ever, we need to be in an activist mindset — that means speaking out when you see harassment, supporting one another in the face of discrimination and fighting back against hatred and bigotry,” Peng wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“It’s terrible that this has happened so close to home — and frankly terrifying — but we can and should use this as an opportunity to unite and show solidarity.”

Club Advisory Boards Vote Against Endorsing Referendum Tala Al Rajal Hoya Staff Writer

Representatives on the Council of Advisory Boards voted against endorsing a referendum to abolish the Georgetown University Student Association senate and replace it with a new elected assembly Nov. 11.

The elected assembly’s primary responsibility would be to allocate about $1 million through a collaborative process between student organization advisory board representatives and four elected student representatives from each class.

The Student Activities Commission, Performing Arts Advisory Council and the Advisory Board for Club Sports voted in support of the referendum and the Campus Ministry Student Forum voted against, while the Center for Social Justice’s Advisory Board for Student Organizations and the Media Board abstained. CAB consists of one representative from each of the six club advisory boards.

Despite their decision to not endorse the referendum, individual advisory board representatives said the referendum was popular among members of their boards.

The student body will vote on whether to approve the new assembly in a universitywide referendum Dec. 1. Onefourth of the undergraduate

population must vote in support of the plan for the referendum to pass.

CAB Chair Janhvi Bhojwani (SFS ’17) said the three advisory boards that did not vote to endorse the reform were reluctant to trust a new funding system under the proposed assembly.

Currently, the allocation of the student activities budget fee is determined by the GUSA senate’s Finance and Appropriations Committee, which hears presentations from advisory boards, the Georgetown Program Board and the Lecture Fund before submitting a budget for approval by the senate.

“Some advisory boards actually prefer this current system.

They’re happy with the way things currently work, and they’ve gotten most of their financial asks throughout the years,” Bhojwani said. “Some groups that abstained from voting felt that the entire process of this restructure was really rushed and that we’re making all of these changes and we don’t know whether they will actually be good or bad since it would only go into effect during the next academic year.”

Campus Ministry Student Forum Treasurer Jared Ison (SFS ’17) said the group voted against endorsing the referendum because the current funding system works for CMSF.

“We understand that the current FinApp process doesn’t work for other groups, but CMSF has seen its requests met and we would have rather continued to reform the existing system that had worked for us,” Ison wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Our ultimate vote of no was meant to express our concerns with the plan, but in a productive and collaborative way.”

According to Ison, there were also concerns over whether the reform plan will effectively address problems facing the current funding process and the timeline for passing budgets.

However, Bhojwani said she has experienced problems with the current system for club funding allocations.

“As advisory boards, we’ve had issues with the way the current system works. We have had a lack of an effective voice, and there’s also a lot of volatility in our individual budgets from year to year. It’s been extremely unreliable, there’s a lack of transparency and there’s no way to guarantee impartiality,” Bhojwani said.

Advisory Board for Club Sports Chair Daniel Fain (COL ‘18) said the proposed restructuring is a necessary change to the current funding and appropriations system.

“I support it wholeheartedly. I think that it’s a needed change. Anyone who’s been in-

volved in the funding process, especially from the Advisory Board’s side acknowledges that there are serious problems with our current system,” Fain said.

Fain said the new elected assembly could facilitate better collaboration and representation among the club advisory boards.

“I’m strongly in support because I think this allows advisory boards to collaborate amongst themselves, especially when it comes to things like large projects. I also like that it gives advisory boards a substantive voice. The fact that we have a vote in the final voting process is huge,” Fain said.

GUSA Senate Speaker Richie Mullaney (COL ’18) said the reform is intended to address problems with how club funding is currently allocated.

“We’ve looked at how the senate has functioned for the last decade and looked at good things and bad things, and we’ve really decided that we need to reform the way we do club funding,” Mullaney said.

“Over the last 15 years, control over the student activity fee has shifted from advisory boards to the GUSA senate. We want to restore proper club representation in the process.”

GUSA Vice President Chris Fisk (COL ’17) said the new appropriations structure would give club leaders a larger say in the funding process.

“Some of the most frequent

YEON CHEO/THE HOYA

The Council of Advisory Boards voted against supporting a referendum on replacing the GUSA senate Friday. complaints that we got at the beginning of our term were from club leaders who felt like their voices were not heard in the club funding process,” Fisk said. “This is one step towards making sure the experts in these areas play a role in deciding exactly where their money is going.”

Bhojwani agreed that the new elected assembly would give club advisory boards an important voice in the budgeting process.

“Personally, I see both pros

and cons to this new system, and ultimately I feel it could be an improvement in comparison to what we currently have,” Bhojwani said. “As advisory boards and stakeholders, we would be playing a more substantial role in the funding process, and I think it’s an important and necessary change because we finally get a voice in something that has a significant impact on the way we operate as funding boards and serve our groups.”

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FRIday, november 18, 2016

DC Statehood Moves to Congress Facilities Workers Referendum favored by over 80 percent of District voters Reject Contract STATEHOOD, from A1

in January. Congress has the power to approve or reject the measure.

One of D.C.’s shadow senators, Paul Strauss (D), who was elected by D.C. residents for a two-year term but has no vote in Congress due to D.C.’s lack of statehood, said he was heartened by the positive consensus of District residents. However, Strauss said the statehood movement faces an uphill battle with the Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress as D.C. is predominantly Democratic, with the D.C. Board of Elections reporting 76 percent of the District’s voters are registered Democrats as of Oct. 31.

“We intend to continue to educate the American people about D.C.’s need and desire for statehood and we’re pleased to have the new tools given to us by the referendum,” Strauss said. “But in the 115th Congress, let’s be frank, we are back on defense and so most of our time will be spent defending the limited existent sovereignty that we have, as opposed to moving the ball forward.”

“If our representatives don’t feel pressure, then they’re probably not going to have this at the top of their priority list.”

CHERYL LIU (SFS ’19) Secretary of D.C. Statehood, GUSA Federal Relations Committee

D.C.’s shadow Representative, Franklin Garcia (D), attributed the potential Republican reluctance to the measure to the prospect of two new Democratic senators and a Democratic

FACILITIES, from A1

FILE PHOTO: nATASHA tHOMSON/THE HOYA

A referendum to make D.C. the 51st state and institute a representative government, for which Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) advocated, will head to Congress for approval. member of the House.

“People’s rights should not be a partisan issue, but unfortunately it is,” Garcia said. “The fact that both houses are now under Republican control makes it very, very challenging.”

Congress previously defeated an attempt for D.C. statehood in 1993 after a House vote rejected a proposal 277-153 votes. Earlier attempts, including a 1980 call for a constitutional convention and a 1982 ratification of a constitution by D.C. voters, either stalled or expired.

Garcia said the drive for statehood has been an issue of disenfranchisement in D.C. and needs to be addressed.

“The referendum is a piece of work that goes back to ’81 at a minimum,” Garcia said. “Prior to that, people were already talking about autonomy. People have been complaining for centuries, if you will.”

Chris Murphy, Georgetown’s vice president for government relations and community engagement, acknowledged the value of the referendum as an opportunity for reflection on options for advocates of D.C. statehood. He also said it highlighted the need for Georgetown students to become active in the movement.

“It’s a moment for D.C. statehood advocates to step back, regroup and explore the options for going forward,” Murphy wrote in an email to The Hoya. “For starters, they need to find ways to educate people about this ongoing injustice that denies 670,000 Americans a basic right of democracy every day. And Georgetown students — many of whom come from all around the country and the world — can be an important part of this effort.”

Georgetown University Student Association Feder-

al and D.C. Relations Committee Secretary of D.C. Statehood Cheryl Liu (SFS ’19), who is also a member of GU Students for D.C. Statehood, a student organization that helped campaign for the referendum, cited a lack of nationwide concern for the statehood effort as major problem facing the issue.

If constituents from other states called on their representatives in Congress to vote for the matter, Liu said she believes it would gain more traction, even among Republicans.

“I think it’s not as universal an issue as it should be in that if you don’t live in D.C., you aren’t affected by it,” Liu said. “They’re not pushing their congressmen or senators to move on this issue. If our representatives don’t feel pressure, then they’re probably not going to have this at the top of their priority list.”

“We’re really uncertain on that, because when we did have the meeting, the union informed us that they weren’t going to come back to the table or anything like that,” the worker said. “We had to inform them that during the P&R negotiations, that the students had protested and assisted the union in getting a fair contract where now they make more than we do — the contractors.”

Workers, labor union representatives and student activists demanded a wage increase tied to the cost of living in Washington, D.C., similar parking and health care benefits to what workers at the Georgetown University MedStar Hospital receive and fair supervision practices.

Facilities workers currently pay $140 per month for parking and $15 for health care visits.

In addition to a 2 percent annual wage increase, the proposal the workers rejected denoted a $0.25 increase in wages every year until June 2019. The proposal required all minimum wages to increase to $13.50 per hour by June 2017 and $14.25 per hour

by June 2019, in line with Washington, D.C. minimum wage increases.

Workers interviewed by The Hoya said they were disappointed with the final proposal and the union’s bargaining capabilities.

Another facilities worker, who also asked to remain anonymous, said the union representatives’ work was not enough.

“Many of us believe that the union is not doing as much as it could be doing,” the worker said.

A second facilities worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said the union was unwilling to consider renegotiating terms with the university.

“They informed us that management said that this was their final offer, and so,

the union was telling us that this was their final offer, and so they were trying to encourage us to vote yes,” the worker said. “They admitted that we were underpaid.

And so, we were questioning them on why they would bring us an underpaid contract. It doesn’t make sense the way they presented the contract to us.”

“I see the onus falling on Georgetown to grant the workers who work at this university fair working conditions and just pay.”

ESMERALDA HUERTA (SFS ’17) Member, Georgetown Solidarity Committee

Huerta said the union’s work has been ineffective.

“The union could definitely be doing a better job, to be honest. Its head organizer was dismissed halfway through the contract negotiations, earlier last month. I feel like the union could have been pushing for more,” Huerta said.

“For the past six months, Georgetown has refused to budge, and honestly it’s the union that’s been giving up on its demands.”

The facilities worker said he is aware of the possibility for workers to go on strike.

“We have to keep all options open,” the worker said.

Huerta said regardless, university administrators should be held accountable for failing to provide fair working conditions to facilities workers.

“At the end of the day, I see the onus falling on Georgetown to grant the workers who work at this university fair working conditions and just pay,” Huerta said.

Shaun King Promotes Solidarity, Reflects on Race KING, from A1 “Empathize with those people who are the victims of [the election]. They don’t have a choice of wearing a safety pin to identify themselves because our skin is our safety pin. Our hijab is our safety pin. Our dress is our safety pin except it becomes a stigma to mark us,” Dyson said.

During the question-and-answer session following the conversation, Gallaudet University American Sign Language professor Felicia Williams, who is deaf, questioned the role of Black Lives Matter in handling protesters who are disabled.

Williams said she and other members of the disabled community often get rejected from protests.

“It’s very easy in a position of privilege and protection to say ‘wait and see.’”

Shaun king Social Justice Activist

King agreed the Black Lives Matter movement needs to be more inclusive.

“It’s so easy for me and all of us to be thoughtless about people who are different than us. And you have reminded me, and all of us, of how thoughtless and careless we can be sometimes. I want to thank you for having the courage to call it out. Anything I organize, I will now be more thoughtful of that being a need,” King said.

King also met with members of co-sponsoring student groups before the panel to discuss how college students can organize to protest social injustice and handle societal pushback for protesting.

“It’s very easy in position of privilege and protection to say ‘wait and see.’ Panic is appropriate. The fear and concern is appropriate. Anybody is saying we are overreacting is wrong.

We should have overreacted months ago,” King said at the meeting.

The talk was co-sponsored by the Georgetown University Black Student Alliance, the Center for Social Justice, the university’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Casa Latina, the Black House, Georgetown University Women of Color and the Georgetown University Student Association Fund.

Lecture Fund President D.J. Angelini (MSB ’17) said King’s discussion topic set the conversation apart from previous events.

“What was special about this event was that inherent to the conversation was a call to action,” Angelini said. “We heard thoughts from these individuals on current events and racial justice in America, but there was an undercurrent of action that made this event stand out.”

Dylan Burke (SFS ’20), who attended the discussion, said he felt a sense of guilt listening to the discussion due to the actions of other white Americans. Burke said he understood the importance of listening to both King and Dyson because it provided a route to rectify the mistakes of the past.

“I was encouraged when listening to Shaun talk about the importance of young people of all races in shaping a better future for our planet, as I knew there was a place for me in fighting to right the wrongs of both the present and the past,” Burke said.

Lecture Fund member Kumail Aslam (COL ’19) said Dyson and King’s analysis of race relations and xenophobia was a necessary given current events.

“This is something that we hope, and I hope, the Lecture Fund will really advocate for, which is bringing speakers that can help communities of color,” Aslam said. “Shaun and Dyson both talked about bringing together these communities. That’s something we want to deal with in the upcoming months.”

jesus rodriguez/THE HOYA

Michael Dyson, bottom left, James Peterson and Shaun King discussed race relations in a talk hosted by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund in the Intercultural Center Auditorium.

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Hellman Reflects on Vision, Election After First Year Tara Subramaniam Hoya Staff Writer

Since he began his tenure as the dean of the School of Foreign Service in 2015, Joel Hellman has restructured the Dean’s Office, overseen the implementation of foreign language minors and begun preparations for the school’s centennial in 2019.

By 2019, Hellman plans to institute changes to the school’s core curriculum, require all students to participate in a form of global engagement and increase diversity in the SFS community.

A year and half into his tenure, The Hoya interviewed the dean to discuss his plans for the SFS and the impact of Presidentelect Donald Trump’s victory on the school’s future.

What are your greatest accomplishments from your first year?

In the first year, one of the things that we really wanted to do was take a close look and begin the process of rethinking the undergraduate curriculum. One of the first things I did was appoint a senior associate dean for the undergraduate program — we never had a faculty dean over the undergraduate program — Dan Byman.

He’s begun a conversation with faculty members, students and other inputs, and begun the first rethinking of the undergraduate curriculum that we’ve had in years, which is looking at how we make it more flexible, whether or not some of the requirements are still

relevant as the global situation changes and the kinds of skill base that people need changes and how we introduce more flexibility and room for innovation in the program. I’m pleased to see that work has moved ahead. Some aspects of reforming the undergraduate curriculum have already been agreed by the faculty, and that’s a long time been coming.

“We are as entwined as we have ever been, and I think that will continue to intensify.”

JOEL HELLMAN Dean, School of Foreign Service

What is your vision for the SFS going forward?

I think one of the underlying principles that is motivating us is a recognition that students want to combine their liberal arts education and international affairs with an increasingly wide range of different skill sets. So it could be business; it could be arts and culture; it could be engineering and sciences; and it could be things that we can’t even anticipate.

As a result, we want to give students more flexibility to still be able to take advantage of the core skills that we think are critical

for a global affairs education in economics, history, politics, but also reach a wider range of types of intellectual pursuits. Whether it’s to further a depth in a language, whether it’s creating more room for scientists to do core lab science and combine that with an international affairs degree, whether it’s allowing students to delve deeper into business, I think that’s the core principle we are trying to do.

The second core principle is how do we take advantage of our location in Washington and our commitment to service and practice to create more engagements where students are not only learning in a classroom, but applying those learnings in real practical situations. We’ve created these centennial labs, but it’s really taking advantage of a practical way of applying the knowledge we are learning in classes into practical problems. We’ve got one on drought; we’ve got one on trade; we’re developing one on global governance; and we’ve been doing policy simulations and trying to build that much more into the program.

Thirdly, we are trying to take advantage of the opportunities that are available in this area to create one-credit experiences where students could get together over an opportunity and turn that into actual credit and learning.

in terms of enrollment rates, curriculum or careers graduates may enter?

There has been a trend in the United States and across Europe of essentially what looks like the beginnings of a backlash against globalization, a sense of promoting the world as the others versus us. We see it in the U.S. election, but we saw it in Brexit — we see it in the increasing rise of right and populist parties across Europe. There is a global tide that is actually turning more and more of the national political dialogues of countries inwards.

In that kind of environment, the SFS has never been more important. The core mission for which the SFS was created was precisely to move in the opposite direction, to help build and preserve the foundation for our global commitments, engagements and service, to create the educational preparation for students to build global careers.

It’s even more important now, because even though the national dialogues are turning inwards, it doesn’t mean that the economic, political and multilateral relationships are unraveling. We are as entwined as we have ever been, and I think that will continue to intensify. This means that the need for our students and the preparation is as great as ever.

How do you think the recent presidential election will affect the SFS

What are your short-term goals for the next year?

We’ve got a lot of the ideas for curriculum re-

form, but now we want to implement that: start to change some of the key and core requirements.

Second, one of the big priorities for our centennial is that we want to give every student the opportunity to do some form of global engagement. It may be a service or business engagement, or maybe a research and study engagement — for students to not only go abroad, but do something abroad and have a task to complete. That task gets them the experience of trying to work abroad. What we would love to do over the course of the centennial is move toward a requirement that every SFS student has a global engagement as part of their time here at Georgetown.

Now, we’re not going to get that overnight, but next year we really want to focus on creating more engagement experiences.

Do the centennial labs fit into your vision for the centennial, which has been a focus for the SFS over the last year?

The centennial vision committee also talked about the importance of strengthening the international component of our student body and really building a stronger international student base, so we better reflect the diversity of the world in which we make decisions. We are really pleased to see a strong spike in international students this year and partly because of efforts to reach out more strongly to international and strengthen

the yield to international students. We want to invest significantly to try to increase scholarship support for international students and others to bring in a greater diversity into the SFS classroom.

If you were to choose three things that you would like to accomplish by the time we reach the centennial, what would they be?

We’ve introduced the concept of sophomore seminars, and we want to build in a peak experience every year in the SFS undergraduate experience, like you have your proseminar as a freshman. Your senior year would be some kind of capstone or practice-oriented experience in which you are applying ideas in a setting you wish to enter, like simulations, service engagements.

The second thing is building up and strengthening the diversity of our SFS student body — global diversity as well as socio-economic diversity. I think that is just so critical to the quality of conversation that we have in our classrooms that if we can build up a stronger financial aid pool to attract an even more diverse set of students, domestically and internationally, I think that would be another core priority.

Lastly, the priority of giving every student the opportunity to do a global engagement would be something I would really love to achieve and is a “must achieve” for the centennial.

Cigarette Packaging Studied Students Protest Pipeline Marina pitofsky

Tait ryssdal

Hoya Staff Writer

Special to The Hoya

The use of graphic antismoking labels could drastically reduce the smoking mortality rate over the coming decades, according to a Georgetown University Medical Center study published Nov. 3 in the international peer-review journal Tobacco Control.

The investigation is the first one ever to estimate the effects of pictorial warnings on cigarette packs on the health of both adults and infants in the U.S. Researchers found these labels could prevent more than 652,000 deaths, 92,000 low-birth-weight infants, 145,000 preterm births and 1,000 cases of sudden infant deaths in the U.S. over the next 50 years.

Currently, the U.S. requires a text-only warning on the side of cigarette packs, although more than 70 other nations have adopted or are considering adopting the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, which calls for front- and back-of-the-pack pictorial warnings.

The study compared changes in the smoking rates of countries that have adopted graphic warning labels with smoking rates in the U.S. using SimSmoke, a tobacco control policy model developed

by GUMC Professor of Oncology David Levy.

Five members of the Georgetown University Native American Student Council protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on Thursday in Red Square.

The group silently demonstrated for approximately an hour, holding signs that read “Georgetown: Stand with Standing Rock!” and “You Can’t Drink Oil.” The Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,172-mile project slated to carry crude oil across four states, was originally approved in July by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The pipeline’s construction has been met with strong objection from a number of Native American tribes in the Midwest who argue that it would cross sacred land belonging to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

The Army Corps of Engineers has found that the route would have minimal environmental impact, while the Environmental Protection Agency has denounced the construction, as the pipeline will cross the tribe’s source of drinking water.

Protesters and the police have clashed in recent weeks according to The Washington Post, sparking the popular #NoDAPL campaign on social media.

In late October, Facebook users used the “check-in” to show their location at the Standing Rock Reservation feature to show solidarity with the tribe.

NASC President Rebecca

“It shows that this policy that should have been implemented five years ago would have saved many lives.”

DAVID LEVY Oncology Professor, GUMC

Levy said this research provides a clear mandate that U.S. officials should make enforcing graphic warning labels a priority.

“Between my study and several other studies that have been done, we now have very strong evidence of the effects,” Levy said. “It shows that this policy that should have been implemented five years ago would have saved many lives, reduced medical costs substantially and had a major impact on the public health of people in the U.S.” The Food and Drug Admin-

FILE PHOTO: JINWOO CHONG/THE HOYA

A Georgetown University Medical Center study found that anti-smoking labels could reduce the mortality rate. istration instated pictorial warning label requirements for all cigarette packages in 2009, but the requirement was struck down in a federal court the same year on the grounds that the labeling unconstitutionally limited the tobacco companies’ right to freedom of speech.

Researcher Darren Mays, an assistant professor of oncology, said they designed the research to generate evidence that would inform the process of tobacco regulation in the U.S. and provide sufficient evidence of the impact of labels on smoking behavior.

“Contrary to the court ruling striking down FDA’s initial requirements, our analysis shows that pictorial warnings will have substantial public health benefits in terms of reducing smoking and preventing smoking-related death and disease,” Mays wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This evidence should be timely as the FDA proceeds to make the case that such a policy is needed and warranted to reduce the burden of smoking in the U.S.” Levy added that his team was not surprised by the results of the study, citing past studies on the effects of graph-

ic warning labels, including one conducted by GUMC last year linking cigarette packaging to brain activity. However, he said this study goes beyond past studies by looking at actual policy instead of simply assessing the impact of warning labels on smoker behavior.

“We knew what to expect.

There were no surprises there.

It’s based on past studies on this problem, so that idea was to come up with what would be the effect of a policy that was supposed to be implemented, but was not implemented,” Levy said.

Smoke-Free Georgetown founder Henry Callander (COL ’18), who successfully launched a petition in October to hold a student-wide referendum banning smoking on campus, said he hoped the study will help policymakers implement measures to deter smokers from purchasing cigarettes.

“If graphic images on cigarette boxes decreases the amount of people who smoke cigarettes, Smoke-Free Georgetown believes that these types of graphics would only be a good thing for a more positive future global health,” Callander wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Yates (COL ’17), who is a native Mescalero Apache, said the protest is looking to bring attention to a cause that has not been frequently covered in the past.

“This has been an issue for a long time, but the media wasn’t really reporting it until the violence started, which kind of sends out a general vibe that these people are almost dispensable — that has been really disheartening to see,” Yates said.

The Center for Social Justice has expressed support for NASC. “CSJ supports its student organizations’ social justice work — whether that is direct service, community-based learning, advocacy, or activism, such as today’s protest in Red Square of the Dakota Access Pipeline,” CSJ Executive Director Andria Wisler wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Solidarity in the form of NASC’s protest and presence today is an example of living out our Jesuit values which implore us to bear witness to injustice in ways that meet community needs.”

According to NASC board member Hannah Wingett (COL ’19), whose father was raised on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, Dakota Access, LLC — the company constructing the pipeline — does not recognize the potential consequences of its project.

“We need to show that this is not black and white and while there are economic interests at stake, there are also human lives at stake,” Wingett

said.

Wingett said she hopes the pipeline plans for construction are cancelled in the coming months.

“Idealistically, the pipeline is stopped. No more construction — it’s just done. In an ideal world, the company building the pipeline would care, and they would stop, and this would be done,” Wingett said.

“Realistically though, the best case is that the pipeline is diverted away from the reservation because there is a massive problem with the construction going through their burial grounds, through cultural lands.”

Yates said she is uncertain what the future holds for the Standing Rock Sioux given the election of President-elect Donald Trump, who has financial investments in the Dakota Access, LLC, according to environmental blog EcoWatch.

“For us, Trump is just complete uncertainty. I am concerned that in his plan, he seems to be more dependent on the fossil fuel industry, which shows that it’s possible that he might do what he can to just bulldoze through this project,” Yates said.

Matt Lettiero (COL ’20), who observed the demonstration, said the protest deserved attention from the Georgetown community.

“It is their right to protest and given the history of injustice through mistreatment and mishandling of Native Americans in the past, this should be given special consideration,” Lettiero said.

TAIT RYSSDAL/THE HOYA

Students gathered in Red Square to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has sparked violence across the country in recent weeks.

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FRIday, November 18, 2016

Panel Urges Action on Climate Refugee Displacement Tanner Larkin Special to The Hoya

Immediate action must be taken to stop climate change in light of environmentally induced displacement of refugees, according to a panel discussion organized by the Georgetown Global Futures Initiative in the Mortara Center on Monday.

Program Director for the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship James Olsen moderated the panel, which included advocacy organization Refugees International Climate Displacement Program Manager Alice Thomas, Environmental Law Center attorney Sofia Yazykova and anthropology professor Mubbashir Rizvi.

Olsen said the issue of refugees displaced by climate change is extremely important in the context of today’s issues.

“We don’t have time for these people of four years to decide whatever they’re going to decide, we don’t have time in two years.”

ALICE THOMAS Manager, Refugees International Climate Displacement Program

“I just think that it’s such an incredibly important topic. It’s one that somehow we’ve kind of been able to ignore,” Olsen said. “We’re talking about potentially a billion people that are living in these vulnerable populations that are going to be migrating in coming years.”

Climate change poses serious challenges to communities worldwide, from low-lying island-nations menaced by a rising ocean to regions in sub-Saharan Africa susceptible to drought, accord-

ing to Thomas. Thomas said the countries least responsible for climate change may be the most affected, as shown by the 2011 Somalia famine, which killed 260,000 people.

“I think there is a huge justice component of what’s happening here, because invariably the people who are worst impacted are those who are least responsible for climate change,” Thomas said.

Yazykova said the issue is compounded by the issue of people displaced by natural disasters not being protected by international conventions on refugees.

“They don’t fall under the standard definition of refugees because they’re not escaping persecution, they’re trying to escape due to environmental causes,” Yazykova said.

According to Yazykova, countries must cooperate to deal with displaced populations. Yazykova urged more countries to adopt measures to allow for the relocation of climate-displaced refuges from Pacific islandnations threatened by high sea levels.

Rizvi said climate change is both causing a refugee crisis and deepening divisions in the world.

“On the one hand, we’re thinking about humanity as becoming more and more vulnerable as a whole together,” Rizvi said. “We’re also seeing a disconnect, or perhaps a breakdown of what it means to be human because of the increased inequality between, let’s say, the refugees, citizens, people in the poorer parts of the world.”

The panelists also expressed concern as to whether President-elect Donald Trump would follow through on his campaign promise to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, which commits almost 20 countries to reduce emissions. A particular problem highlighted by the panelists was the prospect of the United States withdrawing funds

TANNER LARKIN/THE HOYA

Anthropology professor Mubbashir Rizvi, left, Refugees International Climate Displacement Program Manager Alice Thomas and Environmental Law Center attorney Sofia Yazykova urged immediate action to stop climate change. for developing nations deal with the effects of climate change.

According to Yazykova, Trump’s campaign promise to pull out of international climate change engagements could exacerbate the issues faced by countries by reducing funds for developing nations dealing with the effects of climate change and increasing the number of migrants from impacted areas.

“If a state is already experiencing problems of climate change, that might actually facilitate conflict in that state,” Yazykova said.

“So there might be a civil war, for example, breaking out so again, migration will increase.”

Thomas said students should pressure federal, state and local governments to act on climate change if the Trump administration withdraws the United States from its climate change commitments. Addressing climate change now is essential, according to Thomas.

“I think where we need to be looking in the future is what can happen at the state and local level,” Thomas said. “That’s true for climate mitigation, it’s true for adaptation. We don’t have time for these people of four years to decide whatever they’re going to decide, we don’t have time in two years.”

In an interview with The Hoya, Olsen said the next administration may be

forced to respond to climate change differently from how it intends because of a potential refugee crisis.

“If a state is already experiencing problems of climate change, that might actually facilitate conflict in that state.”

Sofia Yazykova Attorney, Environmental Law Center

“It’s the sort of thing

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where politicians can have a certain stance, they can take a sort of ideological position but they can also sometimes get overwhelmed by events,” Olsen said.

Yoel Fessahhaye (SFS ’18) said he is hopeful public pressure would lead to the United States taking action to help climate refugees even under a Trump administration.

“We all know what it means to leave your home, whether it be political persecution or stuff like this,” Fessahaye said. “So I think we can all relate and I think in that sense there will be some backlash if Presidentelect Donald Trump does not do anything about this.”

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Friday, november 18, 2016

THE HOYA

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Snack Cart Serves How Facebook Is Misleading You Freshman Dorms THINKTECH, from A10

SNACKS, from A10

were the time required to buy groceries, the distance required to purchase affordable groceries and the limited hours of dining options on campus. The business model of Jack’s Snacks answers all three of these concerns.

Prasad said, while the group has not yet turned a profit, it expects to do so in the near future, given the success of its first three deliveries to New South Hall, Village C East and West and the Healey Family Student Center, on election night.

“Entrepreneurs do more than fit a routine role in an existing organization.”

JASON BRENNAN Professor, MSB

“We have been making a lot of sales, but the amount of money we spend versus the amount of money coming in hasn’t balanced out yet, but we expect it to soon,” Prasad said.

MSB professor Jason Brennan, who teaches this semester’s “Ethics of Entrepreneurship” seminar, said the class has seen several successful projects in previous years.

“Hoya Screen Repair started as a class project but continued for years, grossing tens of thousands of dollars per semester,” Brennan wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“Other students have sold T-shirts, mugs, care packages, and the like, often for very high margins.”

Like Hoya Screen Repair, the founders of Jack’s Snacks intend to continue to expand the business after the seminar is over, especially given the positive student response it has received so far, according to Prasad.

“So many people love it,” Prasad said. “I have people come up to me saying, ‘Oh my god this is such a great idea, when are you coming to our dorm?’”

Brennan expressed that entrepreneurship is an important component of the MSB curriculum, be-

cause it enables Georgetown to pursue more effectively service and social change.

“Entrepreneurs do more than fit a routine role in an existing organization.

They discover new ways of making others better off,” Brennan wrote. “If we want our students to serve society, entrepreneurship offers the potential for the greatest positive change.”

Liam Kenneally (SFS ’20), a Jack’s Snacks customer, recalled a time that the group’s convenient service enabled him to pursue his studies and extracurricular activities more efficiently.

“Jack’s Snacks is fantastic,” Kenneally wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I was feeling a little under the weather one night, and their Super Orange Emergen-C gave me the vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes I needed to conquer a night of midterm studies and flamenco dancing.”

Varun Kota (SFS ’20), a resident of Village C East, missed the Jack’s Snacks cart on its first run through the dormitory but said that the service is so convenient that he would gladly purchase from the group in the future.

“I’m no weatherman, but I can see success on their horizon.”

LIAM KENNEALLY (SFS ’20)

“I know often it can be really hard to find snacks to eat on campus, and I especially imagine that’ll be true during snow, rain and when the weather gets worse,” Kota said.

“That is something that I would definitely like and buy from.”

Kenneally said he is optimistic for the success of Jack’s Snacks in the future.

“This energetic group of young entrepreneurs fills me with hope,” Kenneally wrote. “While their ambitious marketing calls may fill the halls with musical allure, the high quality of their products and customer experience speaks for itself. I’m no weatherman, but I can see success

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discounted this criticism by asserting that “more than 99 percent” of Facebook’s content is authentic.

It is almost impossible to scroll through Facebook without seeing grossly obvious clickbait news stories.

Although it is hard to discern if the fake news stories shared on Facebook were directly responsible for the outcome of the presidential election, this criticism brings to light an interesting debate: To what extent are social media sites responsible for the content their users post?

Because Facebook is not a traditional media source, it cannot be held entirely responsible for the content its users generate and share. Conversely, as a platform that over

40 percent of Americans turn to for their daily news, it ought to be held somewhat accountable for the information on its site.

Facebook and Google have reached an interesting compromise that allows them to accept responsibility for their role in providing news to their users while still functioning as platforms where anyone’s voice can be heard. By stripping the publishers of fake news stories of their revenue stream, these networks have made it much more difficult for users to be exposed to false content, but have also not denied anyone the ability to publish their thoughts and opinions — no matter how egregiously inaccurate they may be.

As we begin to come to terms with the 2016 presidential election’s result, it seems that Facebook and Google are very happy to avoid taking any credit or blame for its outcome.

Bianca DiSanto is a senior in the McDonough School of Business. Think Tech appears every Friday.

Ex-Convicts’ Reintegration Eased STARTLINE, from A10

not have to worry about the housing, which is typically an issue for ex-prisoners, he faced other struggles upon his reintroduction into society.

While Ferguson had some college education and was familiar with the internet when he was released from prison in 2013, he saw potential difficulties for other prisoners who are less educated than the general population.

According to one statistic from the U.S. Department of Justice, 68 percent of state prisoner inmates do not have a high school diploma.

“It’s a very straightforward way to integrate useful reintegration resources in a single place online.”

know which programs or which services suited their particular individual needs, and so they were basically just left up to chance,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson also explained that while he had an able case manager upon his release, the advocate lacked the depth of information required to help him properly.

“I literally got a binder that had dust on it,” Ferguson said.

“Inside that binder was a list of services that were available to me for employment, for job training, for education and other resources.

Ferguson also noted that in addition to serving former convicts, Start Line would be a resource for professionals who specialize in assisting prisoners with their transitions back into normal civilian life.

“There would be another

interface that would work similarly but would be more in-depth I would say, and that would be for the service referral professionals, so the case managers, the social workers, the probation and parole officers,” Ferguson said.

Justice and Peace Studies professor Marc Howard offered praise for Ferguson’s startup and its projected positive impacts.

“I think it’s great for JUPS majors to try to create innovative projects to help the less fortunate in our society,” Howard said. “From everything I’ve heard, [Start Line] will provide a much-needed service that connects returning citizens to the types of information, assistance and opportunities that are most helpful.”

Julia Kerbs (COL ’17), a member of Prison Outreach,

a student organization at Georgetown that arranges opportunities for students to tutor inmates working to receive education while behind bars, said she had one concern about the startup.

“I wondered whether it would be difficult for some people to access, or if some might struggle with computer and internet literacy after incarceration,” Kerbs said.

Kerbs said Start Line offers ex-convicts a useful interface to aid them in their sometimes difficult search for valuable information.

“It’s a very straightforward way to integrate useful reintegration resources in a single place online, especially since this kind of information can sometimes be obscure and difficult to find,” Kerbs said.

JULIa KERBS (COL ’17) Member, Prison Outreach

“I can just imagine the people coming home who didn’t know how to navigate the internet and might not have had the advantage of being able to do the kind of research that would give them access to the essential services that they were lacking,” Ferguson said.

While working with a homeless resource center after his release, Ferguson realized his passion was helping other former inmates, whom he said lacked access to information numerous existing services and programs dedicated to helping them to reintegrate into society. “[The prisoners] didn’t

COURTESY START LINE

Brian Ferguson (COL ’18), left, founded Start Line, which will soon launch, with his brother and Chief Operations Officer Albert Ferguson (GRD ’03) with the goal of helping former prisoners.

MacBook Spurs Mixed Reactions MACBOOK, from A10

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While it is impressive that Facebook has been able to evolve from a purely social tool to one of the most popular news aggregators, this phenomenon is not without its challenges. It is almost impossible to scroll through Facebook without seeing grossly obvious clickbait news stories. Although many users are quickly able to detect and avoid such articles, the problem now lies in fake news stories and articles becoming increasingly sophisticated and therefore harder to spot at first glance.

These fake news sites pose a great threat to social media sites that hope to become respected news platforms in the future. Furthermore, by allowing false information to be so easily available and spread, countless users are misled by information that is either wholly or partially untrue. As a result, both Facebook and Google have recently begun to target and punish fake news websites that proliferate the dissemination of false information online.

In a written statement released this week, Google spokeswoman Andrea Faville said, “Moving forward, we will restrict ad serving on pages that misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information about the publisher, the publisher’s content, or the primary purpose of the web property.”

While Google’s new policy will not entirely remove fictitious news articles from search query yields, it will make it harder for the publishers of such articles to generate revenues.

Facebook, similarly, has clarified its existing policy to state that advertisements will not be integrated or displayed in any applications or sites that are illegal, misleading or deceptive. In an approach similar to Google’s, Facebook aims to merely strip the publishers of false information of their access to cash, rather than ban them outright from their website.

In doing this, Facebook and Google are actively responding to recent criticism that they have directly impacted the result of the 2016 presidential election by offering a platform for fictitious stories to be circulated. Mark Zuckerberg has

The cheapest version of the new MacBook Pro model costs $1,499 before tax or shipping, compared to the old model that sells for $1,300. The new MacBook Pro base model has a less powerful processor than more upscale models and also lacks a Touch Bar. As in past generations, the Pro comes in either a 13” or a 15” model, the latter costing up to $2,799, depending on the features that the computer possesses.

The computer, which BuzzFeed News calls “a perfectly fine laptop for no one in particular,” has received a lukewarm reaction from users at Georgetown and the tech community alike.

Déja Lindsey (COL ’18), an Apple user, said she appreciates Apple’s more portable products like the iPhone and iPad, but that high prices deter her from purchasing Apple’s larger devices.

“For me personally, price is one of the most important things. Originally, when I came to Georgetown I was thinking about getting a MacBook, and MacBooks are already significantly more expensive than PCs,” Lindsey said. “If you’re saying there’s a price increase in this new model then, if anything, that will deter me even more from getting the new model as opposed to a new PC.” Lindsey, who is majoring in computer science, said she also prefers PC to Apple for programming reasons, citing the decreased freedom and malleability of the MacBook.

“PCs — you can do a lot more with them. You just have a lot more freedom,” Lindsey said. “Whereas Mac products don’t give you a lot of the administrative privileges that you can get on PCs.” Lindsey expressed further frustration with the limited usability of Macs in programming.

“There are a lot of different programs and applications that you either can’t get on Mac or that are harder to come across,” Lindsey said. In her opinion, programming “is more simplistic with a PC than it is with a Mac.”

“PCs — you can do a lot more with them. You just have a lot more freedom.”

DÉJA Lindsey (COL ’18)

Evan Barba, assistant professor of Communication, Culture and Technology, uses a Mac for his day-today work and said he appreciates the product for a variety of reasons.

“It has the most applications, better, sort-of mainstream applications, plus

the ease of use of the operating system,” Barba said.

Barba said the Touch Bar and the port changes are indicative of the sort of innovation Apple needs to stay ahead of the competition.

“They’re not really doing serious hardware updates anymore. That, I think, is really going to break in the next year or so unless they start making some serious headway,” Barba said.

Halle Hagan (SFS ’18), who describes herself as a loyal Apple user, said that despite any shortcomings that it may possess, she would consider purchasing a new MacBook Pro in the future.

“It’s very typical of Apple to change up the port system and things like that, to make it a little more difficult for conversions between systems in the future. But I’m pretty excited about it,” Hagan said. “The touchscreen model, I think, is great.”

Business & Tech FRIDAY, November 18, 2016

Student Venture Helps Ex-Convicts business bits

Senator Offers Advice to President-elect Trump Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell offered advice to President-elect Donald Trump in an op-ed for the Boston Globe last week, based off remarks he made at the Georgetown McDonough Hariri Symposium last month.

Mitchell discussed the historical persecution and contribution of America’s immigrants, writing, “Genius knows no language, no race, no religion.” The U.S. continues to be the most prosperous, innovative and just country in the world, according to Mitchell, but the country’s leadership must enable it to continue. Mitchell concludes the piece: “The new president has an awesome responsibility and a magnificent opportunity to extend education, opportunity, and hope to more and more people, in our country and around the world.”

MBA Career Report Released The MBA Career Center of the McDonough School of Business released its annual career report this week, offering statistics on post-graduate employment, salary and industry selection. According to the report, 93 percent of Georgetown MBA graduates received full-time job offers within three months of graduation, up four percent from 2015. Roughly twice as many graduates went into the real estate industry this past year compared to 2015, making real estate the fourth most popular industry for Georgetown MBA graduates. Financial services and consulting remained the top two industries of choice from 2015, attracting 30 and 29 percent of MBA graduates, respectively. Other notable findings include the average starting salary of $108,081, which did not change significantly from 2015 to 2016, and that the career center saw a nine percent increase in the number of students who sourced their jobs through the MSB.

Sarah Fisher Hoya Staff Writer

In 2002, Brian Ferguson (COL ’18) was wrongfully convicted of murder, and while team of pro-bono lawyers won him his freedom in 2013, he found that his 11 years in prison made his transition back into normal life extremely difficult.

Following this experience, Ferguson, who studies Justice and Peace Studies at Georgetown, created Start Line, a nonprofit that aims to help former prisoners and the referral professionals, social workers and others who serve them in the search for employment, housing and other resources.

“I think it’s great for JUPS majors to try to create innovative projects to help the less fortunate in our society.”

MARC HOWARD Professor, Justice and Peace Studies

Projected to launch by mid-2017, the program will be conceptually similar to the website Yelp, but tailored for ex-prisoners. The service will display useful resources, programs and other options for ex-prisoners in both a website and mobile app format. Ferguson expressed that this platform offers former prisoners valuable advice.

COURTESY START LINE

Georgetown student Brian Ferguson (COL ’18), right, created a venture called Start Line, which functions as a kind of Yelp that assists ex-convicts in locating resources to facilitate their reintegration into society.

“If you’re lucky enough to know someone who’s received some service, and they know whether it’s good — whether it would be a good fit for you — that’s the best of all worlds,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson, who manages the company with his brother and Chief Operations Officer Albert Ferguson (GRD ’03), was recently accepted to a competitive fellowship at Halcyon Incubator, the local startup hub that has produced

successes like MISFIT Juicery and recent developments like Foodhini.

According to Ferguson, Start Line would meet a pressing need for former inmates that is not adequately addressed in the current system that surrounds their reintegration into civilian life.

“We haven’t launched yet, but what I can share with you is the very real and urgent need for [this service],” Ferguson said. “Start

Bianca DiSanto

FILE PHOTO: iSABEL BINAMIRA/THE HOYA

Five freshmen from the McDonough School of Business created a delivery cart service, Jack’s Snacks, which launched in the New South dormitory, offering products like beverages and snacks to students.

Hoya Staff Writer

Apple announced the release of its new MacBook Pro on Oct. 27 to a mixed reception from the Apple user community at Georgetown.

According to Forbes, Apple’s newest laptop has experienced record sales. The company began shipping the laptops to online customers on Monday. U.S. online shoppers spent more on the MacBook Pro in its first five days of availability than they had on any other laptop in 2016.

The latest model of the MacBook Pro includes updated hardware, a thinner, lighter design with one multi-use, USB-C connection port and the much-anticipated Touch Bar. The Touch Bar, which will replace the traditional function keys on the 15-inch MacBook, is a slim touchscreen that adapts with features like an emoji selector or volume adjustor to the applications or programs the user has open. Much like recent generations of the iPhone

Your Fake News Update

Jack’s Snacks Rolls Onto Campus A

JACK SEGELSTEIN Hoya Staff Writer

Jack’s Snacks, a convenience cart service run by students for students, made its first rounds in freshman dorms across campus earlier this month, offering wares from simple over-the-counter medicines to drinks and snacks.

Five McDonough School of Business students founded the forprofit business as a project in the first-year MSB seminar called “Ethics of Entrepreneurship.”

The cart features tea, coffee, hot chocolate, energy drinks, medi-

cine like Emergen-C and Advil, and snacks, such as Goldfish and fruit snacks. One of the founders, Shyla Prasad (MSB ’20), said that student budget concerns are factored into the pricing of the goods.

“We’re selling these things for reasonable prices for students,” Prasad said.

Prasad said the goal of Jack’s Snacks is to make students’ lives easier by offering them a simpler way to buy food than any other on-campus options.

“Our goal is to make buying snacks late at night for students

more convenient, because we’re all struggling with homework — especially late at night,” Prasad said. “So just making sure everyone is good and happy when they’re studying and that they have everything they need.”

Last week, the results of a foodaccessibility survey were released showing that more than half of surveyed students said they were unable to buy food when they were hungry because of cost.

Three of the main barriers to food accessibility that the report cited

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THINK TECH

MSB Professor Considers the Problem of Democracy MSB Professor Jason Brennan argued democracy leads to bad policymaking in an op-ed written for The Washington Post last week.

Brennan writes that voters in democracies are systematically misinformed about basic political facts like the state of the economy or which party controls Congress.

With such little information, he posits, voters often demand ineffective or misguided policies of their representatives. The worst part, according to Brennan, is that better education does not seem to solve voter ignorance, because the problem lies with misaligned incentives — not stupidity. Brennan uses the analogy of a large lecture in which every student receives the average grade of the class at the end of term no matter how much work one does.

Brennan wrote, “Most students would not bother to study, and the average final grade would likely be an F.”

Line would fill a gaping hole in the system.”

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, more than half of released ex-offenders remain unemployed for up to a year after their release from prison.

Ferguson’s motivation to create Start Line stems from his own experience. Although he said he did

and iPad, the Bar puts fingerprint identification, Siri and an array of emojis at the user’s fingertips.

Other improvements to the device include a 10-hour battery life, a 67 percent brighter display and louder speakers. One of the most noticeable new features is the redesigned shallow keyboard that has much less spring than previous models.

Despite these features, numerous reviews – including one by The Verge – claim the battery life significantly underperforms Apple’s statements.

Some online reviews, including one from TechCrunch, have highlighted Apple’s consolidation of its ports as a negative feature.

The company’s decision to strip the new laptop of HDMI, USB and SD connectivity and to eliminate its MagSafe 2 charging port type strikes a similar tone to the response to its divisive decision to strip the new iPhone 7 of its headphone jack earlier this year.

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DEZEEN

Google began shipping its new MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar to customers earlier this week with record sales, according to Forbes.

s each of us wakes up in the morning, most likely to a generic jingle that has been preprogramed onto our smart phone, we cannot deny that one of our first tasks of the day is to check the notifications we have missed while we were asleep.

Before even getting out of bed, there is a large chance that we have responded to our most pressing text messages, refreshed our email, checked the top headlines from the morning news, perhaps on Facebook, and scrolled through Instagram — all with a remarkable efficiency that is almost second nature. Even if we are reluctant to admit this morning ritual, we can be assured that we are not alone.

In other words, almost 44 percent of the American adult population relies on Facebook to stay informed about major events.

In an ever increasingly digital age, more and more people are beginning to rely on social networking sites as one of their primary news outlets. According to the Pew Research Center, 67 percent of adults in the United States use Facebook and roughly twothirds of these users look to Facebook to provide them with their news. In other words, almost 44 percent of the American adult population relies on Facebook to keep stay informed about major events occurring both domestically and abroad.

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