The Hoya: October 4, 2019

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 101, No. 5, © 2019

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

In a Flash

See the world through the lenses of the Georgetown photographers that are influencing the world.

EDITORIAL Georgetown must give the GUSA president a voting seat on its board of directors.

GU HOSTS HILLARY CLINTON The former secretary of state honored three women for advancing women’s rights.

OPINION, A2

NEWS, A7

Stalking, Burglary Incidents Nearly Doubled in 2018 ANNALISE MYRE Special to The Hoya

Reports of stalking and burglary incidents in oncampus, nonresidential buildings have nearly doubled in last year, according to the Georgetown University Police Department’s 2019 Annual Security Report. The report documents that total reported on-campus stalking incidents increased over the past year to 17 reported incidents in 2018, up from 11 reported incidents in 2017. Stalking is defined as any conduct, including unwelcomed communication or surveillance, directed at an

individual that puts a person in fear for their safety, makes them feel alarmed or causes them emotional distress, according to the report. Among reported stalking incidents, stalking in nonresidential buildings saw the highest increase, with 13 reported incidents in 2018 compared to seven reported incidents in 2017. GUPD sent the report to the Georgetown University community in a Sept. 30 email. The increase in reported incidents of stalking on campus may not necessarily reflect heightened safety See SAFETY, A6

OLIVIA CHUANG FOR THE HOYA

The Georgetown University Police Department released its 2019 Annual Security Report, which found jumps in stalking and burglary, last month.

MEREDITH MILLER FOR THE HOYA

Six months after the referendum passed, the Georgetown University board of directors did not provide a clear timeline for action on the GU272 referendum’s results in two meetings that included student leaders, leading to student demonstrations.

Students Protest Inaction on GU272 RILEY ROGERSON Hoya Staff Writer

Student frustration is continuing to build as Georgetown University’s board of directors, which met multiple times this week, has still not publicly provided a concrete timeline to students for action on the GU272 referendum’s results, over six months after the student vote. The board of directors did discuss the GU272 referendum during its meetings this week, according to university spokesperson Meghan Dubyak. When student representatives to the board raised the topic of the referendum at a meeting between representatives and the board Oct. 3, the board indicated plans to

contact the GU272 advocacy team but did not have a clear timeline for referendum implementation, according to Casey Doherty (COL ’20), who is a student representative to the board. The board of directors held at least three meetings Oct. 3: One meeting included student representatives Doherty and Eliza Lafferty (COL ’21) along with the board of directors; another full-body meeting included Georgetown University Student Association President Norman Francis (COL ’20) and President of Georgetown Graduate Student Government Lewis May, a second-year master’s student in the School of Foreign Service; a third private meeting was closed to students, according to GUSA Press Secre-

Women’s Center Remains Leaderless NATE KRAL

Hoya Staff Writer

On Oct. 5, it will have been exactly one year since the Georgetown University Women’s Center last had a program director. Laura Kovach, who led the Women’s Center from 2008 to 2019, was the first of two full-time staffers to vacate their position in the last year. Without a director, program coordinator Karla Rondon continued running regular programming until her own departure from the Women’s Center in June. Neither of these positions have been filled by the university, leaving undergraduate program assistant Caroline Sarda (COL ’20) as the Women’s Center’s most experienced staff member, having worked there since her sophomore year. The Women’s Center now has no full-time staff, relegating operations to three undergraduate students, two of which were hired this semester. Despite these vacancies lasting for months, the university has just formed a committee comprised of students, faculty and staff that is set to meet this month in order to interview candidates in November. As the Women’s Center continues to run without a permanent full-time director or coordinator, the brunt of

FEATURED

the work falls on the student interns and other resource centers such as the LGBTQ Resource Center. Often underqualified and overloaded, the students are unable to provide the services that are expected of the Women’s Center with a full-time staff.

“It is imperative that qualified, full-time staff are hired to work in the Women’s Center to support students, faculty and staff.” LAURA KOVACH Former Director, Georgetown University Women’s Center

PICKING UP THE PIECES

Since Kovach left last year, the prolonged search for her replacement — along with the lack of other professional full-time staff members — has detrimentally affected the Women’s Center’s ability to function at full capacity. In an attempt to supplement the Women’s Center during the search for a full-time director, the LGBTQ Resource Center has filled in the gaps

by supplementing student interns and co-hosting programming, according to Sarda. The Hoya reached out to the LGBTQ Resource Center for a comment, but the center declined to comment. In the beginning of the semester, Sarda was the only staffed worker left, since previous student workers had graduated or gone abroad. As a result, student interns like Sarda have had to take on increased leadership responsibilities that have usually fallen to the director, such as training new interns. This semester, however, Sarda has also had to train student workers from the LGBTQ Resource Center to work at the Women’s Center to help bridge the gap in staffing. “I definitely felt a sense of increased responsibility,” Sarda wrote. “I have had to come in at times when I’m not scheduled to in order to train them (and some new student workers at the LGBTQ Center), and have had to serve in a pseudo-coordinator position since I am the only returning student worker at either center this semester.” In previous years, the Women’s Center hosted its own leadership events, including the Biondi Copeland Lecture Series on Women in Higher Education and Women Advancing Gender Equality fellowship workshops.

The Biondi Copeland Lecture Series aimed to foster dialogue and increased visibility around issues facing women in leadership and higher education. The series was created by Kovach but was discontinued in her absence. While the Women’s Center is still providing basic resources such as pregnancy tests, pads and tampons, it has not planned independent programming this year, instead partnering with the LGBTQ Resource Center, and it discontinued hosting regular feminist roundtables and collaborations with student groups, according to Sarda. While the Women’s Center was able to continue WAGE workshops and the VOICES retreat last year because of Rondon, her departure this June left the Women’s Center without any full-time staff. Without the full-time support of a programming coordinator, student interns have been left without guidance on planning future independent programming, according to Sarda. “We are not really able to do our own independent programming, and it’s unclear how we are supposed to go about co-sponsoring events with student groups,” Sarda said. “Us student workers have no idea what the

tary Harper Thomas (SFS ’22). The board of directors’ full-body meeting, which is separate from the meeting between representatives and the board, occurred amid student demonstrations calling for the board to implement the results of the April 11 referendum. Students held “Where are your Jesuit values?” and “Don’t ignore history” posters and chanted “Respect our vote” outside of the Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center, where the meeting was held. As a student referendum, the results do not bind Georgetown to implement or formally vote on the fee. The board discussed the GU272 referendum at its June 10 meeting but did not announce any specific re-

sponses or action to the referendum after the meeting. Doherty and Lafferty, also student representatives to the board of directors, raised the topic during the meeting they attended, according to Doherty. Though the board said it plans to reach out to the GU272 advocacy group after the meeting, it did not provide a definitive timeline, according to Doherty. “We were hoping for a response different from June, and we were hoping for a concrete timeline, or something at least,” Doherty said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “Today’s meeting was basically more of the same that ‘we’re excited to See GU272, A6

STUDENT INMATE FREED

@MARCMHOWARD/TWITTER

Zack Johnson, center, a student in the Georgetown Prison Scholars Program, was freed from the D.C. Jail on Sept. 30. Story on A5.

See WOMEN’S CENTER, A6

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Rapper-in-Residence Rapper Marco Pavé will work with students in the African American studies department. A5

Reassess Drinking Culture Yumna Naqvi (SFS ’21) implores student organizations to examine the discriminatory nature of drinking culture. A3

Defensive Dominance Football forces five turnovers in a 24-10 victory on the road against rival Columbia Lions. A12

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Georgetown Student Freed The D.C. Jail commuted a Georgetown Prison Scholar’s sentence at a hearing to retry his case. A5

Reject Complacency John Scudero (SFS ’23) urges Georgetown students to voice their grievances against worsening facilities. A3

Second-Half Surge Men’s soccer takes down the Providence Friars 2-1 with two late goals on Shaw Field. A12

Published Fridays

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

THE VERDICT

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Rooftop Rodent — An NBC News correspondent received quite the surprise last Tuesday when a mouse fell from the White House ceiling into his lap. The unwelcome guest evaded capture, despite a valiant search effort from those present.

Founded Jan. 14, 1920

EDITORIALS

Accidental Champion — A 9-year-old from Minnesota unknowingly joined a 10K race after taking a wrong turn during his separate 5K. Not only did he win the race, but he also beat the second-place competitor by a whole minute.

Allocate Board Seat to GUSA Exec C Despite its efforts to serve as an advocate for students, the Georgetown University Student Association often falls short of accomplishing its goals. GUSA’s inefficacy is not entirely its fault: Structurally, the body often cannot act on major campus issues without university support. Though GUSA can communicate student perspectives to the university’s board of directors at the board’s meetings, no student has voting power. To amplify student voices and make GUSA more effective, Georgetown should give a voting seat to the GUSA president on the board’s Committee on Main Campus Affairs. The board has two undergraduate student representatives, chosen by the GUSA president and vice president and the previous year’s two representatives. The representatives do not have voting power. The inclusion of student voices on the board, while a good start, is insufficient. Unlike the undemocratic and nontransparent process of choosing the student representatives, having the GUSA president serve as a member of the board would allow students to choose their representative at the decision-making table. GUSA election voter turnout has historically been low — this semester’s senate elections saw a turnout rate of 19.2%, down from last fall’s 21%. But students have shown they are willing to engage when they see that GUSA actions can potentially lead to significant change on campus. Last spring, the historic GU272 referendum to establish a fund benefiting the descendants of enslaved people sold by the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1838 to financially sustain the university led to an electoral turnout of 57.9%, the highest in GUSA history. Students clearly want to participate in decisions that affect their time on campus. But Georgetown’s failure to include a GUSA representative on its board shows how the university does not adequately value student representation in its decision-making processes. GUSA representatives are invited to share their perspectives on campus issues with the committee during the board of directors’ meetings, university spokesperson Rachel Pugh wrote in an email to The Hoya. The board’s Working Group on Student Affairs also allows GUSA to regularly communicate with board members, according to Pugh. Though it is undoubtedly important for GUSA representatives to speak with the board, such

communication is only a first step: GUSA’s power to influence the board is limited without voting power. By giving GUSA membership and voting power on the campus affairs committee, students can more directly influence university decisions through the GUSA president. GUSA, despite its faults, is the students’ chosen representation and liaison with the university. With the student body entrusting GUSA to be its advocate, such representation should translate to voting power in the university’s ultimate decisionmaking body. If Georgetown truly values student representation in its decision making, it should live up to its commitment by allocating more power to GUSA and giving it a voting seat on the board. In turn, students will see the importance of GUSA and participate in elections and conversations about important campus issues. To demonstrate that students are capable of using their seat at the table responsibly and effectively, members of GUSA and the entire student population must take their responsibilities in advocating for student interests more seriously . Students can’t be expected to take GUSA seriously if GUSA senators don’t even show up in the most basic form — GUSA senators must correct course from the quadrupling of absences last academic year. Executive policy teams should be expected to develop detailed, realistic plans and carry them out. For the university to listen to their advocacy, GUSA members must fulfill their duties first. If the university were to grant a GUSA representative a seat at the table, students should also be serious in their consideration in voting for GUSA senators and executives. Students should be wary of satirical candidates, such as the 2018 Batman and Robin ticket of Logan Arkema (COL ’20) and Jonathan Compo (COL ’20) and the Hot Chick and Chicken Madness ticket, which came in second place in 2016. Though the satire of such candidates can be entertaining, such campaigns show students are not taking GUSA seriously, which is ultimately detrimental for GUSA’s authority and efficacy on campus. Current student representation on the board is a step in the right direction, but it is insufficient. To show it values student voices, Georgetown must include elected student representation in a meaningful way in decision-making.

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Not “The Lion King” — A woman was recently filmed climbing into the lion enclosure at the Bronx Zoo and dancing in front of the unenthused lion. While no one was hurt, the incident brings back memories of the Harambe incident of 2016.

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Legislative Snaction — Visitors can now dine in the House of Representatives Members’ Dining Room, previously open only to House members and Capitol Hill speakers, by making a reservation on OpenTable. The establishment has operated since 1834, but frequent diners have reported declining quality in recent years. Look at This Photograph — President Donald Trump recently tweeted a short video parody of Nickelback’s “Photograph” music video in which the photo is replaced by one of former Vice President Joe Biden and a Ukranian gas executive. Twitter removed Trump’s tweet for copyright infringement.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Advait Arun

Reverse The Corp’s Cash Ban With seven storefronts on campus and a wide range of coffee and snack offerings, Students of Georgetown, Inc., commonly referred to as The Corp, gives students convenient food options on campus. But, though the company is supposed to serve everyone in the Georgetown University community, its cashless policies are discriminatory and must be changed. The Corp must return to accepting cash to make The Corp accessible to all of its customers. The Corp first adopted a cashless model in February 2018. Now, all of its locations display prominent signs reminding customers that cash is not accepted. Instead, customers can only pay with a GOCard, credit card or debit card. The cashless policy places an undue burden on those patrons who do not have easy access to a bank account, which disproportionately affects communities of color and immigrant communities. While Georgetown has two machines — in Lauinger Library and the Leavey Center— that allow customers to load money onto their GOCard with cash, these machines are rare and puts the burden of shopping on consumers. Though a good step recognizing the issues cashlessness presents, the machines are an insufficient solution to the burdensome nature of cashlessness. In 2017, 6.5% of all households in the United States were not served by a bank, with the black and Hispanic populations at more than twice the national average percentage, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Without access to government-approved IDs and social security numbers, immigrants without documentation do not fulfill many of the guidelines set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to open a bank account. Under The Corp’s current policy, these unbanked consumers have significantly limited

payment options. The Center for Multicultural Equity and Access is working with these immigrant students to increase banking access, according to Associate Director for Undocumented Student Services Arelis Palacios. But it is incumbent on The Corp to make its services easily accessible to everyone — the machines are a good step forward but are not a pervasive enough solution for a business that has locations across campus. Moreover, for visitors on campus, The Corp’s cashless practices further limit people’s payment options. Without a GOCard, visitors cannot even use cash machines to put money on their cards to make purchases, making it impossible for those without bank cards to purchase even a cup of coffee. To justify its cashless policy, The Corp cites the increased security of online payments and the streamlining of its operations, among other reasons. While these reasons are valid considerations for the business, inclusivity, accessibility and ease of use should be prioritized. The Corp is aware of the limitations of cashless payment and is prioritizing the resolution of these limitations, Corp President and CEO Seo Young Lee (COL ’21) wrote in a statement to The Hoya. Simply reversing the cashless system is the most straightforward and comprehensive solution. Reversing its cash ban would also allow The Corp to stay ahead of the Council of the District of Columbia legislation that would prohibit businesses from refusing cash. Rather than waiting on legislation, The Corp should be proactive on this issue for the sake of its customers. While the transition process may pose inconveniences for The Corp, the consideration of accessibility and inclusivity should be prioritized. Customers should not endure undue burdens to make a purchase at a Corp location.

Maya Gandhi, Editor-in-Chief Madeline Charbonneau, Executive Editor Kiera Geraghty, Executive Editor Amber Gillette, Managing Editor Katrina Schmidt, News Editor Cady Stanton, News Editor Henry Mihm, Sports Editor Jake Wexelblatt, Sports Editor Timothy McNulty, Guide Editor Allan Navarro, Guide Editor Doris Zhang, Opinion Editor Will Cassou, Features Editor Meena Morar, Features Editor Subul Malik, Photography Editor Samuel Nelson, Design Editor Katherine DeMatteo, Copy Chief Sheel Patel, Social Media Editor Jenna Ryu, Blog Editor Hector Herrera, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Doris Zhang, Chair

Faris Bseiso, Bianca Corgan, Joshua Levy, Joseph Yacovone, Grant Zangwill

Myroslav Dobroshynskyi Academics Desk Editor Amy Li Graduate Desk Editor Sana Rahman Campus Life Desk Editor Riley Rogerson Campus Life Desk Editor Connor Thomas City Desk Editor Joanna LaCoppola Deputy Sports Editor Steven Botsoe Deputy Guide Editor Michelle Brown Deputy Guide Editor Zain Sandhu Deputy Guide Editor Max Hamid Deputy Opinion Editor Rebecca Stekol Deputy Opinion Editor Afua Nyantakyi Deputy Features Editor Karena Landler Deputy Features Editor Yolanda Spura Deputy Features Editor Julia Alvey Deputy Photography Editor Margaret Fouberg Deputy Photography Editor Natalie Isé Deputy Photography Editor Kiki Schmalfuss Deputy Photography Editor Tarika Kumar Deputy Design Editor Mina Lee Deputy Design Editor Eloise Owen Deputy Design Editor Janis Park Deputy Design Editor Madeline Broderick King Deputy Copy Editor Chau Le Deputy Copy Editor Victoria Lei Deputy Copy Editor Nora Ma Deputy Copy Editor Grace Jaworski Deputy Social Media Editor Alexandra Matthews Deputy Social Media Editor Isabel Roemer Deputy Blog Editor

Contributing Editors

Susanna Blount, Will Cromarty, Erin Doherty, Harrison Hurt

HOYA HISTORY: Sept. 30, 2005

Guards Petition for Wage Increase Several subcontracted campus security guards joined with campus groups and a major union yesterday morning to present a petition to the university calling for increased wages and benefits. Fifteen of the guards, contracted by Georgetown through AlliedBarton Security Services, one of the largest security contractors in the country, signed the petition, which was delivered to the office of University President John J. DeGioia. “We feel that we do not receive the respect, wages and benefits that we deserve,” the petition read. “Our wages are too low to support our families and the health insurance options are far out of reach for many of us.” The new demand for increased wages comes after Georgetown’s decision last March to raise all contracted

workers’ salaries and benefits to at least $13 an hour by July from the former minimum compensation of $11.33. This “Just Employment Policy,” which was implemented following a nine-day student hunger strike that attracted national attention, also committed to raise contracted workers’ compensation to at least $14 an hour by July 2007. Members of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee, which helped to organize the petition effort, said that the university had not lived up to its promises of a wage increase for the AlliedBarton employees who monitor access into Georgetown’s residence halls between 11:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. GSC member Jack Mahoney (SFS ‘08) said that the security workers have received only a small raise in base pay — from $9.70 an hour to $9.77 an hour since the new policy

was announced. While they were uncertain how much the workers’ benefits were worth in dollar terms — AlliedBarton provides its employees with health coverage and life insurance, among other benefits — petition backers said that the benefits could not feasibly bridge the $3.23 gap between the guards’ base salary and Georgetown’s promised total compensation. “You’ve got to have some mighty nice benefits if you’re making $3.23 an hour,” said Rich Gibson, an organizer for Service Employees International Union, which represents the security officers and helped to arrange the petition. At Georgetown, “People aren’t making what they need to live. But it’s going to happen,” he said.

Robert Herbele Hoya Staff Writer

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Mitchell Taylor, General Manager Sarah Mihm, Director of Human Resources David Towell, Director of Sales Brian Yoffe, Director of Financial Operations Molly Evers, Treasury Manager

Board of Directors

Will Simon, Chair Dan Crosson, Maya Gandhi, Anna Kooken, Yasmine Salam, Mitchell Taylor, Hannah Urtz LETTER TO THE EDITOR AND 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. The Hoya reserves the right to reject letters or viewpoints and edit for length, style, clarity and accuracy. The Hoya further reserves the right to write headlines and select illustrations to accompany letters and viewpoints. CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, contact Executive Editor Madeline Charbonneau and Executive Editor Kiera Geraghty by email at executive@ thehoya.com. TIPS News Editors Katrina Schmidt and Cady Stanton: Email news@thehoya.com. Guide Editors Allan Navarro and Timothy McNulty: Email guide@thehoya.com. Sports Editor Jake Wexelblatt: Email sports@ thehoya.com. GENERAL INFORMATION The Hoya is published once a week during the academic year with the exception of holiday and exam periods. Address all correspondence to: The Hoya Georgetown University Box 571065 Washington, D.C. 20057-1065

The writing, articles, pictures, layout and format are the responsibility of The Hoya and do not necessarily represent the views of the administration, faculty or students of Georgetown University. Signed columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Hoya. Unsigned essays that appear on the left side of the editorial page are the opinion of the majority of the editorial board. Georgetown University subscribes to the principle of responsible freedom of expression for student editors. The Hoya does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, color, national or ethnic origin. © 1920-2019. The Hoya, Georgetown University weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 4,000

OPINION

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

VIEWPOINT • ALEMAYEHU

THE HOYA

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BETWEEN THE LINES

Rethink Hoya RealTalk

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oya RealTalk is a play put on by students, New Student Orientation and Health Education Services to highlight on-campus resources and portray common issues students might face. My Hoya RealTalk experience as a new student was positive. I felt it was cheesy but informative, and it was nice to see students openly addressing issues of homesickness and stress culture while reminding me of resources on Georgetown University’s campus. This year, however, the play took a different turn. While many issues need to be addressed about the play, the largest is that, as Orientation Advisors, we felt unprepared and uninformed as to how to handle the play due to miscommunication and lack of training regarding specific issues. First, OAs were not provided with any sexual assault response or prevention training. In fact, the only training we received from HES was stress management exercises such as mindfulness practices and deep breathing. These exercises were very helpful, but not in the context of what was addressed in the play. The New Student Orientation staff, including the OAs, also did not see the play before it was performed in front of the new students, which posed a grave problem for us. We were not expecting some of the content, we were not trained to answer certain questions and we did not know how to help our new students. Furthermore, I Am Ready — a facilitated conversation that deals with sexual assault — was not in the NSO programming, even though the organizers of the play believed it was. There was a clear lack of communication and preparation for us as NSO staff to properly address the issues the play incorporated, like sexual assault, eating disorders, racial microaggressions, homophobic slurs and addiction. None of these issues were covered in OA training, and we were not properly prepared to address them with our new students. I felt as if I was in a situation in which I could not properly answer the questions or give the right information that my new students needed. The directors of the play did not give students a trigger warning

prior to seeing it. The play itself tackled more serious issues than it did last year. There were references to income inequality in a nonchalant way. When addressing stress culture, they mentioned how lack of sleep affects hormone levels. An actor responded in a condescending manner, saying, “Weight gain anyone?” This statement was shocking with its fat-phobic connotations. The play also used a homophobic slur in reference to a scene with harrassment and didn’t address any consequences or what actions the victims could take. Lastly, the sexual assault matter depicted in the play ended with the aggressor confessing to an Alcoholics Anonymous group and the other characters coming up to the stage to forgive him. These characters even included the woman he assaulted. The play offered no instruction regarding what resources to turn to if a student enters the Title IX process for reporting sexual misconduct. NSO issued an apology to all the staff members after receiving numerous complaints about the play. This apology encompassed my concerns about the lack of communication and preparation. As a staff member, I appreciated its ownership and response to criticism. Six weeks have passed, and NSO has come and gone. However, all Georgetown students must have the tools, resources and information to properly confront the problems addressed in the play, and that is why it is still important to address this issue after NSO. In the future, NSO and HES must work together to prepare the NSO staff. I received many questions I didn’t know how to answer. I felt overwhelmed after this play, so I can’t imagine how my new students must have been feeling. These conversations are important to have, but they require preparation and sufficient knowledge in these issues. We should put our best foot forward as a community and address these issues in the most respectful way possible when welcoming new students. All of these things must be considered so a situation like this one doesn’t happen again. ESCADAR ALEMAYEHU is a sophomore in the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

Faced with a government willing to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of people each year instead of enacting gun violence prevention measures, rejecting patience is more important now than ever.

Justify Gun Control With the Story of Job

Haley Talati

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any American conservatives like to argue that gun ownership is a God-given right. While there isn’t a strong biblical basis for such arguments, the Book of Job does offer some relevant — if indirect — suggestions about how progressives should engage in the gun violence debate. Job’s righteous anger and his determination to hold the biblical God accountable for wrongs committed against him serves as a model for how we should deal with injustice in our own times. The story’s plot is simple: After God boasts about Job’s uprightness, a member of the divine court challenges that Job would not be so virtuous were he not so materially fortunate. In response, God allows for the destruction of Job’s property, the deaths of his children and the infliction of “loathsome sores” (Job 2:7) all over his body. For seven days, Job suffers in silence before going on to eloquently

reflect upon his circumstances and ask God why he has been subjected to such tragedy. Readers of this story traditionally laud the so-called “patience of Job,” presumably in recognition of his refusal to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9) — something even his wife recommends. But such readings fundamentally misunderstand the text and the character of Job himself, who is anything but patient: After his week of silence, he lets out his rage and grief in full force. For 35 chapters, Job speaks with friends who insist he must have sinned badly to deserve such a punishment. But Job does not submit to God’s treatment; he demands an explanation from God and clings to his own innocence. Eventually, God does respond. In what seems to be at least a partial validation of Job’s anger, God grants him twice as much material wealth as he’d had before, replaces his children and scolds his friends for not speaking the truth as Job had done — Job holds God accountable and eventually receives a just outcome. Unlike certain other biblical stories, the political implications of the Book of Job are not explicit, but Job’s story is relevant to the current debate about guns in the United States. Many Americans are all too familiar with the feeling of sudden, inexplicable

SACRED SPACE

loss that Job experiences — and just as Job’s demands for an explanation are initially met with silence, the families of gun violence victims often only receive “thoughts and prayers” from conservative politicians, who persistently refuse to enact common-sense gun violence prevention legislation. Though they may not invoke his name directly, these conservatives demand just the sort of patience falsely attributed to Job — much like Job is seen as passively deferring to God’s supreme will, conservatives insist that active legislative solutions will not stop gun violence and quietly accept the supposedly unpreventable deaths of thousands of their constituents. But in just one recent example of the clear inaccuracy of their claims, the gunman who killed seven people in and nearby Odessa, Texas, last month bought his firearm from a private sale after previously failing a background check — had Congress enacted legislation requiring background checks on all sales, these senseless deaths might have been avoided. Job serves as a good model of how progressives should respond to injustice and hold people accountable for their actions, but conservative legislators have something to learn from his story as well.

Specifically, the Book of Job calls attention to the possibility and importance of changing destructive behaviors — making amends to Job by restoring him to his previous fortunate state partially redeems God’s character. Conservatives should model this behavior as closely as they can by ending their complicity in needless deaths and taking action on gun violence. Unlike the biblical God, they cannot simply replace the people whose deaths their negligence has caused, but taking substantive legislative action now would help save some of the more than 30,000 people killed by guns in the United States every year. The wrongs of the Republican Party on this issue can never be truly made right, but it’s not too late to prevent future injustices by responding to progressives’ rightful indignation. Job is not a model of patience but rather quite the opposite: He is an argument against complacency in an unjust system. Faced with a government willing to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of people each year instead of enacting gun violence prevention measures, rejecting patience is more important now than ever. Haley Talati is a senior in the College. BETWEEN THE LINES appears online every other Thursday.

VIEWPOINT • SCUDERO

Reassess Club Drinking Culture Reject Complacency on Facilities

Yumna Naqvi

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ll students are welcome to apply to student organizations at Georgetown University. But in many clubs, only students who drink feel welcomed to stay. The lack of recognized fraternities or sororities at Georgetown means clubs tend to serve as a substitute for these organizations and very often perpetuate a drinking culture. For students who don’t drink — often because of religious beliefs — the drinking culture can be isolating and discriminatory. Leaders of student organizations have a responsibility to ensure their members have a fair chance to participate in the cause or community their clubs boast. Club leaders should consciously examine their social events and offer various bonding activities that do not involve alcohol. The consequences of an ingrained drinking culture are steep, driving some students who don’t drink out of the organization. Former International Relations Club member Cheyenne Martin (SFS ’21) left the club because nearly all of IRC’s bonding activities included alcohol, conflicting with her Protestant beliefs. Mahir Pasha (SFS ’21) left IRC for the same reason. Besides pushing students to leave, perpetuating a strong drinking culture has the dangerous potential to compromise the integrity of club application processes. Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union rejected a qualified Muslim candidate because she might not have felt comfortable at parties, according to Cole Brown (COL ’18) in a 2017 op-ed. Makenomistake:Thedrinking

culture in Georgetown’s student organizations is not a harmless case of college kids having fun, but rather has bred a system that sustains its social scene by turning a blind eye to the students it isolates and deliberately discriminates against. Student organizations were not formed merely to provide students with attractive parties but instead as a source for students to explore their ideas, career interests and hobbies. Student leaders are abysmally failing to uphold the missions of their respective organizations if talented club members are not being accepted into organizations or are quitting them because of alienation. Although club members are quick to argue that students don’t have to drink alcohol to participate in social events, the setting can still be uncomfortable. “There was nothing to do at [IRC’s] bonding parties except to drink, and I never felt welcomed unless I had a solo cup in my hand,” according to Martin. Moreover, some religious traditions have guidelines on the presence of alcohol; for example, in the Shia tradition I follow, Muslims are not allowed to be seated at a table where alcohol is being consumed — a nearly impossible feat at a party. For many students who choose to remain in a club despite its drinking culture, the only solution is to avoid social functions with alcohol — essentially, nearly all of them. Accordingly, assimilating into the organization and forming friendships can take much longer than it does for members who drink, which means being disconnected from a close-knit environment. Additionally, advancing in such an organization presents another set of challenges. Leaders in clubs are often expected to host pregames. Though other members may host instead, the unwritten expectation that leaders be present in the social life of an organization may deter students who don’t drink from seeking promotion.

Moreover, if clubs are discriminating in their initial application processes on the basis of who fits their party scene best, they might also be discriminating internally when deciding who advances. Only by requiring an equal number of dry bonding activities can club leaders begin to rectify the damaging consequences of their willful ignorance and allow students who don’t drink to fully engage. I only felt incorporated into my campus extracurricular activity after nearly a year, largely because I avoided events involving alcohol. Still, I was fortunate to serve in a section of the club in which brunch is the primary bonding activity. If brunch had not been such an ingrained, near-monthly tradition, I would have likely quit, exhausted by working in an organization in which I felt like a stranger. Activities such as brunch or game night are simple substitutes for events at which alcohol is the primary attraction. In fact, clubs are increasingly making an effort to include dry bonding activities; GUASFCU implemented a policy in 2017 to match events including alcohol with a dry one, according to Chief Executive Officer Kuran Malhotra (MSB ’20). Still, clubs should not wait until being criticized on this issue, or until the rare occasion that a nondrinking student makes it into its leadership, before making changes to their organization. Drinking is an inevitable facet of college life. But the ingrained drinking culture within Georgetown’s student organizations — often overpowering the purpose of the club — is unreasonable and demonstrates a callous disregard for students who don’t drink. Club leaders might pay lip service to diversity, but the drinking culture undeniably discriminates. Yumna Naqvi is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. SACRED SPACE appears online every other Wednesday.

D

arnall Hall’s grim reputation is one of the worstkept secrets on campus, which is why I won’t even bother describing the usual cliches, anecdotes or running jokes surrounding its existence. However, since the Blue and Gray Tour Guide Society neglected to direct attention toward its more “exciting” features during my several high school tours, including unwelcome four- or six-legged pests, mysterious smells and stains, and an indoor pool where our laundry room is supposed to be, I had little knowledge of what to expect when I walked through the door on my first day. For all its peculiar qualities, though, Darnall turned out to house a wonderful community, with all its residents banding together to keep their heads above the water, both metaphorically and — for some — literally. Immediately after we moved in, our common room closed for renovation to finally update decades-old fixtures, flooring and the kitchenette. The construction timeline, which we have only gleaned through scant rumor, rather than any official statement, supposedly has a November completion date, which means that, in some cases, we may be without that area for most of the first semester. Although the common room desperately needed restoration, removing the residence hall’s sole social spaces was incredibly frustrating for everyone. Not having that meeting place meant weeks of huddling in hallways or ducking into rooms to get to know one another, which, reluctantly yet inevitably, led to the development of select friend circles and quasicliques, unheard of in Darnall’s usually inclusive environment. The common room can open tomorrow or in May — the damage has already been done. What was most distressing, however, was the malaise that followed this dilemma and others like it: a discontented acceptance that while this situation is upsetting, as firstyears, nothing we do will ever change our lack of agency in

our own affairs for housing, academics or extracurriculars. It’s time we abandon this perspective and acknowledge that, just as any other Hoyas, we have a right to have our grievances heard, and that, to affect change, we must not shy away from making Georgetown University fully aware of the problems first-year students face. Just because we’re new here does not mean we don’t deserve adequate facilities or recognition by the administration. Just because we don’t yet know the process of speaking out does not mean we should sit idly by as they decide school policies that directly and, at times, negatively affect us. Just because we’re first-years does not mean we must accept all we are presented with. A resident believing they deserve better because they attend Georgetown is not a matter of privilege. When we pay such a great deal of money for housing, with certain amenities outlined in our housing agreement, we expect they will be available to us and that the state of facilities is, at the very least, proportionate to what we pay for. For me and many others, Georgetown, regardless of our excitement at having been accepted here, was a matter of economics, of deciding if all it offered counterbalanced a steep tuition price. To that end, we might have felt somewhat hoodwinked when presented with the real state of our rooms and halls. Darnall residents know this situation all too well, being constantly reminded of the disparities between our building and better facilities while still paying the same price as everyone else. The renovation was a meager improvement compared with the plethora of other pressing day-to-day problems in the residence, including mold exposure, tainted water supplies, leaky ceilings and a constantly malfunctioning laundry room. And, yet, whether we cope by shrugging our shoulders, complaining or laughing it off, we always return to say we

should be grateful for what we’ve been given, guilty we should think to shun what Georgetown has provided. We view the university’s housing policies as charity instead of the fulfillment of a contract, so we always seem to hesitate at challenging the flaws within those policies. Older undergraduates, and even alumni, perpetually reinforce this attitude, fondly talking about their own harrowing experiences during their first year, making it seem as though this struggle is a sacred rite of passage rather than a series of faults that should be addressed and fixed. As first-years, we can improve on what we’ve been given and seek compensation for what’s been taken away only if we discard this belief that we must be satisfied because of the relentless “Georgetown Hot Mess” catchphrase of previous first-years. This is not another Georgetown tradition to dutifully uphold; it is an unfounded norm we must reject. Whether you’re sending an email to Residential Living, attending an Interhall Council meeting or just talking with your RA, you’ll soon realize that though these problems are ubiquitous, so is the desire to address them. You are not alone when you think you deserve better living conditions or when you feel your comment will get lost among a sea of more pertinent concerns raised by others. Your voice is just as valuable and has equal weight. As merely one student, this system may appear foreign and inaccessible, but acting as a passionate team, whether we’re from Harbin Hall, New South Hall, Village C West or Darnall, we will speak up, and we will be heard. So inundate them with emails, attend those forums and set up meetings with your residence’s officials. Speak out, and let them know the Class of 2023 won’t be content to let this place be a hot mess any longer. JOHN SCUDERO​ is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE D.C. Circulator buses will no longer be free. The dollar fare returned Oct. 1. Story on A9.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS FAITH, RACE AND POLITICS verbatim

“

I am grateful for all of the opportunities this country has given me to start and grow my business.” Georgetown Cupcake owner Katherine Kallinis Berman on obtaining her U.S. citizenship. Story on A9.

from our blog

WE JUST HOPE BOTH TEAMS HAVE FUN The Fourth Edition’s most recent blog post features enough dashingly handsome devils to fill all nine circles of hell. @GUCSTPUBLICLIFE/TWITTER

Political affiliation should not preclude Christians from taking action on racial justice, panelists (from left) Justin Giboney, a political strategist; Bishop Daniel Flores; moderator John Carr; Adelle Banks, a religion reporter; and Rev. Jim Wallis said at an event Wednesday.

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Students Take Action To Make Their Votes Count JAIME MOORE-CARILLO Hoya Staff Writer

Presidential candidates have already begun flocking to states with the earliest primaries and caucuses. When the four early primaries and caucuses help decide who can continue their campaign, every vote in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will count. Grace Ring (COL ’21), though, has to decide whether she is prepared to fly home and miss whole days of class to participate in Nevada’s caucus, which does not allow absentee ballots. College students across the United States face a unique set of obstacles when trying to vote. Convoluted registration instructions, bureaucratic mishaps and unclear deadlines can hinder and disincentivize students from casting a ballot and exercising their constitutional right. At Georgetown University, student organizations and activist groups are attempting to bridge the gap between campus and the ballot box through events that aim to educate students and facilitate the absentee ballot filing process.

EDICTS AND ENVELOPES

Despite representing an increasingly politically active demographic, college students face significant hurdles as they attempt to vote from their campuses. For those who opt to vote in their home state, unclear and inconsistent absentee ballot policies annually threaten to bar many students from voting. College students who cannot vote in person at their designated polling places must vote using the complicated absentee process, according to Andrew Straky (COL ’20), co-president of GU Votes, a student-led initiative under the university’s Institute of Public Politics and Public Service. “The absentee ballot process is uniquely difficult in this country,” Straky said. “It should be as easy as going online and requesting a ballot, but no. You not only have to get registered to vote, you have to take all these additional steps to even get a ballot in your hands.” Voters must submit an absentee ballot request form to their county office by mail or in person, await the mailed absentee ballot and submit the completed ballot in order to vote. Each state’s absentee ballot system varies, however. While some states allow online registration, Arkansas state law requires voters to include a copy of their

state ID in their absentee ballot application. Certain states have extra requirements that can result in the disqualification of ballots. For example, voters have complained that hundreds of ballots were rejected in Georgia in 2018 because the signature on the ballot did not match exactly the signature that was on file, a requirement that still stands in multiple states. The absentee system’s complex rules can be overwhelming for students, according to Yael Bromberg, a constitutional rights attorney who worked as a teaching fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center’s Civil Rights Clinic and Voting Rights Institute. “These rules can be very tricky for first time voters who’ve just turned 18 and don’t know how to navigate the system, especially when it’s so state-by-state,” Bromberg said. Some college students, however, would rather avoid the hassle of an absentee ballot and vote in the state where they attend school instead. As a result, many state legislatures have implemented regulations that voting rights activists argue are targeted specifically to limit college students’ participation. One example can be seen in New Hampshire, where a law recently upheld by the New Hampshire State Court mandates all voters declare residency as part of registering to vote in the state. For students who come from out of state, this law could require them to register their car to New Hampshire and pay the accompanying fees, which many have argued amounts to a poll tax. Voting in Washington, D.C., is comparatively easier, and students can be eligible to vote in D.C. elections. College students in the D.C. area are able to formally vote after 30 days at their campus address, according to the District of Columbia Board of Elections website. However, a lack of federal representation and shortage of local elections leads many Georgetown students to still request an absentee ballot.

MISSING BALLOTS AND MISSED VOTES

Whether it is from discouragement, missed deadlines or even mistakes on part of local governments, many students who could have voted report they were unable to. Often, states demand absentee ballot request forms up to a week before a given election

day. As a result, students busy with classwork or campus life tend not to have a good understanding of the sudden deadlines, according to Straky. “Most students aren’t thinking about voting in August,” Straky said. “They are getting ready for school. It’s only in October, when things start to pick up, that people are like, ‘Oh wait, I need to take all these steps to vote,’ and often there’s no time left.” For some elections, firsttime voters must make sure they have registered months in advance, according to Christopher Stauffer (SFS ’22), a resident of New York. “You have to go through this entire process and sometimes you don’t know the deadlines,” Stauffer said. “If you want to vote in New York in the presidential primaries next year, you have to register in October of this year to vote.” Though Ring herself was able to vote in the midterm elections last year, many of her friends from home could not in Nevada, which was recently ranked 30th state in a study on voting ease and state laws. “I know a lot of my friends who attend school out of state who didn’t vote because they didn’t register early enough, or know to request an absentee ballot,” Ring wrote in a message to The Hoya. Unfortunately, even if a student is proactive and able to navigate the complexities of absentee voting, a voter’s ballot can still be lost or misplaced. Depending on the individual county’s capability to process ballots, requests, even if submitted on time, sometimes never get processed correctly. Students nationwide report missing ballots that never came. Despite following all the requirements, Stauffer and Kiara Chiddick (SFS ’22), a resident of Massachusetts, both reported their ballots did not come before the 2018 midterm elections. Though she understands the process, no information was given about the status of her specific ballot until it was too late, Chiddick said. “There’s no communication whether they got it or not, there’s no communication back afterwards if they processed it or anything,” Chiddick said. “I just kept waiting. I called, they said, ‘Yeah it should be in the mail,’ and I never got it until the midterm elections were over.” For some students looking toward the upcoming 2020 primaries, an absentee ballot will not be enough to make sure their

vote counts. Certain states hold caucuses instead of primaries, which instead require in-person attendance in order to select delegates for a party’s nominating convention. Though early voting options make voting more viable for some Nevadans, Ring still doubts she will be able to participate. “This year they’re offering early voting options, which does help make the election more accessible, but they’re still in person, so a lot of the barriers are definitely still present,” Ring wrote. “If I want to be able to caucus in the primary, I’ll have to fly across the country on a 2-day weekend in February. It’s both a time crunch and incredibly expensive, and it’s a huge obstacle to civic participation.”

BRIDGING THE GAP

Looking forward to the primary elections next spring, student groups and activist organizations have been pushing to simplify the voting process and help students deal with voting difficulties. For example, GU Votes has undertaken several projects to boost voter registration and lower voting barriers on campus. The group has installed absentee ballot dropboxes, which come equipped with stamps and envelopes, at locations across campus, where students can drop off absentee ballot registration forms. Dropboxes can be found in the GU Politics Office, the SFS main office, the

Georgetown Scholars Program office, Hilltoss and Midnight Mug, among other locations and are active through Oct. 24. To assist students looking to send their absentee ballots back, Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union also offered free stamps last year. In cooperation with the Andrew Goodman Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for voting accessibility, GU Votes has also launched a revamped online voter portal through which students can register to vote, check their registration status and find absentee ballot registration forms. Increased student political engagement accompanied by intensive voting assistance has resulted in higher student voting rates at Georgetown. According to preliminary reports from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, a survey of college voting rates conducted by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Learning at Tufts University, the voting rate among eligible Georgetown students rose from 20.1% in 2014 to 49% in 2018. The 2018 voting rate dipped slightly from 2016, a presidential election year, when it hovered near 64%. GU Votes and other groups on campus have been working to meet increased engagement and make it easier for students to cast their absentee ballots, according to GU Votes operations director Sarah Bryant (SFS ’22).

“Students overall are wanting to be more engaged,” Bryant said. “Seeing that increased student engagement has made it even more of an urgent and critical time for groups like ours to be working on campuses to really help meet that.” Groups like GU Votes and the Institute of Politics and Public Service help encourage students to vote, but the lack of similar resources at other universities may contribute to continued confusion among voting procedures on college campuses, according to Ring. “Georgetown has a lot of programming that encourages civic participation and helps to lower some of those barriers, but most schools aren’t as actively political,” Ring wrote. Despite improvements in engagement, absentee ballots and stringent state regulations continue to make it difficult for students to vote. Data from 2016 indicates that while 90.4% of eligible Georgetown students were registered to vote, only 71.1% did so. Absentee ballot complications play a large part in this disparity, according to Straky. GU Votes is committed to further improving the student voter experience by lowering voting barriers, Straky says. “You should be able to vote on election day and not have to think about it well in advance,” Straky said. “We’re trying to make that a little bit more of a reality.”

ELIZABETH ALARCON, JANIS PARK, LILIA QIAN, RYAN SIEBECKER/THE HOYA

The rate of Georgetown students voting in midterm elections increased 143% from 2016 to 2018 through the help of voter registration initiatives from GU Votes and GU Politics.

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UG Thrift Store Fundraises 2nd Student Meal Swipe For Immigrant Organization Drive Doubles Donations SOPHIE HABER

Special to The Hoya

Uncommon Grounds raised $2,300 for immigrant rights organization Border Angels at the second annual UG Pop-Up Thrift Store held in partnership with Hoyas For Immigrant Rights Sept. 28. This year’s fundraiser on Leavey Esplanade collected triple the number of donations for this year’s thrift store as they did last year, according to organizer Roya Wolfe (SFS ’21). This year was also the first time that UG partnered with HFIR, a student group dedicated to advocating for immigrant students on and off campus, for the fundraiser. After the nationwide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids this summer on undocumented families, Wolfe contacted HFIR President Arisaid Gonzalez Porras (COL ’21) to ask for input in deciding where to donate the proceeds from this year’s thrift store, Gonzalez Porras said. Together, the groups decided to donate proceeds from the fundraiser to Border Angels, an organization that provides free immigration services and consultations in Spanish and English. Border Angels serves immigrant communities through consultations for people recently released from immigration detention centers, as well as by building water stations along the border, Gonzalez Porras said. “I know they do great work near the border,” Gonzalez Porras said. “There’s a stigma with immigration and crossing the border, so this organization is trying to help these people succeed, whether that be crossing the border successfully or returning home if they decide not to go

through with the journey.” Gonzalez Porras said that in addition to raising money for the organization, she hopes the pop-up thrift store was able to raise awareness among the student body about the work that Border Angels does. “I hope that people saw the name Border Angels on the flier and it sparked curiosity,” Gonzalez Porras said. “Maybe they Googled something about it.” Fast fashion, an industry that focuses on low-cost production and speed to keep up with the latest trends, has a significant environmental impact. Criticisms of fast fashion include its contribution to water pollution, its use of toxic chemicals and dyes, and the industry’s production of greenhouse gasses, according to the Independent. Discarded clothing made of nonbiodegradable fabrics can sit in landfills for up to 200 years, according to the World Resources Institute. Wolfe said she hoped the event raised awareness about the importance of sustainability in fashion. “The amount of fast fashion waste is insane because with new trends people bring in a lot of new clothing week by week,” Wolfe said. “Just to be able to sell secondhand clothing, or by purchasing it, you are reducing your carbon footprint.” The items sold at the popup thrift store was all donated by students. Even the hangers that the clothes were displayed on were donations, according to Wolfe. UG set prices incrementally and made all pricing decisions in talks between their upper management and HFIR, Wolfe said. UG focused on making sure the prices were reasonable for a college student’s budget. “We’re all college stu-

dents, so we wanted to give an outlet to buy inexpensive clothes,” Wolfe said. “It’s less about selling high fashion clothes and making money; it’s more about making sure that clothing is accessible.” Some items for sale at the pop-up thrift store came from designer brands, including a Gucci belt that sold for $20, normally priced at around $500, and Lululemon leggings that sold for $10, which usually retail for around $100. Aisha Tounkara (SFS ’23), a student who shopped at the thrift store, said she came to the event in search of more affordable clothing options. “Everything in D.C. is very expensive, everything in the Georgetown area is very expensive, so I thought it would be really nice to come and get clothes that are not $30 for a T-shirt,” Tounkara said. UG donated all the clothes that they did not sell to Martha’s Table, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that works to increase access to high-quality education. Three hundred and thirtyeight Georgetown students responded that they were interested in the event on Facebook. Wolfe said she wanted the event to serve as a way to bring people together on campus. “I think that’s what this thrift store is all about,” Wolfe said. “It’s about all of the community members coming together because this could not be a thing without Georgetown students.” UG plans to continue hosting the event annually and hopes that both the event itself and attendance at the event will continue to expand, Wolfe said. “We really want this event to be about making a difference,” Wolfe said. “I think it will continue to grow more every year.”

YALDA ZARRABI Special to The Hoya

The second semesterly Meal Swipe Drive raised over twice as many guest meal swipes as the spring drive and now allows recipients to access swipes directly from their GOCards in an effort to increase participation and eliminate stigmatization for individuals facing food insecurity. The Meal Swipe Drive was held by Interhall Council and Swipe Out Hunger, the Georgetown chapter of the national initiative working to end food insecurity, on Sept. 26. This semester’s Meal Swipe Drive received 1,092 meal swipe donations, an increase from the 538 meal swipe donations during the first drive in the spring. Through the Meal Swipe Drive, students were able to donate their guest meal swipes at all Hoya Hospitality locations, including Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall, Royal Jacket, Crop Chop, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Einstein Bros. Bagels. Each student on any meal plan has two guest meal swipes, which are typically allocated for visiting individuals, that function as normal meal swipes in the food that it includes. The first drive last spring required students to use paper vouchers to redeem donated meal swipes. This semester, students who apply for extra meal swipes will have the swipes directly loaded onto their GOCards, decreasing any hesitation that students may feel for using donated meal swipes, according to Swipe Out Hunger president Isabelle Ortiz (MSB ’20). “The paper vouchers create a lot of issues because people were embarrassed, and they shouldn’t have to feel embarrassed,” Ortiz said. “This semester is a lot more convenient because you would never know if someone was using it, as the swipes are directly

uploaded onto the GOCards.” The donated swipes will be redeemable at the buffet-style Fresh Food Company in Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall, according to Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises Marc Fournier.

“You can only skip a few meals a week and still be food insecure. The scope of the issue is quite broad.” SAMUEL DUBKE (SFS ’21) Hoya Hub Student Advocacy Organization Treasurer

In the next few weeks, students will be able to apply for donated meal swipes on a first come, first served basis. Although the application format is still being determined, the questions will ask about what kind of food insecurity the student is facing and their current meal plan, according to Ortiz. Students can request blocks of five meal swipes using iPads located in the Hoya Hub, and possibly in Health Education Services and the Georgetown Scholars Program office if the locations are approved, according to Ortiz. Swipe Out Hunger worked closely with the Hoya Hub, an on-campus food pantry, to promote the drive. The Meal Swipe Drive helps address the farreaching problem of students living with food insecurity, according to Hoya Hub Student Advocacy Organization treasurer Samuel Dubke (SFS ’21). “Food insecurity is defined as ‘the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient

quantity of affordable, nutritious food,’” Dubke wrote in an email to The Hoya. “You can only skip a few meals a week and still be food insecure. The scope of the issue is quite broad.” Current meal plan options for students range from $1,600 to $3,407, with the standard meal plan including 14 swipes per week, or roughly two swipes per day, according to Interhall president Jordon DeGroote (SFS ’20). The Meal Swipe Drive aims to address the structural problems of meal plans as students are often left without a way of getting a third meal, forcing students to pay extra money, DeGroote said. “People either have to skip a meal, or they have to find a meal by paying for it in cash, and people sometimes don’t have that dispensable income,” DeGroote said. “There are people who skip a meal a day and you may not think of them as traditionally food insecure but they absolutely do fit it.” The Meal Swipe Drive creates an environment of collaboration and support at Georgetown, according to Fournier. “Programs such as the Swipe Out Hunger meal plan donation drives encourage Georgetown students to help support their classmates,” Fournier wrote in an email to The Hoya. This semester, students could donate a maximum of two guest meal swipes. In the future, the Meal Swipe Drive could be improved by increasing the number of allowed swipe donations and by expanding donations to regular meal swipes, DeGroote said. “Right now we’re limited by the fact that we can only do guest swipes,” DeGroote said. “To be able to expand where you could donate any swipe you had would really unlock the range where we could expand the program as much as we would want to.”

GU Prison Scholar Freed By Court From DC Jail

Marco Pavé Announced as GU’s First Hip-Hop Artist-in-Residence

CURRAN STOCKTON

CAROLINE HECHT

Special to The Hoya

Zack Johnson, a formerly incarcerated student in the Georgetown Prison Scholars Program, was freed Sept. 30 after serving two and a half years in the Washington, D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility. At a hearing to retry his case on Monday, Johnson faced a possible four- to eight-year sentence. Professor Marc Howard, the founder of the Prison Scholars Program, and Aliyah Graves-Brown, coordinator for Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative Program, which develops programming on mass incarceration and criminal justice reform, testified at the hearing. The judge sentenced Johnson to time served, commuting his sentence to equal the time he had already spent in jail, leading to his immediate release, according to a Facebook post from Howard announcing the decision. Howard launched the Prison Scholars Program, which provides both credit and noncredit courses for incarcerated individuals, at the D.C. Jail in January 2018 as a part of the Prisons and Justice Initiative. The Prisons Scholars Program has given Johnson the opportunity to pursue his dream of receiving a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown, according to Johnson. “Georgetown’s prison and justice initiative allowed me to finally unite my real self with my ideal self,” Johnson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “With this clarity of mind I realized my dreams were not impossible and quickly devoted myself at being the best student I could be. Because of PJI I’m now truly living my dream.” Johnson was a strong student all throughout high school, he said. However, right after Johnson graduated high school, his father suffered a heart attack, which necessitated a quadruple bypass surgery and left him unable to continue working. The medical bills and loss of his father’s income inflicted

a heavy financial burden on Johnson’s family, which made Johnson unable to attend college, according to Johnson. Johnson’s struggle with prematurely ending his education sent him on a troubled path that led to his incarceration, according to Johnson. “For so long I have been told how much potential I have,” Johnson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Instead I drifted down the wrong path creating a real self that was in constant contention with my ideal self. This disconnect only caused more depression and despair leading me deeper and further down the wrong path.”

“I realized my dreams were not impossible and quickly devoted myself at being the best student I could be.” ZACK JOHNSON Georgetown Prison Scholar

The “Prisons and Punishment” course is offered to both prisoners and Georgetown students. Johnson’s former classmate Haley Wierzbicki (COL ’21) said that she gained a personal perspective from learning alongside Johnson and hearing about his life experience. “We need to humanize these people that are being subjected to the terrible position that is our criminal justice system,” Wierzbicki said. “We need to use our privilege of being Georgetown students to humanize them, and to prove to the world that taking a class in prison is the same experience you’d have on campus, but you’re learning more from a diverse set of life experiences.” Johnson, who was taking Howard’s “Prisons and Pun-

ishment” class while he was incarcerated, will now join the class held on Georgetown’s campus and will also enroll in a personal finance course through the university. While taking the Georgetown course during his incarceration, Johnson pursued a Communications degree through the Prisons Studies Project with Ashland University, which offers postsecondary education in correctional facilities, according to the program website. Johnson’s avid participation in two academic programs speaks to his strong desire to learn, according to Graves-Brown, who met Johnson while visiting the prison several times every week to ensure the smooth operation of the program as coordinator. “He was in both of our programs simultaneously, which speaks to his intellect and his ability to handle a lot of work,” Graves-Brown said in an interview with The Hoya. “I’m grateful that I was able to cross paths with him and continue to be a part of his journey.” Johnson’s journey exemplifies how incarcerated individuals can follow a new path, according to Howard. “The biggest takeaway of all of this is that people who are incarcerated are human beings who have made mistakes,” Howard said, “Very few of them are incapable of change. Many of them will do great things and make us proud if we support them well. Zack is the embodiment of that belief.” Johnson hopes to become an addiction and trauma counselor to help others overcome addiction and find joy through recovery. Johnson is grateful for the opportunity to prove his potential to himself and sees his release as a turning point, he said. “When I heard the final verdict on Monday, I felt an amazing sense of relief,” Johnson wrote. “At that moment I knew my life was now on the right path and that I had the right people in my corner to see me through it.”

Special to The Hoya

Tauheed Rahim II, also known as rapper Marco Pavé, was named as Georgetown’s first hiphop artist-in-residence this fall, working directly with students through the department of performing arts and department of African American studies. Before coming to Georgetown, Rahim, a hip-hop and performing artist and an educator and arts entrepreneurship advocate, served as a Memphis Music Initiative Teaching Fellow, bringing hip-hop music, culture and activism to middle and high school students. Rahim will host a series of panels and events sponsored by the department of performing arts and the department of African American studies entitled, “Critical Frequencies: Live from the Southern hip-hop Stage,” over the 2019-20 school year. These events will discuss entrepreneurship, culture, fashion, politics, social justice and music business in the context of hip-hop. Rahim hopes the series will help students who are less familiar with hip-hop engage with the discipline. “You don’t have to be a rapper, you don’t have to be trying to make beats, you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to be a practitioner of hip-hop to learn from hip-hop,” Rahim said in an interview with The Hoya. “I learn from hip-hop artists on the day to day by building confidence, by building self-efficacy, by building things that just help me navigate the world.” The series will also include events directed at students with a specific interest in music, like open studio sessions, beat-making workshops, as well as bring other artists to campus through the department of performing arts, according to Rahim. “If students are interested in coming in to check out how life in the studio is with the artist making a song, we’ll be doing stuff like that,” Rahim said. Professor Anthony DelDonna, director of the Georgetown music program, hopes Rahim’s work will elevate the music department program by putting greater emphasis on hip-hop as an academic discipline, an area which had been missing from the American musical culture major until now, he said in an

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Tauheed Rahim II, also known as rapper Marco Pavé, will be the first yearlong academic resident at Georgetown University. interview with The Hoya. “Our major is a major in American musical culture. So, what does that mean? The types of music that are created, practiced, performed in the Americas,” DelDonna said in an interview with The Hoya. “But it’s not just the classical tradition. It’s jazz, it’s blues, but what’s really been missing from our curriculum is hip-hop, which is a dominant cultural force.” Rahim will also be the first yearlong academic resident at Georgetown, which makes the project more ambitious than previous similar efforts that were semesterly positions, according to DelDonna. “What we’ve always done is residencies, so a very limited impact where an artist or a group of artists will come in for a handful of days or maybe even a week at a time and work with students on a very limited engagement — a very focused, concentrated, intense engagement,” DelDonna said. Rahim’s residency is sponsored by two departments, which offers a more integrative curriculum, according to professor Soyica Colbert, chair of the department of performing arts and professor of African American studies. “This residency is also a collaboration with African Ameri-

can Studies, which both signals the interdisciplinarity of hiphop Studies and the importance of the arts in various modes of knowledge production,” Colbert wrote in an email to The Hoya. Much of Rahim’s musical and personal inspiration comes from his hometown of Memphis, Tenn., he said. His first philanthropic venture was a fundraiser called “Books on Beale,” which collected books and established centers to encourage higher literacy rates in the city. Rahim has traveled the United States to speak at universities about the use of the arts to affect social justice. This series will emphasize the importance of southern hip-hop because of Rahim’s Tennessee upbringing, he said. “Memphis is a music town so everything about Memphis is around music: soul, jazz, the blues, all of those different types of songs were constantly in rotation in my house,” Rahim said. “I came of age listening to Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne, so in this 2005 to 2011 era was just like, very, very significant for southern rap but also for my own growth as an artist and a person.” The first Critical Frequencies event, “Sneakers and Speakers” will be held this Friday, Oct. 4, in McNeir Hall.

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Student Workers Run Women’s Center 1 Year After Director Departs WOMEN’S CENTER, from A1 center’s budget is for the year, and we have no real guiding, coordinating force behind any independent programming the women’s center would do. We really just never know what’s going on.” The Women’s Center has not only ceased most independent programming, but has also significantly decreased its operating hours. While other centers like the LBGTQ Resource Center have maintained their regular hours, the Women’s Center has had to close many hours a day because of its lack of full-time staffing, according to the shift schedule.

AN ONGOING SEARCH

A year after Kovach’s departure, Georgetown University has still not found an adequate replacement for the Women’s Center’s leadership. The university first formally announced the beginning of its search for a new leader of the Women’s Center back in January. University leaders emphasized engagement with student leaders as an integral part of their search, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson. Almost one year after launching this process, however, the administration has only just created a committee of community members, according to Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jeanne Lord. “Last year we reviewed our structures and explored best practices in how to serve students optimally through our various centers,” Lord wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We also looked for opportunities to align resources to support more programming and minimize administra-

tive tasks. Informed by that work, we’re convening a committee of students, faculty and staff, chaired by Dean Sue Lorenson and Charlene Brown-McKenzie, to search for a new leader for the Center.” The committee plans to convene later this month to review applications and bring prospective candidates to campus in November, according to Lord. In the interim, Lord has served as a form of an interim director, according to Sarda. Because the Women’s Center is overseen by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, administrators like Erika Cohen-Derr, assistant vice president in student affairs, have also been helping the student interns throughout the process. The delayed process has taken an unnecessary amount of time and placed extra stress on surrounding students and administrators, according to Sarda. “I am definitely frustrated that it has taken this long to fill Laura’s position, and that my coworkers and I, Shiva, Erika Cohen-Derr, and Jeanne Lord have to deal with the consequences this semester,” Sarda said. “The university had all of last year — when there was at least [Rondon] leading the center — and the summer to fill the role, and it is only beginning to happen now.” The director of the Women’s Center is not the only position the university has left vacant for a prolonged period of time, as the Title IX office has remained understaffed for two years. Former Title IX Coordinator Laura Cutway left Georgetown in June 2018, leading Title IX Investigator Samantha Berner to serve as interim coordinator while maintaining her role as in-

vestigator during the yearlong search for a new coordinator. Georgetown eventually promoted Berner to the role of permanent coordinator, leaving the role of investigator vacant. The university is still in the process of searching for a new Title IX investigator, marking the second consecutive year Georgetown did not have a fully staffed Title IX office at the start of the school year. Since the Women’s Center is a resource for survivors of sexual assault, the university must hire properly trained staff members to serve in those positions, according to Kovach. “As a listed resource for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, it is imperative that qualified, full-time staff are hired to work in the Women’s Center to support students, faculty and staff,” Kovach wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I hope the current leadership will address the critical lack of full-time staff with great urgency so the Center can continue to lead and care for the whole student as it has done for almost 30 years.” The Women’s Center used to be a critical resource for student organizations like WAGE and Sexual Assault Peer Educators to provide resources to sexual assault survivors, according to Nora West (SFS ’15), a former WAGE fellow and SAPE member. “The Women’s Center was a key supporter of SAPE and led a lot of the trainings that made that possible, which was huge for me as a survivor trying to fit back in after having a traumatic experience,” West said.

CREATING A SOLUTION

To sustain the Women’s Center as an effective resource without senior lead-

FILE PHOTO: JULIA ALVEY/THE HOYA

One year after former director Laura Kovach left Georgetown University’s Women’s Center, the university has just announced plans to interview candidates this November. ership, the LGBTQ Resource Center and student groups on campus have stepped up in solidarity. Staff members from the LGBTQ Resource Center have had to alternate shifts in the Women’s Center to provide coverage beyond their explicit tasks, according to Sarda. “One person from the LGBTQ center has to come and work here for a couple hours each week because people just aren’t here,” Sarda said. “Three people can’t fill a schedule. I feel like the university is really just stretching everyone over here too thin, and they need to consider that stress and potential burnout every day they’re not actively looking to fill the position.”

In the past, students have seen collaborative events as a chance to build solidarity between the centers, according to Adriana Zinn (NHS ’15), who worked at the Women’s Center between 2013 and 2015. “The guest speakers we were able to bring in through the women’s center were huge for me in developing as a feminist,” Zinn said. “Having cross-sponsored events with the LGBT Center created a place where we were giving a voice to marginalized groups who may not have felt like Georgetown was their most natural fit.” The two centers are cohosting a coffee chat Oct. 4 titled, “Gender and the Women’s Center” with the hopes of discussing ways to

create more inclusive programming, as well as hosting focus group sessions for interactive feedback. This time of transition provides an opportunity to reimagine the Women’s Center’s purpose, according to Sarda. “This moment of transition presents a great opportunity to rethink the relevance of a women’s center, especially regarding our changing understanding of gender,” Sarda said. “How do we move beyond the gender binary in the work that we do? How do we make ourselves more inclusive to transgender, gender-nonconforming and gender-fluid students? How can we create a new sense of community and purpose around the center?”

Report Sees Stagnant Sexual Assault Rates SAFETY, from A1 risks, according to Jen Luettel Schweer, associate director for Health Education Services and director of Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Services. Rather, the uptick could stem from students having a better understanding of the reporting process, according to Schweer. “An increase in numbers around issues like stalking and sexual violence often reflects an increase in knowledge about these issues and in reporting,” Schweer wrote in an email to The Hoya. GUPD releases the safety report annually to the Georgetown community to address both campus and personal safety. The report also includes the last three years’ number of reported incidents of statutory rape, domestic violence and disciplinary referrals for drugs and alcohol, among other types of incidents. The report contains data on reported crimes that occurred on the main campus as well as at the Georgetown Law Center, School of Continuing Studies and univer-

sity campuses in Florence, Qatar and London, in addition to general information on university policy and reporting procedures. Forty-six total reported on-campus burglary incidents were reported in 2018, compared to 31 on-campus burglary incidents in 2017, according to the report. The breakdown of on-campus burglary incidents shows the number of on-campus, nonresidential related burglaries almost doubled, with 27 reported incidents in 2018 compared to 12 reported incidents in 2017. Though the total number of on-campus burglaries increased over the last year, the number of on-campus residential related burglaries remained at 19 for the second year in a row. GUPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Though the number of reported burglary incidents at on-campus residential buildings has not changed in the last year, students should continue to be aware of their surroundings and take precautionary measures, according to Executive Direc-

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tor of Residential Education Ed Gilhool. “Students are encouraged to always lock their doors and to never leave personal belongings, including laptops and cell phones, unattended,” Gilhool said in an email to The Hoya. In addition to the annual security report, the university also released the Annual Fire Safety Report and Fire Statistics that provides information about fire safety at Georgetown. The report includes statistics on fires at the university and outlines university policies and procedures. Eleven reported on-campus rapes have been report-

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Stalking in non residential buildings increased the most among reported stalking incidents. In 2018, there were 13 reported incidents, up from seven reported incidents in 2017, according to the study.

ed for each of the last three years, according to the security report. Though organizations like Sexual Assault Peer Educators work to break the stigma about reporting sexual assaults, the statistics in the report suggest there are students who choose not to report rape for their own personal reasons, SAPE member Courtney Smith (COL ’21) wrote. “Although I think we are making strides in changing the stigma around reporting rape, there is still much to be done,” Smith wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The fact that the total number of on-campus rapes has stayed the same for the past three years makes me think that there are survivors who have, for their own valid reasons, not reported.” Georgetown requires all incoming students to complete online educational programs that educate students about on-campus resources and bring awareness to sexual misconduct, according to the report. In addition to completing online training courses, all new undergraduates attend Hoya RealTalk, a theater production put on by HES during New Student Orientation. The play touches on themes relating to bystander intervention, mental health and alcohol consumption. For students affected by interpersonal violence, HES provides students support and advice to help ensure their safety, according to Schweer. “In Health Education Services, we work with students who have experienced stalking, sexual assault and any other form of interpersonal violence by offering them support, advocacy, safety planning and connecting them with any other resources they may need,” Schweer wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Student leaders expressed frustration after attending two meetings with the Georgetown University board of directors this week.

Board Fails To Provide Timeline to Student Leaders on GU272 GU272, from A1 converse with the students,’ and that was disappointing, obviously.” The board did not discuss the topic at a full-body meeting attended by Francis, he said. Francis voiced frustration at the lack of full transparency from the board on its discussions of the referendum. “Students want to be involved and we want to be heard and be told actual dates and timelines,” Francis wrote in a statement to The Hoya. “Right now it seems like we are stuck hearing about an endless loop of dialogue and engagement but are not included in the actual discussions that matter.” 66.1% of students voted “yes” in an April student referendum to establish an added semesterly fee to contribute to a fund benefiting descendants of the GU272, the 272 enslaved people sold by the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1838 to financially sustain the university. The referendum had the highest voter turnout in recorded student government electoral history. The board of directors typically holds multiple meetings over a few days during its sessions, and student representatives to the board are only permitted to attend the meeting for the Working Group on Student Affairs, according to Doherty. The university is working to address logistical questions raised by the referendum, according to Dubyak. The university also began searching for a librarian to oversee collections on slavery. Thursday’s board meeting

comes days after members of the advocacy team and GUSA representatives met with Cheryllyn Branche, president of the GU272 Descendants Association, and Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J., the president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, on Monday, according to Dubyak. “This meeting emphasized the importance of this Dialogue as part of the University’s approach to engaging with members of the Descendant Community and working with Descendants to understand how we might together chart a path forward,” Dubyak wrote in an email to The Hoya. The board has lacked transparency and clear GU272 initiatives when meeting with the GU272 Advocacy team, according to team member Aly Pachter (COL ’19). (Full disclosure: Pachter formerly served on The Hoya’s board of directors.) Though the advocacy team has offered to participate in further meetings with board members, none have reached out since June, she wrote. “During our meetings, the members of the administration often dodge direct questions from the advocacy team and emphasize dialogue over tangible steps forward,” Pachter wrote in a statement to The Hoya before the Oct. 3 meeting. “The advocacy team has left almost all meetings doubting the university’s full commitment to implementing the referendum. We’ve had several formal meetings with administration.” Hoya Staff Writers Moira Ritter, Meredith Miller and Sana Rahman contributed to this reporting.

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OUTober Expands Through Campus Ministry Programming SANA RAHMAN Hoya Staff Writer

This year’s OUTober events will celebrate LGBTQ History Month through keynote speaker Mesma Belsaré, an Indian LGBTQ activist, and expanded programming which will involve Campus Ministry for the first time. Belsaré, an Indian transgender woman who is a classical Bharatanatyam dancer, painter and actor, will speak at an event called “The Creative Process” Oct. 10. The event will be sponsored by the South Asian Society, Rangila, the LGBTQ Resource Center, The Indian Initiative and Lecture Fund. The event featuring Belsaré will focus on how her various social identities have shaped her journey in both art and dance. Belsaré will also discuss the principles of Bharatanatyam, the oldest classical form of Indian dance, and what her process to becoming established in the dance looked like as a member of the LGBTQ community, according to Rangila co-coordinator Avni Kulkarni (NHS ’21). The event will also include a question and answer section where students will be able to engage in conversation with one another and hopefully discuss ways that the South Asian community can be more inclusive of LGBTQ members, according to Kulkarni. “I hope this sheds light on what it means to hold LGBTQ identities in a South Asian place and what we can do as

a community to make LGBTQ representation more inclusive within our community,” Kulkarni said. Bringing Belsaré to talk about her experiences as a South Asian member of the LGBTQ community is important in bringing awareness to stigmas around sexuality within the South Asian community, according to Co-Director of Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives for Rangila Satya Adabala (SFS ’22). “I believe that it is truly important to reflect on the reality of some of the stigma in the South Asian community regarding LGBTQ identity, and as it is OUTober, we wanted to collaborate with the LGBTQ Resource Center to explore some of these important topics,” Adabala wrote in an email to The Hoya. Campus Ministry will also host a LGBTQ-affirming mass for the first time on Oct. 20, according to LGBTQ Resource Center Director and Special Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs Sivagami Subbaraman. “That is a big milestone for our communities and we are really grateful,” Subbaraman wrote in an email to The Hoya OUTober will include the annual celebration for Coming Out Day in Red Square on Oct 12. The celebration will feature music and a “closet door,” which students can symbolically “come out” from, according to GUPride Co-President Siena Hohne (COL ’22). GUPride will also be hosting a smaller, more casual event later that day for stu-

dents to share their coming out stories and queer experiences in a more intimate setting, according to Hohne. “Our goal for this event is to provide a space where closeted or more low-key members of the community can still feel celebrated and welcomed,” Hohne wrote in an email to The Hoya. OUTober is a tradition that began in 2012 to honor LGBTQ History Month. The LGBTQ Resource Center celebrated its 10th anniversary during OUTober last year. GUPride will potentially host an event for International Pronouns Day Oct. 17 and are in the process of finalizing their keynote speaker, according to Hohne. The official schedule for OUTober will be released next week, according to Subbaraman. OUTober provides students in the LGBTQ community an avenue to express their identity in a safe environment despite being unable to proudly express their sexuality in other circumstances, GUPride Co-President Al Castillo (SFS ’22) said. “Many members of the queer Georgetown community are unable to be open about their sexuality or gender identity back in their hometown, for risk of social and familial rejection, violence, and discrimination,” Castillo wrote in an email to The Hoya. “In comparison, OUTober provides the opportunity for the community to be out and proud of their identity as a queer person on campus.”

2019 Hillary Clinton Awards Honor Latin American Activists MADIHA SOHANI Special to The Hoya

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honored three women for their fight against violence and injustice in Latin America at the seventh annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security ceremony Sept. 27. “Never underestimate the power of women and girls not only to improve their own lives but to lift up families, communities and entire nations,” Clinton said. “The women we recognize today embody that truth.” Hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the HRC Awards in Gaston Hall annually honor three individuals who advance peace by promoting women’s role in society. In her opening remarks, Clinton addressed the political climate of the United States by pointing out President Donald Trump’s lack of attention towards issues such as foreign officers overseas and the intervention of foreign powers in the 2016 election. “In the course of his duties as president he has endangered us all by putting his personal and political interests ahead of the interests of the American people,” Clinton said. “He has turned American diplomacy into a cheap extortion bracket.” Clinton presented this year’s awards to Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile and the current United Nations high commissioner for human rights; Rosa Anaya, coordinator for Catholic Relief Services, an international humanitarian organization; and Virginia “Marta” Velásquez, founder of Movimiento de Mujeres de la Colonia López Arellano (MOMUCLAA), an advocacy group that provides legal, psychological and other support services to women and advocates for peace in their communities. Bachelet, one of the award recipients, served as president of Chile for two four-year terms, first in 2006 and again in 2014. After the 1975 coup in Chile, Bachelet was tortured in a detention center along with her mother and later forced into exile for four years. Bachelet has dedicated her career to advancing women’s rights. Emphasizing the importance of equality in the world is more important now than ever, according to Bachelet. “It is well past time for universal realization for the equality of every human being,” Bachelet said. Anaya and Velásquez were honored during the awards ceremony for promoting equality in Central American communi-

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COURTESY GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING AND HEALTH STUDIES

NHS professor Mary Wakefield will be honored as a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing in October for her contributions to the field of nursing. Four other professors will be inducted with her.

NHS Professors Honored With Awards, Fellowships LUKE DIMARTINO Special to The Hoya

Professors Mary Wakefield and Carol Taylor (GRD ’97) from the School of Nursing and Health Studies will be honored by the American Academy of Nursing this month for their accomplishments and contributions to the field of nursing. Wakefield, who previously served in leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be recognized as a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing, the highest distinction conferred by the AAN. Wakefield joined the NHS faculty in 2017 as a visiting professor. The Living Legend honor is a remarkable accomplishment, President of the American Academy of Nursing Karen Cox wrote in a July 30 news release. “The leaders selected in this year’s class of Living Legends are highly acclaimed, longtime Fellows whose accomplishments to health and wellness are profound and sustained,” Cox said. Wakefield, who is a visiting distinguished professor in the practice of health care at Georgetown University and the University of Texas at Austin, was honored alongside four other distinguished nurses from institutions including Lehman College of the City University of New York and the University of Washington. Wakefield feels privileged to be recognized by such a qualified group of nursing professionals, she said in an interview with The Hoya. “They are some of the most stellar nurse-researchers in the

Taylor’s research focuses on nursing ethics and she is well known for a textbook she co-edited, “Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of PersonCentered Care.” She joins 10 other Georgetown faculty who are fellows in the academy. The AAN, composed of more than 2,700 fellows, is a professional organization that drives health practice standards and supports policy-related initiatives. The academy publishes a bimonthly journal on new developments in nursing practice and hosts a yearly policy conference. Cox praised the work of the fellow inductees and their major contributions to the organization, according to a news release. “I am proud to welcome this incredible class of leaders to the American Academy of Nursing,“ Cox said. “Their amazing accomplishments have changed health and health care across the country and around the globe.” Both Wakefield and Taylor have conducted research in the health care field, specifically focusing on policy and decisionmaking. The future of research and policy in the health care field looks optimistic, but there are significant problems that face policymakers, Wakefield said. “The issues are clearly about affordability of health care for people who are still standing on the outside of health care access and unable to afford it or unable to find affordable insurance coverage,” Wakefield said. “We’ve had a lot of improvement in terms of getting people access to insurance, but there are still segments of the population where affordability is a challenge.”

Provost Groves Launches Podcast, Features Faculty

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the seventh-annual HRC awards to three women Sept. 27.

NICK VERNI

ties overrun by violent crime. Violence against women has skyrocketed in Latin America, which, as a region, has the highest homicide rate in the world. In El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, gang violence has a particularly harsh impact on women, and in El Salvador, the death rate of women is 13.5 per 100,000, according to The Wall Street Journal. This is more than six times the women’s death rate in the United States. Anaya, who currently serves as the program coordinator for Segundas Oportunidades, an initiative of Catholic Relief Services in El Salvador, told the audience to look at one another and say “thank you” to establish that all people can do something to break the cycle of violence. After fleeing to Canada at age 10, Anaya later returned home to El Salvador and began working in prisons with young men. Anaya currently works to rehabilitate young men and return them to society to break the cycle of violence in the country. After experiencing the horrible effects of gang violence in her home country, Honduras, Velásquez founded MOMUCLAA, despite great opposition from both men and women in the community because the program was radically different in its purpose. Working with the local police department, MOMUCLAA has pushed for change such as a new law that banned domestic violence, lobbying for access to drinking water and the construction of a walking bridge

Provost Robert Groves has released a podcast series featuring interviews with Georgetown University faculty members to offer listeners a glimpse into their research, careers and stories before and during their time at the university. The series of short interviews includes a diverse group of faculty from various academic departments and focuses on sharing the unique journeys that led the faculty to the university. Eight episodes have been published since June 3, 2019, and the most recent of the semimonthly episodes was released Oct. 1. Groves aims to appeal to multiple audiences with the podcast and interviewee selections, specifically students and younger faculty, he said. “I greatly enjoy the discussions, and they supplement my admiration for the great work of our faculty at Georgetown,” Groves wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Every podcast is different, and the topics end up being heavily shaped by the guest faculty member.” Groves hopes that listening to the podcast will deepen Georgetown students’ perception of faculty by providing these selected stories. Otherwise, students are unable to learn the valuable lessons that faculty might not discuss in a classroom setting, according to Groves. The podcast is also designed to offer students confidence in their own future work in

over a freeway. The HRC Awards were established in Dec. 2011 under the U.S. National Action Plan for Women in Peace and Security. GIWPS was established that same year to advance a similar goal of creating leaders who understand the importance of promoting the role of women in peace and security issues globally. Clinton is an honorary founding chair of GIWPS. Last year, the HRC Awards honored three women, including Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad, who also received the Nobel Peace Prize later that year. The Awards also honored Rohingya activist Wai Wai Nu and Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent. Clinton invoked women leaders like Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist, to remind the audience of the power of women in the world. “This week she delivered a powerful speech at the United Nations climate action summit that should be required viewing for every lawmaker,” Clinton said. Since policy enacted today will impact future generations, U.S. leadership should focus on advancing social change and empowering women, Clinton said. “This is ultimately about much more than Donald Trump, it is about us,” Clinton said. “It is about who we are as a nation. History is being written and the world and our children are watching.”

country. They are nurses who are chief executive officers of hospitals and other health care facilities. They are deans of some of our schools of nursing across the country and outstanding educators and outstanding clinicians,” Wakefield said. At Georgetown, Wakefield advises students on research and career paths in health policy, conducts executive programs on nursing and guest lectures in undergraduate and graduate classes. Sharing her experiences in lectures and discussion at Georgetown as a visiting professor since 2017 has been a rewarding experience for Wakefield. “Most of the role has been lecturing across a wide variety of health-related courses, bringing to those classes the experience and expertise that I have as a nurse who has worked extensively in health policy at the federal level,” Wakefield said. Taylor, an ethicist and professor of advanced nursing practice, will be inducted as an AAN fellow in October. Induction as a fellow in the AAN recognizes Taylor’s research in the field of nursing as well as her commitment to teaching, according to Interim Dean of the NHS Carole Roan Gresenz. “Dr. Taylor is highly regarded on and off Georgetown’s campus as a reflective and knowledgeable ethicist and educator,” Gresenz said in a news release. “Her fellowship in the academy honors her many contributions, and we celebrate her achievement and are grateful to call her a colleague.”

Special to The Hoya

the fields of scholarship and research. Groves intends the podcast to inspire younger members of Georgetown faculty by offering a glimpse into the demands and opportunities of their profession. The diversity of the experiences of those selected for the podcast speaks to the intellectual diversity present at Georgetown, Groves wrote. “We seek to represent faculty from across the different fields in the university,” Groves wrote. “We want to give the audience a sense of how variable are the careers of faculty.” In the second episode of the podcast, ethics professor Nancy Sherman spoke about her college experience, her discovery of philosophy and her time working with the United States Naval Academy following a cheating scandal. The podcast format offers a great opportunity to share stories in a nonclassroom setting, according to Sherman. “The conversation was wonderful. Bob [Groves] understood the broad nature of my work and my academic and research trajectory,” Sherman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I think podcasts are a great way to learn about what our fellow colleagues and students are doing. They are good, informal ways of learning.” In his interview, the most recent in the series, sociology professor Brian McCabe recounted his time at Georgetown, as well as his research on socioeconomic justice in the housing sector. The op-

portunity to be featured on the podcast was liberating and removed the constrictions that being a professor can sometimes create, according to McCabe. “Often, students only see us as educators when, in fact, most of our time is spent researching and writing,” McCabe wrote in an email to The Hoya. “To me, the purpose is really to unmask the work that we’re doing, and to share the research that excites us— in my case, work on housing and urban inequality—and to give listeners a window into that world.” The Office of the Provost has other programs designed with similar goals of shedding light on Georgetown’s faculty, such as their blog, but Groves greatly enjoyed the podcast format and has plans of continuing the podcast. Groves hosts featured distinguished faculty members like McCourt School of Public Policy professor George Akerlof, who was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001. Groves also authors a blog published on the provost’s website, discussing the world of academia and key issues facing faculty, students and higher education. “For most students, seeing faculty teach in classrooms robs them of a window into the deep devotion that faculty have to their own scholarship,” Groves wrote. “We want students to get an idea of why a faculty member would devote their entire life to a set of research issues.”

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

Dumbarton Oaks Set To Build New Greenhouse Amid Renovations CLARA GRUDBERG Special to The Hoya

The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, gardens and a research library for Byzantine and pre-Columbian studies, has plans to renovate its current greenhouse into an education space and construct another. Planning for the project at Dumbarton Oaks, located in north Georgetown, began early this summer in coordination with the project’s lead New York-based architecture firm, Selldorf Architects. The official timeline for construction will be announced once designs are completed, according to Annabelle Selldorf, principal of Selldorf Architects. Dumbarton’s new greenhouse will be more energyefficient with solar panels, improved irrigation and climate control features included in the plans. The project is a part of the estate’s three-year Access Initiative to improve its campus, Dumbarton Oaks Communications Manager Erica Bogese said. “We envision that this project will enhance sustainability, K-12 educational activities, and support of the arts and humanities at Dumbarton Oaks,” Bogese wrote in an email to The Hoya. Dumbarton’s existing greenhouse was designed by Lawrence Grant White in 1925 and is one of the oldest structures standing on its campus. The current project, which integrates the old and new, is a unique opportunity, according

to Selldorf. “While on the one hand it is two distinct and separate buildings, and one is new construction while the other is the renovation of an existing structure, they are intertwined,” Selldorf wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Both are premised on finding a design solution that is appropriate for their beautiful campus that will allow them to increase their educational programs and continue the critical stewardship of the historic garden.” The project will occur in two phases, delineated by work on the greenhouse and the education space separately, according to Lisa Green, a partner at Selldorf Architects. “The new greenhouse needs to be constructed first so that the activities taking place in the current greenhouse can move there,” Green wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Once that is done work on the historic greenhouse renovation will begin to transform that to the education space.” Dumbarton Oaks currently hosts an Early-Career Musician Residency, which provides young composers and musicians with resources to study classical music and exposes a younger generation to the genre, according to Bogese. The museum’s current musician-inresidence, American violinist Robyn Bollinger, is holding free pop-up concerts in the galleries throughout the fall months for local residents. The renovated greenhouses will allow for programming that the entire Georgetown community will have the opportunity

to enjoy, according to Bogese. “This space will also provide us with more room to support emerging artists,” Bogese wrote. “The Greenhouse renovation will allow us to expand the program by providing a studio for a future artist in residence, which will be one more way we can contribute to the vibrant arts and culture community of Georgetown.” Dumbarton Oaks has been a hub for cultural, artistic and political discovery since its owners, Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, donated the museum to Harvard University in 1940. The Dumbarton Oaks Museum houses collections of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art, as well as sprawling, picturesque gardens. The gardens, where the greenhouse project will take place, were designed by Beatrix Farrand, a noted landscape architect. The greenhouse project is a step in the right direction in terms of sustainability, according to Amelia Walsh (SFS ’20), president of the Georgetown Renewable Energy and Environmental Network. “In general I’m really excited about any work that Dumbarton is able to do, as they work with leading conservationists and landscape architects and are thoughtful about how they approach sustainable development,” Walsh wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I’m hopeful that Dumbarton continues to be transparent about where they source their energy from, and that they take both greenhouse gas emissions and conservation efforts into account, as is important with all energy projects!”

CLARA GRUDBERG FOR THE HOYA

Dumbarton Oaks plans to renovate its existing greenhouse and will release the timeline for construction of a new greenhouse once designs are finalized by contractor Selldorf Architects.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY/FACEBOOK

Sirleaf spoke to two undergraduate international relations classes taught by professor Lise Howard on Oct. 2, fielding questions and discussing postconflict policy in Liberian society and politics.

Empower Women in Leadership, Former Liberian President Says GRACE BUONO

Special to The Hoya

Evolving cultural attitudes towards women in leadership is crucial for promoting peace, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Wednesday as part of a three-day workshop on conflict recovery. Sirleaf was the first woman elected as president in Africa and she served two terms from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her work defending women’s rights. Speaking to two undergraduate international relations classes taught by Georgetown University professor Lise Howard, who moderated the Oct. 2 event, Sirleaf answered a number of student questions on the importance of women’s empowerment and post-conflict policy both in politics and Liberian society. By the end of her time in office, Sirleaf felt as though she had changed the mindset of people in Liberia about what a woman in power could do. “It’s accepted now, even the little girls in our rural Liberia are known now to challenge,” Sirleaf said. “Challenge their teachers and say, ‘I can be what I want to be as a woman president.’” Sirleaf strongly believes that, when given the opportunity, women are better at running a society than men. “I can’t tell you I have empirical evidence. I wish I could,” Sirleaf said. Director of the Global Human Development Program Steven Radelet approached Sirleaf about establishing a program for her at Georgetown after he

served as an economic advisor to Sirleaf during her time in office. Along with Dean of the School of the Foreign Service Joel Hellman, Radelet designed a three-day program that has been hosted three times since spring 2018. The program includes a series of faculty meetings, small group meetings about post-conflict reconstruction and classroom discussions and public speeches. Sirleaf’s most recent visit marked her fourth time coming to Georgetown. She is set to visit again in either March or April 2020, according to Radelet. “I think there’s been pretty enthusiastic response on both parts,” Radelet said. “Each time she comes, I’m already getting requests from student groups who missed out this time to want to be on the schedule next time.” Sirleaf was excited about the opportunity to participate in a number of in-depth interviews and discussions about Liberia as well as the chance to meet and engage with students, according to Radelet. “She really likes meeting with students and she always says, she said it to me today, that she gets energized by meeting with students and hearing their questions and sensing their energy and their curiosity,” Radelet said in an interview with The Hoya. Gabriella Turrinelli (SFS ’23), a student in Howard’s introductory course, was struck by how much Sirleaf stressed the importance of women’s empowerment in politics. “I thought it was really interesting, especially how she emphasized the role of not just

getting women into politics but advancing women’s rights outside of politics within the rural parts of Liberia,” Turrinelli said in an interview with The Hoya. Prior to this event, Sirleaf’s audiences were limited and an attempt was made to change that this year, according to Howard, “We had a little feedback that maybe we weren’t having quite enough broad student engagement. So that was when we decided to bring her to the introduction to IR class. Just so she could engage with a lot of students,” Howard said in an interview with The Hoya. Even after meeting with Sirleaf a number of times, Howard is still amazed by the work Sirleaf accomplished in the face of numerous obstacles, including the end of a civil war and the 2014 Ebola outbreak. “I tell my students that I’ve met a lot of important people over the course of my career, a lot of heads of state and famous people and in a variety of ways, and I still have that feeling of a little bit of starstruck trying to talk to her,” Howard said. People should not underestimate the role that the United States has had in creating important international standards that other countries look to, Sirleaf said. “The role that the United States has played, the influence that the United States has had, in the promotion of democracy and the protection of rights, is what has influenced and made so many countries that adopt similar policies, similar positions for their improvement,” Sirleaf said. “Don’t let it change.”

GUSA Senate Creates New Policy, Advocacy Committee KELLY ANDERSON Special to The Hoya

New Georgetown University Student Association committee chairs were chosen at a GUSA senate meeting Sept. 29 and plan to start their terms this week with a renewed emphasis on transparency in the organization, amid the addition of a policy and advocacy committee. The new chairs include Ethics Committee Chair Zev Burton (SFS ’22) and Vice Chair Chris Ziac (SFS ’22), Finance and Appropriations Committee Chair Juliana Arias (SFS ’20) and Vice Chair Layla Weiss (MSB ’22), and Policy and Advocacy Chair Leo Arnett (SFS ’22) and Vice Chair Daniella Sanchez (COL ’22). The new chairs of these committees, which oversee other committees within the GUSA senate, were nominated and elected to their positions by fellow GUSA senators, including the new class of freshman senators sworn in on Sunday. The Policy and Advocacy Committee was formed by GUSA this semester to focus the organization by assigning policy issue areas to each GUSA senator based on their interest, such as facilities issues or the support of underfunded groups, s, according to Arnett, the committee’s chair. The chairs also intend to meet with each senator to discuss policy areas that they are interested in. An early goal for the committee will be to promote the use of the Georgetown University Events Calendar, a platform for student organizations to publicize scheduled events, according to Arnett and Sanchez.

“This committee will be structured like a think tank where senators will come together to brainstorm policy and will break into groups to implement this policy,” Sanchez wrote in an email to The Hoya. The group’s work will include a diverse set of initiatives ranging from fixing facilities to promoting the work and events of student organizations, according to Arnett. “Policy captures both the tangible and communal support that a student government should provide to its students,” Arnett wrote. “Supporting underfunded groups, marginalized campus communities, and the ideals of tolerance and understanding that give Georgetown its identity are a few examples.” GUSA has not created a new committee since October 2018, when the organization added an Ethics and Oversight Committee to track senators’ attendance records at meetings and monitor potential conflicts of interest within GUSA. The oversight committee is also able to investigate the financial activities of GUSA and can subpoena any GUSA member and initiate articles of impeachment after investigation if necessary. Last April, several senators accrued dozens of unexcused absences from senate meetings, leading to a formal disciplinary act from the organization for some members. This year, the Ethics and Oversight Committee will focus on holding senators and the GUSA executive accountable for accumulating absences or engaging in con-

flicts of interest, according to Burton, the new committee chair. “We hold elected officials accountable for their actions in the most direct way. In a sense, we are the ones who ensure that Senators and Executive members are not shirking their duties to the Georgetown Community,” Burton wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I’m excited to ensure that the Senate and the Executive are doing ethical and beneficial work.” The chairs will also seek structural reforms within the Ethics and Oversight Committee to ensure the future sustainability of the committee, Burton wrote. “We want to increase the standardization of the committee, so that actions taken by the committee don’t drastically change based on the whims of whoever is in charge,” Burton wrote. Transparency-building measures will include increasing involvement of other GUSA senators in the committee’s work and possibly adding input from members of the student body, according to Ziac, the committee’s vice chair. “I believe the Committee can bring positive change by increasing faith in GUSA and encouraging students to be more aware of the doings of their elected officials,” Ziac wrote in an email to The Hoya. The senate considered legislation last month to abolish the GUSA Fund, which provides ad hoc funding to student groups. As the new Finance and Appropriations Chair, Arias does not intend to eliminate the Fund in her new position as the commit-

tee’s chair, she wrote. “GUSA fund will stay, but we don’t have set parameters for how it will be reformed,” she wrote in an email to The Hoya. The Finance and Appropriations Committee allocates money in an annual budget to seven advisory boards, the Georgetown Program Board, the Georgetown University

Lecture Fund and the GUSA executive. The Finance and Appropriations Committee will implement a four-year plan for the allocation of its funds and aim to increase communication with other senate groups, according to Arias. “We are committed to minimizing cost-prohibited activities for low-income stu-

dents by having an increased support for organizations constituting underrepresented communities on campus,” Arias wrote. “There will be a need for increased transparency and communication between the different boards and FinApp.” Hoya Staff Writer Harrison McBride contributed to this reporting.

NEWS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

THE HOYA

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Cafe Romeo Shuttered Georgetown Cupcake Owner After Vermin Infestation Celebrates US Citizenship LIANA HARDY

Special to The Hoya

The D.C. Department of Health ordered the shutdown of Glover Park pizza shop and hookah lounge Cafe Romeo’s Sept. 24 due to a vermin infestation and other health code violations. The restaurant’s unsanitary conditions and rodent problems were the most significant violations of the D.C. Food Code. The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs also ordered that the owners of Cafe Romeo’s vacate the building because of structural dangers, including extensive electrical issues. Cafe Romeo’s closure will likely be temporary, however, according to D.C. Department of Health Public Affairs Specialist Alison Reeves. “Cafe Romeo’s will be reopened once they pass their restoration inspection, after they have corrected all the violations marked on their inspection report,” Reeves wrote in an email with The Hoya. Cafe Romeo’s has been at its 2132 Wisconsin Ave. NW location for over 15 years, according to its website. This is not the restaurant’s first health code violation, according to the D.C. Department of Health. The D.C. Health Regulation and Licensing Administration has filed eight complaints against Cafe Romeo’s since November 2008. Several complaints reported unclean food contact surfaces, improper handling of food and the lack of necessary sanitary equipment and procedures. The owner of Cafe Romeo’s, Davar Ashgrizzadeh, declined to comment. Cafe Romeo’s pest problems, however, are not an isolated incident in the Georgetown area. Georgetown restaurant Moby Dick House of Kabob experienced a rodent infestation this

past summer. The restaurant’s rat problems were revealed by a video posted online by FOX 5 DC on July 23 that caught several rats on camera within the establishment. Moby Dick was closed for over three weeks for the restaurant’s management to tackle the issue. After several structural changes were made to the building in order to combat the rat problem, Moby Dick reopened and has not experienced any more rodent visitors since. These occurrences highlight the issues faced by the larger Georgetown community when it comes to pests. Almost every restaurant and vendor in the Georgetown area deals with rats on a daily basis, according to Moby Dick’s Chief Development Officer Alex Momeni. “It’s a day-to-day struggle out in Georgetown,” Momeni said in an interview with The Hoya. Rodents are a daunting problem for restaurants and homes across Washington, D.C. The neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, Park View and Bloomingdale reported the highest numbers of rat complaints made to the District’s 311 service request number in recent months. In 2018, D.C. received more than 6,000 rat complaints from the 311 line, an increase from the 5,000 calls it received in 2017. Momeni argued that Georgetown’s location next to the Potomac River provides a comfortable area for rodents. “Georgetown in particular happens to be near the water,” Momeni said. “And from what we’re gathering, it’s a very comfortable, resort-type situation for these things.” A Whole Foods in Glover Park shuttered in March 2017 after experiencing a massive rodent and bug infestation. Although the grocery store intended to manage the pest problem, renovate and eventually reopen, a dispute

with the landlord prevented Whole Foods’ return, according to Washington Business Journal. The store broke its lease by closing for over 60 days because of the health code violations, ultimately leading to its demise. As chronicled on the popular Instagram page @georgetown. hotmess, rats, dead and alive, are frequently seen around Georgetown University’s campus, including in Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall. A rat was spotted crawling on bags of potato chips in Wisemiller’s Deli in October 2017, and students circulated the resulting video around Facebook. The city’s government has made several efforts during the past few years to effectively end the rodent problem, including a recent push for the administration of rat birth control. Other efforts include the use of dry ice and solar trash cans. In order to combat pest issues in the Georgetown community, Momeni suggested that local restaurants with rat problems should consider temporarily closing down. “If they can financially afford it, they should really consider potentially closing up for a few days or a week or two,” Momeni said. “And to do exactly what we did because it just seems to work really nicely for us.” Momeni stressed the importance of government and community action when it comes to Georgetown’s rodent problem. “The good news is I know the D.C. mayor and the entire political scene out there is aware of this problem,” Momeni said. “They’re constantly coming up with new programs to help businesses combat this. I’m just hoping and praying they continue escalating their level of involvement and teaming up with businesses in the area and hopefully together we can start pushing these friendly neighbors out of the way.”

Panel Calls for Early Action Against Domestic Terrorism MEREDITH MILLER Hoya Staff Writer

Community-based prevention is much more effective in reducing the threat of domestic terrorism than singling out a particular group’s radicalization efforts, panelists said at a Lecture Fund event Thursday. The event, “Domestic Radicalization: A Panel on Homegrown Terrorism,” featured Counterpart International’s Technical Director of Peace and Security Mehreen Farooq and former Chief Probation Officer Kevin Lowry. Daniel Byman, vice dean of the School of Foreign Service, moderated the panel, which discussed new methods for addressing domestic terrorism that steer away from traditional approaches. Farooq, an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service, specializes in peacebuilding, conflict mitigation and countering violent extremism. The class that she teaches is called “Community-Based Terror Prevention.” Efforts to quell domestic terrorism should be proactive rather than reactionary, according to Farooq. “Most folks would say that investigation and incarceration cost a tremendous amount of time and taxpayer dollars,” Farooq said. “Preventative efforts, in comparison, are far less resource-intensive.” Lowry created the United States’ first program for the disengagement and rehabilitation of extremist and terrorism related offenders while he served as chief probation officer for the District Court of Minnesota. This program works with people who are convicted of crimes related to terrorist activity, including those radicalized by foreign terrorist groups like ISIS and domestic white nationalist groups, to determine what caused the recruits to be radicalized in each individual case. Terrorist groups are particularly challenging for intelligence agencies to address. Their grassroots organization allows for recruitment through the internet and across various geographies, according to Lowry. “I think there’s never been

SARAH DONOFRIO Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown Cupcake coowner Katherine Kallinis Berman became a United States citizen and celebrated by sharing cupcakes with the 449 other new citizens at the Oath of Allegiance Ceremony on Sept. 21. At her swearing in ceremony, which took place at the Hylton Performance Center in Manassas, Va., Berman was excited to celebrate her citizenship with the other immigrants who shared in her accomplishment. The process of becoming a U.S. citizen involves meeting specific criteria through a naturalization application, as well as an interview and civics test, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The ceremony was a momentous occasion that served to celebrate both her citizenship and her journey as a female entrepreneur and immigrant, Berman said. “Being sworn in as an American citizen was such a powerful and moving experience and I was so happy to be able to share this special moment with 449 others from 83 different countries,” Berman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “As a female entrepreneur, I am grateful for all of the opportunities this country has given me to start and grow my business and realize the American dream.” Berman, who grew up in Canada, opened the first Georgetown Cupcake location on Potomac Street in 2008 with her sister, Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne, after they both left corporate jobs to pursue a childhood passion for baking. Georgetown Cupcake gained popularity after a positive New York Times review, and the sisters soon opened a bigger location on M Street in December 2009. The company has since expanded to Bethesda, Md., New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and Atlanta and has over 300 employees across the country. Berman’s success as an immigrant is an example of the positive impact of starting businesses in America, specifically businesses started by immigrants, she said. “Starting a business from scratch is never easy, and starting Georgetown Cupcake was no exception,” Berman wrote.

NATALIE REGAN FOR THE HOYA

Katherine Kallinis Berman, who owns Georgetown Cupcake with her sister, took the Oath of Allegiance on Sept. 21. “Over the past ten years of navigating the growth of Georgetown Cupcake, I’ve learned that even if things are difficult, if you are willing to put in the dedication and hard work, anything is possible in this country.” In 2010, the television channel TLC released a reality series titled “DC Cupcakes,” which documented Berman and LaMontagne’s experiences running Georgetown Cupcake. Though the show ended in 2013, the television series continues to draw attention to the Georgetown neighborhood, according to Nancy Miyahira, vice president of the Georgetown Business Improvement District. “Georgetown Cupcake is a popular destination for visitors, especially those from around the country who may have followed their story on TLC’s DC Cupcakes show,” Miyahira wrote in an email to The Hoya. “As a neighborhood, their name has helped to increase awareness nationally for Georgetown’s commercial district as a stop while visiting Washington, D.C.” The Georgetown community has enjoyed watching the growth of Georgetown Cupcake over the past 10 years, according to Miyahira.

“Georgetown’s business district continues to be a vibrant and energetic mixed-use neighborhood that has grown over the past ten years,” Miyahira wrote. “It’s been great to see Georgetown Cupcake grow from a small business start-up on Potomac Street to the national success story it is today, while continuing to give back to the communities it serves.” In her time running Georgetown cupcake, Berman has also given back to the community that welcomed her and her business. Since 2018, every October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, Georgetown Cupcake offers special “Give a Little” cupcakes, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Love is Louder foundation, according to store associate Arden Fitzpatrick (COL ’20). Georgetown Cupcake serves as a bustling business hub in Georgetown, Fitzpatrick said. “I get to be on the pulse of the tourist scene in DC, so every shift people from all over the world are coming in and their excitement makes the store buzz with energy,” she wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I love talking to all of them and sharing my favorite flavors, and it doesn’t hurt that the store always smells like sugar.”

Circulator No Longer Free, Returns to $1 Fare ANABEL GETZ

Special to The Hoya

MICHAEL HOWARTH FOR THE HOYA

The event, moderated by SFS Dean Daniel Byman, left, featured former Chief Probation Officer Kevin Lowry, right. a greater challenge for criminal justice professionals than the challenge of working with extremists with terrorism cases,” Lowry said. “They have networks that reach throughout the whole world, into individual small communities and households worldwide.” Farooq’s dedication to the prevention of the spread of terrorism came from her research about the Taliban’s growth in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In her research, she focused on the importance of civil society for preventing terrorism. Throughout her career, she has applied what she learned in this research to other countries and situations, including domestic radicalization in the United States. Both of the speakers stressed that the tools they have developed are not focused solely on one group or demographic and instead attempt to address many organizations with an individual focus. In addressing the differences between various groups’ tactics while acknowledging similarities in structure, researchers can gain an understanding of why people turn to violent tactics, Farooq said. “These groups are just really good at interchanging different demographics, different local and political grievances, but using the same overarching frame-

work to basically say, ‘The system is broken, it’s corrupt, it’s rigged against us,’” Farooq said. “It really leads that individual to believe that violence is the only way to address whatever it is that they’re working towards.” Lowry’s programs focused on intervention post-conviction, whereas Farooq worked with individuals known to be at risk for radicalization. While their approaches have been different, Lowry acknowledges the importance of community-based intervention as well. “I think if you’re developing a violence-prevention program, you really want to look at what are the underlying factors that could cause some form of fragility or instability in an individual’s life or in a particular community,” Farooq said. One major challenge for implementing new tactics to prevent violence is the lack of resources dedicated to these programs and the dearth of precise statistics about their success rates, according to Farooq. “We have to acknowledge that this is an imperfect science,” Farooq said. “We’re talking about behaviors, and human beings are complex entities. So we might be able to measure one little thing here, but there might be a whole other thing over here that we aren’t touching.”

D.C. Circulator buses will now charge a $1 fare for travellers as of Oct. 1 following 10 months of allowing riders to travel for free. Mayor Muriel Bowser had previously enacted the free ride policy as a part of her Fair Shot February initiative in 2019, and continued the program indefinitely until this month. Although the mayor’s budget proposal allocated $3.1 million to free circulator busing, the City Council rejected this proposal. The Circulator is a system of six bus routes throughout Washington, D.C., and into Rosslyn, Va., with buses scheduled to arrive at each stop every 10 minutes. After boarding, riders can pay the $1 fare in cash or with a SmarTrip Card, the same card used to ride the D.C. Metro service. Linda Stuetz, a D.C. resident who is currently experiencing homelessness, said that the bus fares will have a negative impact on D.C.’s poorest residents. “This really hurts the poor people,” she said in an interview with The Hoya. “For example, last week I got so sick. If it wouldn’t have been free, I wouldn’t have been able to take the bus to see my doctor. When you live on the street or in a shelter, sometimes you don’t have a dollar.” Many individuals in the D.C. homeless community benefited from Mayor Bowser’s free circulator ride initiative, according to Stuetz. “It really helped,” she said. “If I had one dollar to my name, and this happens a lot, do I take the bus one way or do I go to McDonald’s and get something to eat from the dollar menu?” The Circulator was created by the District government in 2005, originally with the intention of allowing transportation for tourists around downtown D.C. When the fares were made free

in January, Circulator ridership increased by 29%, or 850,000 trips, according to the District Department of Transportation. While the Circulator had always cost $1 for all trips before it was temporarily made free, bus transportation alternatives D.C. Metrobuses are $2.00 and $4.25 on express lines. The Circulator has six lines that cover Wards 1, 2, 3 and 6, while Metrobus is more extensive in its routes, covering all 8 Wards. Festus Kembubala, a five-year Circulator bus operator whose route runs through southeast D.C., felt a changing atmosphere both when the fare was lifted and when it returned. “When the fare was free, I realized a lot of people were happy,” he said. “People were able to save 40 dollars, 60 dollars, even 80 dollars a month because of the free fare.” D.C. is not the only city to have implemented a free bus system. Baltimore has a free, privately owned circulator bus called the Charm City Circulator, which has similar qualities to D.C.’s cur-

rent Circulator bus. The program benefits the low-income families who live near bus routes, but covers a total of three zip codes in Baltimore City out of a total of 20. Despite the fact that the bus rides are no longer free, some riders still see the Circulator as an affordable option, according to recent Georgetown graduate Dina El-Saharty (GRD ’19). “It’s still cheaper than everything else,” she said. “I used to go to Georgetown, so this was easier than taking the shuttle bus from Rosslyn, so I took it everyday until I graduated. Now I take it every other day to get to Georgetown and Foggy Bottom.” Many of his riders have directed frustration with the change in fare price directly at bus operators, according to Kembubala. “The people in Southeast, they don’t find it easy. They were so happy for the free rides, but when it comes to the point they have to pay, they don’t like to pay,” he said. “Sometimes it makes them become so aggressive to the operators and we just have to deal with it.”

FILE PHOTO: ALLISON HERR FOR THE HOYA

Mayor Muriel Bowser had previously enacted the free ride policy as part of her Fair Shot February initiative in 2019.

A10

SPORTS

THE HOYA

MEN'S TENNIS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

VOLLEYBALL

GU Defeats Providence, Ends Streak at Creighton GRACE COHN

Special to The Hoya

GUHOYAS

Junior Rohan Kamdar hits a forehand at the Joe Hunt Invitational in Annapolis, Md. Kamdar was a strong doubles player for the Hoyas last season, featuring a nine-match win streak.

Hoyas Start Season With 6-1 Showing at Naval Academy AUSTIN BARISH

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown men’s tennis team began its season at the Joe Hunt Invitational in Annapolis, Md., at the U.S. Naval Academy last weekend. This event was the first competitive play of the season for the Hoyas, and the team performed well, going 6-1 for the weekend. The Hoyas (6-11, 2-2 Big East) had a tough last year, finishing with a losing record and falling to Marquette (15-9, 0-0 Big East) in the first round of the Big East tournament. The Hoyas are aiming to turn that around this year. This season, Georgetown is going to give the Big East its best shot. This effort begins in practice, according to Head Coach Courtney Dolehide. “The expectation is bringing top effort day in and day out and giving it their all,” said Dolehide. “It’s something that is really important to us and is also in line with the Hoya spirit as well.” The whole team was able to compete in both singles and doubles matches at the invita-

tional this weekend. Freshman Kieran Foster and sophomore Justin Cheun led the way in singles matches, both going undefeated at 4-0 and 3-0. In doubles matches, all Georgetown duos suffered at least one loss, as Cheun and fellow sophomore Carlos Grande finished with the best record on the team, 3-1. The first standout performer of the week was senior Ian Witmer’s performance against The George Washington University sophomore Hanyu Liu. Witmer was able to win in a tie-breaker third set. Witmer was able to finally break the tie after the set extended well beyond the normal length, a set which he ultimately won 10-8 after the set was tied at 6-6 when a winner would normally have been determined. The second match Dolehide highlighted was Foster’s match against The George Washington University sophomore Ryan Navarro. Foster was able to win without going through the stress of a third set, winning the first two sets 6-4 and 7-5. This win is especially notable considering Foster’s lack of experience and the fact that Navarro was

First Team All Atlantic 10 last year, claiming much more experience and success. “These wins and the weekend as a whole demonstrated how competitive the Hoyas are and are going to be this year,” Dolehide said. The invitational was less about winning and more about getting some competitive games under the Hoyas’ belt, according to Dolehide. “It was a great way to get a lot of competitive practice at this point in the season. The team has been able to focus in on a couple of specific things over the summer so getting some games in after that was really important,” Dolehide said. Dolehide made her goals for this season quite clear, as the team hopes to win the Big East tournament for the first time since 1989 and eventually return to the NCAA tournament. The Hoyas will compete at ITA Regional Championships in Charlottesville, Va., from Oct. 17 to 21. On Oct. 4 and 5 in Annapolis, Md., the women’s team will be competing at the Navy Fall Invite.

The Hoyas captured another victory last weekend, opening Big East play with a 3-2 win over the Providence Friars before losing their eight-game winning streak in a 3-1 loss at Creighton. After a 3-0 sweep against hometown rival Howard University (5-11, 2-0 Mid-Eastern) on Sept. 22, the Georgetown women’s volleyball team (115, 1-1 Big East) hit the road last Friday, traveling to Providence, R.I, to face the Friars, (5-10, 0-2 Big East) kicking off their conference schedule for the season. They defeated the Friars in a five-set thriller, falling 24-26 and 20-25 in the first two sets, but came back to win the final three sets 25-17, 25-20 and 15-8. This game marked the second consecutive Big East season opener win for Head Coach Toby Rens and advanced the team’s win streak to eight consecutive wins. The last time Georgetown won their Big East opener two years in a row was 2000 to 2001, and this time marked their first eight-game

win streak in 20 years. The team was led by senior Iva Vujosevic, who garnered 14 kills as an outside hitter, earning herself a spot on this week’s Big East honor roll. Vujosevic, who transferred along with Coach Rens from Maryland Eastern Shore last season, has maintained a steady presence on the team as a top hitter with 187 kills this season alone. Sophomore Elissa Barbosa closely followed Vujosevic with 13 kills, as well as an impressive 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Barbosa has contributed 126 kills and 128 digs so far. On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Hoyas traveled to Omaha, Neb., to face the No. 14 Creighton Blue Jays (9-3, 2-0 Big East). They dropped their first Big East game of the season in a 1-3 set defeat, evening their conference record to 1-1. This match was also the first road loss for the Hoyas this season. Vujosevic led the team once again with a match-high 15 kills, and sophomore defensive specialist Jessica Cusi thrived for the Hoyas on defense with an impressive 14

digs. Junior Margo Pivonka also led the team on defense and offense with 27 assists and 12 digs, her first double-double of the season. Creighton defeated Georgetown more easily in the first two sets, winning 25-14 and 25-18, but they fought back intensely to prevail in the third set 25-20. Unfortunately, it was not enough to finish out a victory, as Creighton won the fourth set 25-18. As their first game of the season against a ranked opponent, the Hoyas struggled but still managed to post impressive numbers on an individual level despite their loss. Overall, the team has shown impressive strides this season and has only continued to improve following a 0-3 performance at the Bulldog Invite in early September. The team’s recent success should raise optimism of capturing more victories as the team gets further into Big East competition. The Hoyas will be returning to McDonough Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 5, to face Big East opponents Butler University and Xavier University.

FIELD HOCKEY

Georgetown Drops Matches To Quinnipiac, American IYANAH LANGA

Special to The Hoya

Georgetown’s field hockey team fell to both Quinnipiac and American over the weekend. The game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats marked the first conference loss for the Hoyas, while the loss to American University’s Eagles dropped the Hoyas’ record to 5-5. The Hoyas (5-5) faced off against the Bobcats (3-6) at home Sept. 27. The game went scoreless through the third quarter despite the fact that several players on both teams made shots on goal. Georgetown sophomore goaltender Ciara Weets denied Quinnipiac sophomore forward Brooke Whipkey, freshman forward Julianna Cappello, graduate student midfielder Bianka Strubbe and senior forward Valerie Perkins from scoring in the first three periods. Georgetown’s freshman midfielder Ellie Maransky was the first player to find the goal on either side, scoring her second goal of the season with 6:05 remaining in the period. Assisted with a feed by senior midfielder Michaela Bruno, Maransky pushed

the Hoyas to a late lead, only to be thwarted by the Bobcats. With 31 seconds left on the clock, Cappello was able to score a game-tying goal for the Bobcats with the help of Strubbe, who fed the goal into the circle, and Whipkey, who redirected the ball into the air. This goal is a career first for Cappello, who has played in just eight collegiate games thus far. The game winner was decided by a shootout in which sophomore midfielder Halle Gill and senior back Emily Fraser scored for the Hoyas. This was not enough to overtake Quinnipiac, as three of their players — Cappello, Strubbe and sophomore defender Amanda Funaro — scored for the Bobcats, cementing their victory over the Hoyas. After Friday’s loss against the Bobcats, the Hoyas faced off against the Eagles (5-4) at the Jacobs Complex on Sept. 29, where the Eagles eventually came back in the fourth quarter to secure the win in the Hoyas’ second consecutive game with a blown lead. The nonconference game began slowly, remaining scoreless through the first two quarters. With less than three minutes

remaining in the third quarter, junior forward Cami Osborne scored for the Hoyas with an assist from junior midfielder Jax van der Veen, making this her third goal of the year. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, senior forward Jette Dieckmann tied the game for American with the help of an assist from sophomore forward Aidan Rossman on what was Dieckmann’s second goal of the season. Dieckmann later assisted sophomore forward Hannah Moser with her third goal — and first game-winner — of the season. This gave the Eagles a late lead in the game, with less than eight minutes left in the final quarter. Despite their efforts, the Hoyas were unable to tie the game. The Hoyas will travel to Virginia to play Old Dominion at L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Oct. 4, followed by a nonconference game against William & Mary at Busch Field on Oct. 6. Georgetown last played Old Dominion on Sept. 28, 2018, winning in a 2-1 upset against the No. 16-ranked team. The Hoyas most recently played William & Mary on Sept. 9, 2016, falling to the team 2-6.

FILE PHOTO: ELLIE STAAB FOR THE HOYA

Junior back Ali Cronin looks to find an open teammate to pass the ball up the field. Cronin recorded a shot in the recent game against Quinnipiac, her seventh shot of the season.

GUHOYAS

Freshman right side Peyton Wilhite, left, spikes the ball over the net in the Hoyas' match against Providence. Later in the week, she set a season high with five blocks on the road at Creighton.

FROM THE SHOT

FC Barcelona Is Wasting Away Lionel Messi’s Prime

Vikram Sud Over the last few days, reports in Spain have focused around tension between senior players and management of FC Barcelona, with management being frustrated by the entitled attitudes of the players and players being frustrated by management hiring a bad manager and improperly allocating their money. While an ugly end to last season surely must have frustrated management, such reports highlight the dysfunction of the club. However, given the last few years, it is somewhat surprising that such a dispute did not happen earlier, especially considering some of the countless woeful decisions made by the club’s management regarding the acquisition of players to fill the field around their stars. Perhaps the only reason for this anger is also likely the biggest victim of the mismanagement of the team: star Lionel Messi, the greatest player of this generation. Over the last few years, Messi has been able to cover up many of the team’s cracks, whether it be poor signings, a lazy and consistently passive manager or the declining form of former stars the club has tried to pair alongside Messi. His individual brilliance has allowed Barcelona to win the

past two league titles and four of the last five campaigns. Despite his ability, Messi has not been able to match his league performance in knockout competitions, winning just one Champions League title since 2011 despite being the best player in the world during that time. Never was this prowess more evident than this past season, when Messi was the top scorer in the competition and the knockout stages and led Barcelona to the semifinals. Despite Messi scoring two goals and creating several clear chances, they blew a 3-0 lead in their 4-0 return leg defeat at Anfield. This failure is where the task is on the club to surround Messi with a better supporting cast and a better manager. Over 38 games, Messi has been able to prove his greatness more often than not, leading Barcelona to consistently find itself at or near the top of La Liga, but in knockout competitions, the margin for error decreases and even the best player in the world may not be enough. The unfortunate paradox is that Messi’s brilliance over the rest of the season makes the other issues at the club seem less prevalent and glaring at the moment. However, the surrounding issues certainly do exist and have reared their heads at the most inopportune times in recent seasons. Most notably, Barcelona has continued to support manager Ernesto Valverde despite blowing three-goal leads in consecutive Champions Leagues. In addition, striker Luis Suarez continues to be an undisputed starter despite only

scoring five goals in his last 30 Champions League games and not scoring an away goal since 2015. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the club does not seem to have a clear transfer direction, as proven by their willingness to invest over $250 million on Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, only to almost never even play them together on the pitch. Critics of Messi and Barcelona have used their transfer spending as an argument against Messi and other Barcelona stars, but the reality is that high transfer spending is usually caused by flaws and dysfunction within the squad. Two of the most successful teams in recent years, especially in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid, were not spending a lot each summer the way Barcelona is now. Both sides had well-balanced teams and, consequently, were able to use this frugality as an advantage to gain stability — something Barcelona has been missing for at least the past five seasons. Regardless of what happens for the rest of Messi’s career, he will still be considered the best player ever by most. However, Barcelona is wasting the opportunity to maximize trophy output with Messi and must do more to make the most out of the 32-year-old’s final seasons at the club. Vikram Sud is a junior in the College. FROM THE SPOT appears in print every other Friday.

SPORTS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

MEN’S SOCCER

SEC Favorites Continue Perfect Starts the past. However, those days are long gone while Alabama’s greatness has not dimmed. Ole Miss fans should expend their energy on alumni AJ Brown, who is off to a great start in his NFL career, if they want to have a positive outlook on this football season. Ole Miss is still recovering from their past success as they search for another talented class to keep up with the rest of the conference. Barring any shenanigans next week, which make No. 25 Texas A&M look like they still have Johnny Manziel, Alabama should remain undefeated until the second half of their schedule, when they play Auburn, Mississippi State and LSU, and this will decide the SEC West. The question of who represents the SEC East is much less cloudy. Despite Florida looking strong, even with the switch up at quarterback, No. 3 Georgia looked too good at the beginning of the season to see them as anything but

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Sophomore forward Zach Riviere looks to move the ball upfield during the game against Providence, in which he had 62 minutes.

2 Late Goals Lead GU to Victory Over Providence by diving left to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead. Minutes later, Sands was once again heavily involved in the Blue and Gray’s attack as his shot on target was repelled by another leaping save by the Providence keeper, one which required a quick reaction time. In the 75th minute, Georgetown doubled its lead, courtesy of junior midfielder Foster McCune’s first goal of the season. Junior forward Jack Beer found Dodson with a long diagonal ball into the corner. Dodson then played an early ball into the box, finding McCune to make a far-post run. McCune’s strong, one-time finish found the back of the net, putting the Hoyas up 2-0. Minutes later, the Friars equalized in the 80th minute when Andualem Chisholm scored from 6 yards out after a solid build-up play full of effective passes from the Friars. Through the final 10 minutes of the game, Providence continued to stay on the attack. However, the Hoyas’ defense held strong

and successfully repelled the Friars’ final few attacks, hanging on for a 2-1 victory. With this 2-1 win over Providence, Georgetown improved to 2-0 in the Big East. Although the Friars outshot the Hoyas 11-5, Georgetown had five shots on target to Providence’s three. Freshman goalkeeper Tomas Romero earned the win in net, his fourth of the season. Head Coach Brian Wiese was pleased with the team’s victory over a team like Providence, whose strong offense had helped them win their only other Big East game, having defeated the Seton Hall Pirates 1-0 on Sept. 27. “They have one of the best midfield groups in the league and Providence is one of the better teams we’ve played all year so it’s a great result to get three points in the league against a team of that caliber,” Wiese said in an interview with GUHoyas. The Hoyas will look to continue their winning ways in Big East play when they travel to Chicago to face DePaul on Friday at 2 p.m.

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the clear favorite. This change in outlook is partially because of an easy schedule for the first half of the season, with the first clear challenge being week 10 against Florida. That game should be the deciding factor, but it leans to Georgia, given the experience of the team competing at a high level the past few seasons under quarterback Jake Fromm, who is still leading the team after taking them to the playoffs two seasons ago and bringing the team within a few plays of a return trip last season. In less important news, Vanderbilt earned its first win against Northern Illinois. While it is not exactly a premier game, it has to feel good to be able to pretend for a weekend that it is not a purely academic and baseball school. They play unranked Ole Miss next week in a battle of the bottom. The odds of Vanderbilt making a bowl game are already incredibly slim, and a loss would make it basically impossible. Ole Miss has a decent shot at the post

season, a shot which would be greatly diminished by a loss to the Commodores. Looking to the rest of the division, Kentucky and South Carolina had an absolutely riveting game that helped South Carolina win its second game. Both of these teams are trying their best to make it to a bowl game, but both will need to pull an upset somewhere down the road. Mississippi State, along with Texas A&M, looks like the clear second tier of the division. These two teams probably will not compete in the playoffs, but they should land in a good bowl game. At MSU, head coach Joe Moorhead is still seeking to adapt to his new team. Two suspended starters are back, and while the team is not elite yet, they look promising having held their own against a respectable schedule thus far. The key game to watch in the next week is between Auburn and Florida. Both teams need a win to keep their future playoff hopes in their own hands.

It should be competitive, but Auburn should pull out ahead. Barring any shocking upsets, the other games should maintain the status quo. The key games of the following week are Alabama vs. Texas A&M and Florida vs. LSU. While Alabama should comfortably win, they need to play hard to avoid giving Texas A&M a chance at an upset. LSU should also win. However, this game should be much easier to predict after Auburn vs. Florida. As with that game, both Florida and LSU need a win to keep their shot at an SEC title out of the hands of fate. With the SEC’s top teams remaining relatively untested through week five, the next two weeks will see that reality change as they begin to face off on a regular basis. James Travis is a junior in the McDonough School of Business. TAILGATES AND TRADITIONS appears online and in print every other Friday.

FOOTBALL

Georgetown Reclaims Lou Little Trophy

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Senior kicker Brad Hurst launches a kick on the clean hold from sophomore wide receiver Joshua Tomas. Hurst has had a strong start to the season, making 13 of 14 point after tries and recording two punts of greater than 70 yards on the year. COLUMBIA, from A12

defense with relentless effort.” The Hoyas were able to stay in the game in large part due to the outstanding play of their defense. It began with a sack by senior defensive lineman Khristian Tate for a loss of 12 yards at the beginning of the second quarter. That very same drive, on a fourth and one at the Georgetown 47, Reddick tackled Columbia running back Dante Miller, for a loss of one to force a turnover on downs at a pivotal moment in the game. Reddick credits Doherty’s emphasis on accountability and preparation for that play. Having watched game film, Reddick was able to anticipate what the offense was going to do. “I just knew that [based on] the way they blocked it on film, [the lineman’s] goal was to try to cut me off from getting inside,” he said. “And I realized, ‘Okay, I’m not going to continuously fight a pointless fight,’ so I waited. I let him go in front of me and then I just tackled the running back.” One interception and 17 points

later, Georgetown entered the fourth quarter with a 17-10 lead. In the fourth, they extended their lead to 24-10 by moving 90 yards down the field and rushing for a touchdown. The defense held Columbia scoreless in the fourth quarter with an interception by sophomore linebacker Justin Forteneaux and Tate, forcing the fifth Columbia turnover of the game. “It’s one of the best fourthquarter performances we’ve had on both sides of the ball since I’ve been here,” Sgarlata said. Sgarlata was particularly happy with the defense’s situational ability to keep the offense short of the first-down sticks and force turnovers. He was also quick to praise the team’s resilience in all three phases. “I was really impressed with how the defense accepted every situation they were put in over the course of the entire game. They answered the bell after three sudden changes and came up with turnovers of our own and stops, which really kept us in the game.”

Winning the Lou Little Trophy holds significant meaning for the Hoyas. It is a symbol of the program’s rich history and the commitment of alums to preserving that history. This trophy is given annually to the winner of the Georgetown-Columbia game, a tradition which has lasted years with the program being tied together for even longer. Coach Sgarlata was extremely proud to win this trophy knowing how much it meant to the school. “Our program has a history that goes back to the late 1800s,” Sgarlata said. “The tradition was started by four of our alums and has been with the program since I got here in 1990, so it’s really special for us to play in front of [our] New York family. We had an incredible event on Thursday night with over 100 alums in New York City.” Sgarlata also expressed respect for the competitive relationship that tradition has fostered between Columbia and Georgetown. “Columbia is a quality opponent. Coach [Al] Bagnoli does a

great job up there,” Sgarlata said. “They have always been close, one-score games between the two ball clubs, so for us, it’s a great tradition. I think we play Columbia in the foreseeable future another six times in the contract now.” While he is happy with Saturday’s victory, Reddick emphasized his desire to build on Saturday’s success. “Two years ago, we were 1-10 and that was my freshman year and I do not think a single person wants to go back to that,” Reddick said. “Especially defensively, Coach D always harps on [the fact that] it’s the next week, so our mindset is that we are 0-0 and it’s one play, so how can we do our jobs? We don’t think about the big picture, about [how] our record is now, or who we are playing this week.” For now, the Lou Little trophy has found a home in the team offices until the teams meet again. The team will return to the field to compete against another Ivy League opponent, Cornell, in Ithaca, N.Y., this upcoming Saturday, Oct. 5.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

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A11

TAILGATES AND TRADITIONS

TRAVIS, from A12

PROVIDENCE, from A12

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Hoyas Win 3-0, Record 20 Shots MARQUETTE, from A12

Georgetown’s shots in the first half, providing constant offensive pressure before she was substituted for junior forward Jenna Menta in the 29th minute. Graduate forward Amanda Carolan received a cross from sophomore forward Boo Jackson who tapped the ball past the Marquette keeper to put Georgetown up 2-0 shortly after the whistle blew for the second half in the 49th minute. The Golden Eagles answered with a corner kick and shot of their own, which was ultimately saved by Leat. Later in the half, Marquette tallied another two shots on goal, both of which were stopped by Leat. The Hoyas responded to these three shots with 12 of their own in the second half on their

way to outshooting the Golden Eagles 20-5 for the game. The Hoyas cemented the victory with a final goal in the 82nd minute, again off the foot of Carolan. The goal came as chaos erupted in the box after Nally fired off two consecutive shots off a corner kick. The rebound from Nally’s second shot landed at the feet of Carolan, who quickly sent the ball back in to score. Off this goal, Carolan now moves into the fifth spot on Georgetown’s all-time scoring list with her 29th and 30th career goals in the match. The Blue and Gray finished with a 3-0 victory, holding Marquette to five shots, three being on goal, and four corner kicks on the day. Georgetown recorded 20 shots overall, 14 of which were on net, and six corner kicks.

The win increases Georgetown’s streak to five, as they prepare for a game against the Villanova Wildcats. Many Hoyas stood out throughout the solid victory, led by Carolan, who has now been named the Big East offensive player of the week for her two goals in the game. Leat, who recorded her third shutout of the season and has now tallied a total of 260 scoreless minutes in net, was named the Big East freshman of the week. Nally also received recognition on the weekly honor roll for her defensive efforts, which led to Georgetown’s fifth shutout of the season. Head Coach Dave Nolan highlighted impressive play and resilience from several of his players in the match. “Today was a tough battle but I

thought our kids really responded,” Nolan said in an interview with GUHoyas. “Carson Nizialek and Sarah Trissel at midfield really set the tone for us and did a good job owning the field. Defensively, we didn’t give them much. On another day, we probably could have had two more goals. Meaghan Nally played great in the back. Up in the front, we had moments where we looked very dangerous. Overall, I’m very happy with our performance today.” Georgetown will continue Big East play at Villanova on Thursday. The Hoyas look to record another victory over the Wildcats after winning 1-0 in overtime last year on a golden goal scored in the 99th minute. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at Higgins Soccer Complex in Villanova, Pa.

Sports

Men’s Soccer Georgetown (7-1) vs. Lehigh (7-2) Tuesday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m. Shaw Field

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

NUMBERS GAME

TALKING POINTS

VOLLEYBALL Senior Iva Vujosevic’s 14 kills powered the Hoyas to two wins over Providence before they suffered defeat at Creighton.

See A10

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It’s one of the best fourth-quarter performances we’ve had, on both sides of the ball, since I’ve been here” Head Football Coach Rob Sgarlata

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Shot differential in women’s soccer’s favor in its 3-0 victory over Marquette.

FOOTBALL

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Defense Sparks GU Victory Over Columbia GUEINAH BLAISE Hoya Staff Writer

ALEX BARKER FOR THE HOYA

Sophomore defender Jenna Royson blows by a Marquette defender while entering the box last Sunday, when she recorded 25 minutes.

With a 24-10 victory over Columbia, the Hoyas’ football squad reclaimed the Lou Little Trophy and improved to 3-1 this past Saturday. The team began the day with a sluggish first quarter, with the offense only managing 28 total yards in the first quarter and staying within their own territory for its duration. Sophomore wide receiver Joshua Tomas attributed the offense’s initial struggles to a lack

of overall execution. “We weren’t on the same page quarterback and receiver wise,” he explained. “The linemen were doing their jobs [but] we had certain routes where we had the option to do certain things, and we didn’t execute as receivers. I can say for myself there was a route when I went out when I should have gone in, and that could’ve been a first down.” Tomas does not believe that these route-running gaffes will be a recurring problem. “I think that was just a one-

time thing,” he says. “This is the only game this year that we started off slow and I really don’t know why. But after we talked to the coaches after halftime, we figured it out and got to executing plays.” Head Coach Rob Sgarlata shared Tomas’ faith that this will not be an ongoing issue for the team. He attributes much of the team’s early issues to the fact that they were just coming off a bye week. “I don’t think anything went wrong,” Sgarlata said. “I think we were coming off a bye week

and play against good football teams and that’s what happens.” Despite the slow start, the players, particularly on the defensive side, were unphased. Junior linebacker Xavier Reddick summed up the team’s attitude nicely. “Coach [Kevin] Doherty’s mantra is ‘Bring it on,’ so regardless of the situation, we are ready to go. I’m not going to lie, we enjoy trouble on the defensive side. It’s just who we are. He always says we are an attack See COLUMBIA, A11

Hoyas Take Down Golden Eagles 3-0 RACHEL GAUDREAU Hoya Staff Writer

No. 11 Georgetown women’s soccer team opened up Big East play on Shaw Field on Sunday against Marquette, the Hoyas’ fifth consecutive victory. Within two minutes of kick-off, senior forward Paula Germino-Watnick powered a shot on goal that was saved by the Golden Eagles’ (3-7, 0-1 Big East) goalkeeper. GerminoWatnick continued to lead the Georgetown (7-2-1, 1-0 Big East) offense well into the second half, recording two corner kicks and two more shots, one of which was on goal, through the first 14 minutes of the half. The Hoyas continued to take hold of possession, breaking through the Golden Eagle defense in the 16th minute when

freshman midfielder Julia Leas intercepted a goal kick and fired the ball into the back of the net from 30 yards out. This goal marks Leas’ third of the season and first conference goal of her collegiate career. In the play following Georgetown’s goal, Marquette responded with a chance of its own by sending a shot in, drawing freshman keeper Anna Leat off her line. Senior defender Meaghan Nally fell in behind Leat to clear the ball away before it found the net, preserving the Hoyas’ 1-0 lead. Georgetown would go on to record eight shots, with five on goal, in the first 45 minutes of play, with the defense holding Marquette to two shots, one of which was on goal. GerminoWatnick accounted for five of See MARQUETTE, A11

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Junior quarterback Joseph Brunell calls for the shotgun snap in the recent Georgetown victory over Catholic. So far this season, he has completed 63.9% of his passes to go with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, which he scored at Columbia.

MEN’S SOCCER

Georgetown Conquers Providence DREW SEWALL Hoya Staff Writer

The No. 2 Georgetown men’s soccer team continued its strong start to Big East play with a 2-1 win over the Providence Friars at home on Shaw Field last Saturday as the Hoyas go to 2-0 within the conference. Providence (6-3, 1-1 Big East) started the game putting the Georgetown (7-1, 2-0 Big East) defense under

pressure, using their strong midfield and quick counterattacks. Junior defender Rio Hope-Gund came up big early as his one-on-one defending helped the Hoyas survive a particularly dangerous Friars counterattack. In the 22nd minute, the Hoyas had their first standout chance of the game after a free kick. Freshman defender Daniel Wu headed the ball from just outside the 6-yard box toward the bot-

tom corner of the goal. The Friars’ goalkeeper, however, came up with a big diving stop to keep the game scoreless. Neither team would have another great scoring opportunity throughout the remainder of the half, and the game entered the break scoreless. Early in the second half, Georgetown began to gain a foothold in the game and started making more frequent and effective passes

going forward into Providence territory. In the 48th minute, freshman forward Will Sands dribbled the ball into the box but was taken down by a rash challenge from a Providence defender, resulting in a penalty kick. Junior forward Derek Dodson calmly stepped up to the spot and buried the penalty down the center of the goal, as the goalie missed the ball See PROVIDENCE, A11

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

Freshman forward Will Sands volleys the ball to prevent it from going out of play against Providence. Sands recorded 62 minutes as a subsitute and played a strong game, recording a shot on goal and being on the field for both Georgetown goals. Visit us online at thehoya.com/category/sports

TAILGATES AND TRADITIONS

James Travis

Week 5 Provides Minimal Clarity On Playoff Picture After another two weeks of SEC games, fans are starting to see how the conference teams are deviating from their preseason expectations. So far this season, a team every now and again surpasses its expectations in a way that does not make any logical sense. Unfortunately, no SEC teams fell victim to a plucky young upstart, with the first five weeks of the season shaking out as expected. As expected, No. 9 Florida had no difficulty destroying Towson. The score is hardly important in these kinds of games against poor opponents, and Florida looked sharp. Florida losing starting quarterback Feleipe Franks to a season-ending injury may have been a blessing in disguise, as new quarterback Kyle Trask looks much more consistent and reliable under center with fewer turnovers than the team had come to expect from Frank. Trask has not started since middle school football — seven years ago. While he looked good, he has yet to play an elite team, and it will be interesting to

see if he can keep his nerves in check the next two weeks as the Gators play No. 7 Auburn and No. 5 LSU in one of the most difficult back-tobacks any team has in their regular season schedule. They need to win at least one of these games if they want a ring at the end of the season. While the question of the SEC West champion is completely unclear, these two games should help better evaluate where Auburn and LSU stand in relation to the rest of their division. Both of these teams look highly competitive for the division title, but it is vital they remain undefeated until SEC West play begins in the back half of the season if they hope to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. As confident as Auburn and LSU may be, the team in the back of both of their minds is, as always, No. 1 Alabama. The Crimson Tide looked sharp against unranked Ole Miss, or the University of Mississippi, who has given them trouble in See TRAVIS, A11