GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 101, No. 12, © 2019
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
Modern Colossus
See how brutalist architecture makes for the perfect canvas to showcase bold textures and colors in the fall fashion issue.
EDITORIAL The Georgetown neighborhood should welcome the Call Your Mother deli.
COPLEY CRYPT REVIVED The chapel reopened Nov. 18 after being closed for renovation since March 2018.
OPINION, A2
NEWS, A8
Panel: Marginalized Groups at Higher Gun Violence Risk MARGIE CULLEN
tain racial groups more than others and proposed solutions to address gun violence in the Policymakers and gun re- United States. The panelists inform activists emphasized the cluded Joseph Sakran, director disproportionate effect of gun of emergency general surgery violence on marginalized com- at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Damunities at a Nov. 19 event. vid Chipman, a former agent at Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and WashFirearms and ington, D.C. Explosives; Mayor Muriel and Helisa Bowser (D) Cruz, high gave openschool outing remarks reach director at the event, for MFOL D.C. “Only in Rep. Robin America: ExKelly (D-Ill.) amining the was schedEveryday Toll uled to join of Gun Viothe panel but lence” in the was unable Healey Famto attend and ily Student was replaced JOSEPH SAKRAN Center Social by Igor VolDirector of Emergency General Surgery, Room. The sky, the direcJohns Hopkins University event was tor of Guns sponsored Down Amerby the Georgetown University ica, a gun reform organization chapter of March For Our Lives, known for its strong opposition a national student-led anti- to the National Rifle Association. gun violence organization, the Murphy recounted a personGeorgetown University College al experience about a school Democrats, the American Civil he visited in Sandtown, BalLiberties Union, the George- timore — a primarily black town Institute for Politics and community — that went into Public Service and the George- “code green” during his visit, town University Lecture Fund. meaning an active shooter was Four panelists examined why gun violence unduly affects cerSee GUN VIOLENCE, A6 Special to The Hoya
“Frankly, it wasn’t until suburban white students started getting shot up that all of a sudden people started to care.”
KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA
The School of Foreign Service has hosted several events throughout the year, including workshops, speaker events and the gala last weekend. Featured guests included former President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
SFS Celebrates Centennial Weekend KELLY ANDERSON Hoya Staff Writer
The School of Foreign Service celebrated its centennial with a gala weekend over Nov. 15 to 17, hosting panels with notable guest speakers, career-planning workshops and a formal ball at the National Building Museum. The weekend’s festivities included the “Centennial Gala Dinner,” a formal ball held Saturday at the National Building Museum with 1,200 guests, including well-known alumni such as former President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) and King Felipe VI (GRD ’95) of Spain. The ball also featured a performance by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-
Calif.) and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were also featured on separate panels about global affairs and foreign policy at this weekend’s centennial events. In addition, Academy Award-nominated actor David Strathairn performed a solo play about the life of Jan Karski (GRD ’52, H ’83), a Polish World War II hero, longtime SFS professor and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. The weekend was a central event in a series of celebrations throughout the academic year to commemorate 100 years since the founding the SFS, which was established in 1919 by Fr. Edmund Walsh, S.J., a Jesuit priest and Georgetown University geopolitics professor. The centennial budget for
Student-Designed Class To Tackle Title IX ANNALISE MYRE Special to The Hoya
A new student-designed women’s and gender studies class titled “Title IX for a New Generation” and aimed at encouraging students to address issues surrounding the Title IX system at Georgetown University will be offered for the first time in spring. The course will explore the origin and impact of, as
well as controversies around, Title IX, a law that protects students in education programs from discrimination on the basis of sex, according to the course catalog description. Sara Collina, attorney and women’s and gender studies adjunct lecturer, will work with students and peer mentors to complete projectbased research and analyze how Title IX plays a role in students’ lives at George-
town, according to Collina. Collaborating with students to develop the first student-designed class on Title IX at Georgetown has been an exciting process, Collina wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The title says it all- this is the moment and this is the generation to finally make Title IX work for everyone,” Collina wrote. “Students will be applying their academic prowess to address one of the
COURTESY SARA COLLINA
contentious- and importantgender issues of our time.” w Collina began designing the course in spring 2019 after receiving an email from Provost Robert Groves calling on professors to propose experiential learning courses to add to Georgetown’s curriculum, she wrote. Collina then reached out to students potentially interested in learning more about Title IX to collaborate on the course. After gauging interest from student collaborators, Collina received funding and approval for a fall 2019 three-credit interdisciplinary studies course titled “Interdisc Design Project.” The 11 students in the weekly fall course worked with Collina to design the upcoming spring class, “Title IX for a New Generation,” by developing learning objectives, assignments, lesson plans and assessments for the class, according to the course description. The assignments in the upcoming class are not only intended to educate students on the history and effect of Title IX, but also to encourage a broader, positive impact on Georgetown’s approach to issues of sexual violence, according to student course collaborator Olivia Horton (COL ’20), who is enrolled in “Interdisc
A new student-designed course focusing on Title IX and corresponding issues is set to run during the spring 2020 semester. The course was designed by students throughout the fall.
FEATURED
events over the course of the year totaled $1.8 million, according to Will Layman (LAW ’87), executive director for the centennial. Layman was hired in 2015 to assist with planning the gala, as well as other celebrations throughout the year aimed at celebrating the history of the school, he said in an interview with The Hoya. The centennial events aim to both commemorate the school’s history and encapsulate how the SFS exemplifies Georgetown’s Jesuit values, according to Layman. “We want the centennial to be about more than just a fancy black tie gala, which was really great and really cool, but it’s got to give out more than that,” Layman said. “We want it to touch
students; we want it to touch alumni.” The attendance of many SFS alumni, including ambassadors and state officials, contributed to making the gala a memorable experience, according to Divjot Bawa (SFS ’23). “What the centennial means to me really again goes to highlight and show the incredible opportunities, connections and influence the SFS has had not just in the Georgetown community, but really in the world impacting government, nonprofit and corporate organizations, and institutions,” Bawa said. Through workshops over the weekend, Georgetown alumni shared their career stories with See CENTENNIAL, A6
TOP DOG
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
UHustle, an online marketplace developed by Georgetown University students, took home the top prize at Bark Tank on Nov. 14.
See TITLE IX, A6
Story on A5.
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
Support for Detained Student Students and faculty encouraged the university to attempt to accelerate the return of Victor Liu (COL ’21) and his sister. A9
Hold Us Accountable Outgoing Editor-in-Chief Maya Gandhi (SFS ’20) calls for a culture of accountability on Georgetown’s campus. A3
Horns Down Men’s basketball overcame a five-point halftime deficit to defeat Texas 82-66 in the 2k Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden. A12
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
Student Metro Passes Graduate Student Government will propose that Georgetown subsidize Metro passes for full-time graduate students. A8
Hong Kong Protests Persist Valerie Ma (SFS ’21) discusses the interpersonal impacts of the Hong Kong protests. A3
Thrice Is Nice Men’s soccer’s 3-1 victory over the Providence Friars sealed the Hoyas’ third consecutive Big East Championship. A12
Published Fridays
Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com
A2
OPINION
THE HOYA
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
THE VERDICT
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West’s Opera-Tunity — Kanye West has announced that his first opera, titled “Nebuchadnezzar,” a “Kanye West Opera” will be premiering later this month. The performance will be yet another addition to his long list of various artistic endeavors.
Welcome Call Your Mother Deli C
Dino-Mite Race — One hundred seventy-five people wearing T. rex costumes gathered in Dorey Park, Richmond, for the annual T. rex run. Unfortunately, the group, known as the Richmond Road Runners Club, failed to break the world record which is set at 244 people running in T. rex costumes.
Founded Jan. 14, 1920
EDITORIALS
Though popular bagel deli Call Your Mother was scheduled to open at the intersection of 35th and O streets in late October, the deli has still not opened after opposition from local residents and politicians. Rather than fighting its opening, neighborhood residents should consider Georgetown University professor and student interests and welcome the establishment. Call Your Mother currently has a location in the Park View neighborhood and also serves multiple farmers markets across the city, including the Georgetown University Farmers’ Market and the FRESHFARM Dupont Circle Market. Last summer, the deli signed a lease with GreenWorks Florist, the owner of the iconic pink and green building across from Saxbys. The deli, if it opened, would give students a much-needed tasty and affordable dining option near campus. Students, especially those without a meal plan, have few affordable dining options within walking distance of campus. During busy school days when students do not have time to go to restaurants on M Street or Wisconsin Avenue, healthy food options are even more restricted. Call Your Mother’s convenient location across from Saxbys would allow students to grab a quick bite at a relatively affordable price for the neighborhood. With the deli open on the weekends, students would also get a much-needed dining alternative, as campus dining locations are closed or have shorter hours on the weekend. To open the restaurant in Georgetown’s residential neighborhood, however, the deli must be approved for a zoning variance, which allows the restaurant to operate in the neighborhood. Ahead of the hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustment on Oct. 30, Washington,
D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E Commissioner Rick Murphy wrote to the board opposing a zoning variance. Four residents who live near the intersection also wrote to oppose the deli’s opening, but five others wrote to support the deli. Opposition to the deli’s opening not only deprives university students and staff with quality bagels, but is also misinformed. In his letter, Evans cites crowd, trash and noise concerns as reasons to oppose the deli’s opening. But the deli’s owner Andrew Dana has committed to alleviating these concerns by implementing a faster ordering system and hiring a contractor for daily trash pickup. Georgetown residents who oppose the deli’s opening must reconsider their position. City agencies like the Historic Preservation Office and the Office of Planning have also determined the deli represents “no substantial detriment to the public good,” according to DCist. Politicians and students should listen to these agencies’ expertise. In justifying his opposition to Call Your Mother, Evans also said he is prioritizing residents’ interests. In doing so, though, he should not ignore the interests of university students that form a large part of the Georgetown neighborhood. A petition for the deli to open has already obtained more than 400 signatures from students and community members. These voices should not be ignored. Call Your Mother’s opening in Georgetown has been widely anticipated and is now long overdue. Local residents and politicians, including Evans, should consider the benefits the deli will bring and withdraw their opposition. Let us have our bagels.
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Finders Keepers — A gay penguin couple at a zoo in the Netherlands were discovered to have stolen an egg from another penguin couple. A zookeeper notes that they are “looking after the egg very well,” taking turns keeping the egg warm. Cat Burglar — Quilty, a very determined cat living in a shelter in Houston has become infamous for consistently breaking out his fellow imprisoned felines. While he’s currently being kept in a test home, his fellow shelter cats will undoubtedly remember his brave efforts. Drawn to Records — A Scottish woman recently broke a Guinness World Record by crafting a 4,520-square-foot drawing in under 12 hours. The artist told reporters she was immensely relieved because she was behind schedule for most of the venture.
EDITORIAL CARTOON by Advait Arun
Increase Fall Holiday Breaks As Thanksgiving break approaches, Georgetown University’s four-day weekend offers students an important but insufficient opportunity to rest and prevent burnout. Besides weekends, students currently have just four days off during the fall semester, compared to 10 days off in the spring. The Office of the University Registrar should adjust the academic calendar for future years to provide more days off in the fall. Burnout has been increasingly recognized as a problem in academic settings and is salient on Georgetown’s campus, where extracurricular and preprofessional commitments often overburden students. Breaks after several consecutive workweeks have been proven to reduce stress and mitigate burnout, according to a study from Tel Aviv University faculty. Burnout, defined as a state of physical and mental exhaustion from long periods of unresolved stress, is detrimental to student health, cognitive functioning and academic performance, according to a study conducted by Florida State University professors. Decreased student burnout would help students stay healthy and, in turn, improve academic outcomes and bolster morale. As an academic institution, Georgetown should act in its own best interest by adding periodic breaks to the fall semester to reduce burnout. As additional school days correlate with more positive educational outcomes, per a study conducted by The Wing Institute, the university should not simply eliminate days from the fall semester. Instead, to maintain the current number of school days while preventing burnout, Georgetown should shorten the summer break by five days and distribute these holidays throughout the fall semester. Three days should be added to Thanksgiving break; students currently have just the holiday and the Friday after off. The current policy imposes high costs to students who fly home or travel by train, as a September 2018 editorial in The Hoya noted. Ambiguity over whether professors will cancel class causes many students to wait and book their tickets after prices have skyrocketed. Moreover, tickets for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving are more expensive than tickets for the weekend before the holiday. These prices
make the trip home less affordable for students traveling after their Wednesday classes have ended. By canceling all classes Thanksgiving week, the university would make traveling home more accessible for many students. Furthermore, a full week off midsemester would provide a more adequate opportunity for students to truly relax. The remaining two holidays should be attached to the midsemester break, elevating the three-day weekend to a five-day weekend. A five-day weekend would provide a brief reprieve in the midst of October midterms before Thanksgiving break occurs later in the semester. An additional five days off during the fall semester would significantly increase Georgetown students’ opportunities to relax. By more than doubling the number of days students have off, the university would provide real opportunities to recharge. With the current schedule, students have no more than four consecutive days off in the fall, making it difficult to fully recover from rigorous academic schedules. Moreover, the proposed total of nine days off aligns with the academic calendars of several other peer institutions that use a semester system. For the 2019-20 year, Yale College offers nine days off during the fall semester, while Princeton University and the University of Notre Dame each provide eight. Five additional holidays for Georgetown students is not a radical suggestion. The University Registrar has released the academic calendar through the end of the 2021-22 school year; for the next three years, students will have only four days off in the fall. As students, families and faculty members may have already planned around this schedule, the predetermined calendar should not be changed. But forward, additional days off should be added to the fall semester, beginning in fall 2022. Students deserve adequate time to rest, and increased breaks throughout the fall semester would improve students’ health and academic performance by reducing burnout. To address concerns about student burnout, the university should plan to offer more fall holidays in future academic calendars.
Maya Gandhi, Editor-in-Chief Academics Desk Editor Graduate Desk Editor Campus Life Desk Editor Campus Life Desk Editor City Desk Editor Deputy Sports Editor Steven Botsoe Deputy Guide Editor Michelle Brown Deputy Guide Editor Yu Young Lee Deputy Guide Editor Zain Sandhu Deputy Guide Editor Megan Wee 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
Dobroshynskyi Madeline Charbonneau, Executive Editor Myroslav Amy Li Sana Rahman Kiera Geraghty, Executive Editor Riley Rogerson Connor Thomas Gamber Gillette, Managing Editor Joanna LaCoppola
Katrina Schmidt, News Editor Cady Stanton, News Editor Jake Wexelblatt, Sports Editor Allan Navarro, Guide Editor Timothy McNulty, 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, Haley Wint, Joseph Yacovone, Grant Zangwill
Contributing Editors
Susanna Blount, Will Cromarty, Erin Doherty, Harrison Hurt
HOYA HISTORY: Nov. 19, 1970
Security Complications Cancel Event Complications over security provisions have forced the cancellation of a speaking engagement on the Georgetown University campus by Huey P. Newton, the Defense Minister of the Black Panther Party. The speech was scheduled for this Sunday. According to Mike Thorton, president of the undergraduate student government, the speech was canceled when representatives of the Panthers raised fears that adequate security measures would not be provided. Student government leaders had planned on holding the speech at Kehoe Field. Thorton also noted that the possibility of using McDonough Gymnasium for the speech had also been considered. However, Thornton added that the “events of last Sunday evening precluded that possibility.”
The speech was to be cosponsored by the undergraduate student government and the Black Student Alliance. In addition, the Newton speech could have caused a breach between the student government officials and the Vice President for Student Development, Patricia Rueckel, Ph.D., concerning the university’s speaker policy. Rueckel stated that she had disapproved of the Newton appearance. “I have always said that as far as I am concerned, we could not have Huey Newton,” she stated. In explaining her position on the matter, Reuckel referred to the university policy concerning speaking, as outlined in the university “G-Book.” She cited the “clear and present danger” clause enunciated on page 93. “On that basis,” Rueckel said, “I
could not approve.” In addition, the student development vice president also expressed misgivings “about providing university funds to support the Black Panther Party.” Rueckel’s position met with strong reaction from the undergraduate student president, Thornton. Thornton stated that he was concerned with the matter of “free speech.” He mentioned that “the students of Georgetown should be able to hear representatives of all sides of the political spectrum.” The conflict between the student leaders and Rueckel could conceivably jeopardize the speaking engagement on campus of Bernadette Devlin, who is scheduled to speak at the university in February.
Hoya Staff Writer
For letters to the editor and more online content, visit thehoya.com/category/opinion.
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, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
THE HOYA
RECONSTRUCTING DISABILITY
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VIEWPOINT • MA
Reject Ableist Ideas
Esther Kang
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efore starting college, I used to think of ableist barriers in visible and measurable terms. At Georgetown University, I saw inaccessible elevators, malfunctioning automatic doors and the lack of transportation services for students to get from class to class. I also held the belief that ableism did not actually impact my student life or influence the visions I had for myself in the future. However, ableism, as defined by disability advocate lawyer Talila Lewis, “is a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence and excellence.” As my first semester in college comes to a close, I noticed that being away from home and on my own has distorted my sense of self. Along with an unstable understanding of what I value and what motivates me, I’ve begun to feel anxious and as if I’m always running out of time. When my mom came to visit last Friday, she asked what had “happened” to make me process myself and my environment with such hostility. But I couldn’t pin down a causal moment or localize this pervasive mood to a discrete set of events. All I knew for sure is that I’d been more vulnerable ever since I left home. She advised I come back to our home in Virginia for the weekend just to decompress. But as much as I knew she was right, I hated the idea. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving campus for the sole reason of taking a break. As a nonproductive choice, going back home was counterproductive and regressive. I did not want to admit I was mentally incapable, unable to cope with my coursework. I told myself I needed to stay on campus, where I was supposed to be getting smarter, getting better at “putting myself out there” and becoming less uptight. I had wanted to differentiate who I had been before and after starting college. I was convinced that my past
self was a less sociable, less intelligent and less perceptive than my present self. To make sense of my current experiences, I had devalued the person I was just a few months ago living at home. The “pre-2019 Esther” was a less developed human than the Esther today — a subhuman. I had reduced my definition of humanness into a basic algorithm in which my performance level and usefulness became the deciding factors for my worth. The danger with framing a student in utilitarian terms is that the person becomes just another form of currency institutions can use to make quick transactional decisions. In higher education, these destructive effects of evaluating people as human capital is by no means limited to student experiences. For instance, it is more profitable for universities to hire contingent rather than tenure-line faculty members, a choice that permits the institution more freedom to judge when and on whom to spend resources. If a student’s or instructor’s contributions have no net benefit to improving a university’s status, it is not the institution’s concern to spend energy considering and maintaining that person’s welfare. As much as I think about deconstructing ableism, I am typically unaware of how easily I make value judgments of myself based on equating my worth to my academic productivity. Specifically on campus, this accepted framework is the most insidious form of ableism because it is both invisible and offers a straightforward method to make decisions about ourselves and who we might become. The alternative to evaluating people based on productivity, however, is to not evaluate their humanity at all. Nothing can explain someone’s worth into existence or explain it away, including and especially their abilities. Esther Kang is a freshman in the college. RECONSTRUCTING DISABILITY appears online every other Tuesday.
As discussions about Hong Kong become increasingly politicized, people should be aware of the personal connections, emotions and experiences of Hong Kong students surrounding the protests happening on the ground.
Recognize Impacts of Hong Kong Protests
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he timing was a little too perfect. The Georgetown University Hong Kong Student Association hosted Robert Delaney, U.S. bureau chief of the Hong Kong-based English language news outlet South China Morning Post on campus, to talk about journalism in Hong Kong. This event, of course, coincided with the violent standoff between protesters and police at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University earlier that day. Before the event started, Delaney asked me if I was surprised at how long the protests were going on. I said I was, as many people assumed that, once the school year started, the protests would die down. However, as I began classes and stressed abou t papers and midterms, protests not only continued, but escalated in my hometown. Every daily briefing I received from The New York Times this week included a headline about Hong Kong. The clashes between protesters and police had reached university campuses, with both sides escalating in violence with their weapons of choice — Molotov cocktails, petrol bombs and arrows for the protesters and live rounds and tear gas for the
police. Western news media and social media posts that circulate in my feed tend to portray an anti-police and therefore anti-China revolution. Chinese media portrays the pro-democracy camp as rioters and “thugs” in a campaign of disinformation. These opposing narratives make it increasingly difficult to know what is the truth, especially for someone like me, who is removed from the situation. The uncomfortable reality for many is that this situation is a vicious cycle of provocations from both sides — the police have been accused of brutality just as the protesters have been accused of harming the police. Yet this dichotomous portrayal fails to acknowledge the nuance of the situation. There are peaceful protesters who advocate for the same cause but do not resort to guerrilla tactics. There are police who can only keep their politics to themselves. There are also people like me who just want to see an end to the violence, no matter what the future of Hong Kong will look like. Being 8,000 miles away, I do not have a full understanding of what the scene on the ground in Hong Kong is truly
like. All I know is that the city was essentially shut down due to the escalation at PolyU — my own siblings who are 6 and 9 years old did not go to school for a week, and I fear for their safety. It hurts to see the city I grew up in reach this level of social division and physical destruction. For the first time since the protests began, I felt a deep sense of hopelessness. I had wanted to return to Hong Kong post-graduation, but now I doubt the feasibility of such an option. The situation in Hong Kong has reached a fever point, and Hong Kong’s institutions can never return to their previous state of rule. I previously held the opinion that Hong Kong could possibly negotiate for a continuation of “one country, two systems” after the original agreement expired in 2047. Given how the protests have progressed to extreme violence, Beijing would not allow for this option, much less full democracy. And this is more than just a story of “I wanted to find a job in Hong Kong and now I probably can’t” — this is me and many of my fellow Hong Kong students watching the loss of their childhood home to chaos and destruction.
In this attempt to seek a future for Hong Kong, I feel more uncertain about my own future. As many of my peers begin searching for their summer internships or looking for that return offer, I ask myself, “Where would I go?” It would be very difficult for me to return home not only for safety or job-related concerns, but also for the knowledge that I am returning to a tired and broken society with little hope for a sense of normalcy. I remember seeing the powerful photos of the millions of protesters taking to the streets at the beginning of the summer, a scene in complete contrast to the blood splatters on the streets. Hong Kongers, whether they are in the city or watching from abroad, are deeply affected by the protests regardless of which side they support. As discussions about Hong Kong become increasingly politicized, people should be aware of the personal connections, emotions and experiences of Hong Kong students surrounding the protests happening on the ground.
VALERIE MA is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.
VIEWPOINT • GANDHI
INTERFAITH INSIGHTS
Help Us Create Accountability
Redefining the Jewish Past
I
joined The Hoya three weeks into my freshman fall, and I retire just weeks away from graduating. The Hoya has, in every way, defined my Georgetown University career. For that, I could not be more grateful. At its best, The Hoya has three key roles: informing the Georgetown community, elevating underrepresented narratives, and holding powerful institutions and people accountable. These three goals are inextricably tied together. To effectively accomplish any of them, The Hoya must be an institution reflective of and connected to the student body. In that regard, we have fallen short. As a predominantly white institution at a predominantly white institution, The Hoya too often fails to effectively engage communities of color on campus. We cannot holistically cover life at Georgetown while continuing to neglect the issues and efforts most central to these communities, a shortcoming only exacerbated by our largely white newsroom. We cannot claim to hold powerful institutions accountable with this blindspot in our coverage. Journalism can hold truth to power and amplify the work of those seeking justice. However, this reporting must be rooted in authentic efforts to understand and connect with the diversity of narratives on this campus. If the last few years alone are any evidence, Georgetown needs a culture of accountability. The Hoya has the capacity to help usher one in — largely by elevat-
ing the voices and work of students. What keeps me up at night is not the fear that our newspaper, submitted 15 minutes past deadline, won’t be printed. Nor is it the bottles of Coke Zero downed while anxiously pacing around our Leavey 421 office. What keeps me awake are the ones that got away. All of the stories we could never tell, the accountability we could never accomplish. Because we couldn’t nail down the sourcing, because people feared reprisal if they spoke to us or because they didn’t trust us to tell their stories. I am acutely aware that for every powerful, important story we tell, so many remain in the shadows. This problem is not entirely solvable: We are but mere undergraduates, running on a shoestring budget and the time we find between classes and jobs and internships. We cannot do everything — but with your help, we can always do more. Georgetown’s students deserve a watchdog — to call out abuses of power and to advocate for students by informing them and elevating their work. My 3½ years on The Hoya have made me more than confident that our talented staff has the potential to fill this role even more effectively than we already do. But we cannot do so without the investment of the student body. I’m not asking for your money — though, certainly, donations are always welcome. Rather, The Hoya needs your trust. I know that in our 100-year history we have cer-
tainly not always deserved it; I’ve worked for The Hoya for too long to believe it’s flawless. But I implore you to think charitably of your fellow students. The Hoya has arguably one of the largest platforms at Georgetown, yet without your stories to tell — and without the trust of our audience — that platform is fruitless. So help us. Send us your tips, your suspicions, your most infuriating stories. Write us strongly worded letters to the editor. Tell us what we’re missing. Tell us what we’re getting wrong. Trust us with your stories, when our reporters and editors prove we are trustworthy. And when we fuck up, call us out. We’re tough; we can take it. Good journalism — the stories that rattle deeply entrenched systems of power, the stories this campus needs — can only thrive when readers feel invested in its success. And on a college campus, where reporters and editors are woven into the community they cover, that mutual investment in shared success is all the more important. Georgetown, like The Hoya, is a flawed institution. But both are ultimately composed of students driven by a desire for truth and justice. Both have the capacity for self-improvement — but both need a watchdog to hold them accountable to it.
MAYA GANDHI is a senior in
the School of Foreign Service and the 145th editor-in-chief of The Hoya. Her term ends Saturday.
Ben Goodman
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y favorite childhood movie “The Lion King” provides the perfect analogy for my Jewish identity. In the film’s turning point, Rafiki tracks down and confronts Simba, who lives in exile after his father Mufasa’s calamitous death. Rafiki wants Simba to go home to the Pride Lands and rectify its current suffering, while Simba wants to continue living by “Hakuna matata,” or “no worries.” A metaphysical debate ensues. Simba argues the past is unchangeable, but Rafiki counters that Simba is merely afraid to face it. Obviously, Simba cannot bring Mufasa back to life, but what he can do is bring peace and prosperity back to the Pride Lands. When Simba takes his rightful place as king, he improves conditions in the kingdom, but he also alters the nature and significance of Mufasa’s death from a senseless tragedy to a chapter in a longer story of redemption. Embedded in Rafiki and Simba’s dialogue is my answer to the essential question: “Why do you choose to live Jewishly?” Dedicating myself to promoting Jewish values and the welfare of the Jewish people, I live Jewishly to honor the Jewish past. Like Simba, I have a role to play in the framing of the past. It is common knowledge that Jewish history is rife with trauma, most
notably the Holocaust. While I cannot undo the persecution we have faced, I can imbue it with significance through my own life. The meaning of Jewish history is dependent on our own behavior in 2019 and beyond. As Simba’s actions changed the significance of Mufasa’s death, I want to ensure that the lessons of Jewish history provide today’s and tomorrow’s Jews a roadmap toward peace, security, happiness and wisdom. For an American example of redefining the past, we cite the Declaration of Independence as a beacon of natural rights. However, it took abolitionists, suffragists and Civil Rights marchers centuries to harmonize our practice with our self-image. The declaration was written in 1776, but its message lands differently today than it did in the 1950s because of the achievements of people much later. New moments reframed those of the past. Jews respond to the call to live Jewishly in a wide variety of ways. Some engage in social justice activism, some dive into Torah study, some advocate for Israel and Jews worldwide, some cultivate a Jewish family and still others strive for personal success to vindicate their predecessors’ lack of opportunities. For many, myself included, it is all of the above. I see the meaning of the Jewish past changing every day. When Virginia elects its first Jewish female house speaker, I think about the previous Jewish generations worldwide shut out of the political process. When Israelis persevere through conflict, I remember that their grandparents relied on the fickle mercy of others to keep them safe, and I rejoice in the Jewish people’s national liberation.
When I teach Hebrew school at Glover Park’s Temple Micah, laughing at my sixth graders’ wisecracks and marveling at their kindness and intelligence, I wish that the martyred Jews of history could see us. I hope they would have felt reassured that, while they were history’s victims, the lessons of their suffering have solidified our will to survive and pass on the traditions of our people, l’dor vador, from generation to generation. I see the darkness of the past around me, too: rhetoric ostracizing Jews and other minorities, blaming complex problems on easy scapegoats, cruelty, selfcenteredness and cowardice at the cost of needy people. Yesterday’s grim echo implores us to act courageously against fear-, hatred- and grievance-based politics. Every day, I wear a chai necklace. Chai, or “living,” serves as a prominent symbol in Jewish tradition. It reminds me that, against all odds, I am here — alive — the latest of an ancient people that somehow keeps sticking around. The Jewish story is a living story, an invisible thread that links my family and me to the generations that came before us; past and present are connected. Picture yourself with a partner, literally tethered together by that thread. When you walk forward, you bring your partner along with you. The future of today’s global Jewish community will change the meaning of the triumphs and tragedies of its previous iterations. The past lives on through us. Ben Goodman is a senior in the School of Foreign Service. INTERFAITH INSIGHTS appears online every other Wednesday.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Students launched a petition to push back against opposition to Call Your Mother’s opening in Georgetown. Story on A8.
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COURTESY AL CASTILLO
Students commemorated the deaths of members of the transgender community this year on Trans Day of Remembrance on Wednesday. GU Pride, Georgetown LGBTQ+ Mentors and Resources, and GU Queer People of Color chalked and held a vigil in Red Square on Nov. 20.
E-SCOOTERS ARE CANCELED Take a note from 4E on some nontraditional ways to get around the Hilltop this winter. Naruto run from the ICC to Walsh in .1 seconds flat or Heely your way through Red Square like a pro. blog.thehoya.com
Accounts of Hyperpolicing at GU Persist; Little Action Follows DARIA CRAWFORD Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown University Student Association President Norman Francis Jr. (COL ’20) was working in the GUSA office in Sellinger Lounge this summer when he was questioned by the Georgetown University Police Department — an experience not unfamiliar to him, he said. “An officer aggressively banged on the door and questioned what I was doing in there,” Francis said. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I showed them my GOCard and said that I was just working. That shit scared me.’’ Though being questioned by GUPD officers was not a new experience for Francis, he was still taken aback that, even as student body president, officers doubted his status as a student. “I was wearing a suit,” he said. In private conversations with solidarity groups on campus, students of color at Georgetown University have discussed instances of hyperpolicing by GUPD. Rather than submit reports they doubt will be addressed, students share with these groups stories of being forced to provide proof of their relationship to Georgetown, being unnecessarily surveilled by the police and experiencing excessive use of force from the department.
DISTRUST IN THE SYSTEM
Nearly 200 years after the mDespite the discussed prevalence of these experiences, however, few reports of physical bias are actually filed. Only one formal report against GUPD for bias-related incidents has been filed in the last five years, according to the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action. A total of 201 bias incident reports have been filed against individuals affiliated with Georgetown since 2014, according to IDEAA Director of Affirmative Action Programs Michael Smith. The lone complaint against GUPD, which referred to an incident at the Climate Forum 2020 in September 2019, involved a person who was not a part of the Georgetown community. Without formal documentation of an alleged bias-related incident, GUPD cannot address the issue, according to Chief of Police Jay Gruber. To start a formal investigation into police misconduct, GUPD must receive a formal complaint with either first- or secondhand information. Students are able to file an official report with the department through the GUPD website, the LiveSafe app, the
anonymous tip from finding email or by conredress, accordtacting Gruber ing to Sara Coldirectly. lina, an adjunct A lieutenant lecturer and conducts the attorney who investigation, teaches a class which includes called “Gender typical detective and the Law.” work such as “Courts are alcompiling eviways looking for dence, includways to dismiss ing photos, talkcases, and if ing to witnesses someone hasn’t and collecting completed all statements, acthe steps, that is cording to Gruan easy way to ber. make the case After a review go away,” Colof the complaint lina wrote in is completed, an email to The GUPD will deHoya. termine if they Before filing, need to implemany courts exment corrective pect plaintiffs to action, which have exhausted includes maninternal resourcdatory counseles, such as a huing sessions, man resources coachings, writdepartment, ten warnings, and also expect suspensions or adherence to terminations. a timeline that But some stucan be difficult dents, including for these types Francis, have of cases. felt like report“It takes time FILE PHOTO: OLIVIA CHUANG FOR THE HOYA to identify ining would not result in actual In the last five years, only one bias-related incident has been officially reported against the Georgetown sidious illegal action, he said. discrimination,” University Police Department. A total of 201 more general bias incidents have also been reported. “I didn’t feel Collina wrote. “When I’ve talked to students “Plaintiff refused to participate “But time is a problem. Complain like it would do anything,” Francis said. “Whether it was when about reporting, they respond in this practice, and he asserts too early and your claim may not I was stopped on O Street or saying, ‘That doesn’t do any- that his refusal ‘has resulted in be ‘enough;’ wait too long and stopped in the GUSA office, I felt thing,’ or, ‘I filed a bias report and continued negative performance you can run up against a statute that reporting it wouldn’t really nothing happened,’” Martinez reviews and reprimands, creat- of limitations.” help. I did bring it up in some of said. “So people decide to go to ing a hostile work environment Gruber declined to comment my talks with admin and GUPD, The Hoya, where they feel like for him,’” the opinion read. on the lawsuit, as GUPD canRoss refers to several incidents not provide personnel matters and they say that I should’ve their story is actually going to be gotten the badge number or addressed, instead of typing their of discrimination in his lawsuit, related to an employee. The I should do it next time, but I story into an online form and not including a time when he re- department investigates every sponded to a complaint targeting allegation of office misconduct don’t think to do that in these hearing anything back.” three young black men sitting and enforces punitive measures situations.” Gruber acknowledged that TAKING ACTION AGAINST BIAS outside an on-campus library. if necessary, according to Gruber. While only one official com“You knew what they were,” many students may be afraid to file a report because of con- plaint has been filed against Hilton said, according to Ross’s CREATING A BETTER FUTURE cerns about retaliation or fears GUPD in the last five years, account in the memorandum. Every year, all 72 officers and of inaction but reiterated that GUPD has also been accused of “You grew up in D.C. They security persons affiliated with the only way to see action is misconduct from within the de- should have been arrested.” GUPD receive training about imIn June 2019, the judge found plicit bias in policing, according through a report. Still, the lon- partment. Former GUPD officer Gregory that Ross failed to file a com- to Gruber. These in-person sesger students wait to report, the Ross initiated a civil action in the plaint within the statute of limi- sions are led by university staff more difficult it becomes to inSuperior Court of D.C. in 2018 ac- tations of Title VII and failed to members, including Vice Presivestigate, Gruber said. “I think some people are cusing GUPD of engaging in dis- prove that his allegations violat- dent for Institutional Diversity scared,” Gruber said. “I think criminatory practices, which cre- ed Title VII standards. The judge and Equity Rosemary Kilkenny that some people fear that noth- ated a hostile work environment dismissed the claims of discrimi- (LAW ’87) and Smith. ing will happen; I think some in violation of Title VII of the Civil nation, retaliation and a hostile Officers meet for two to three people will fear that retaliation Rights Act of 1964, as well as the work environment. hours to cover topics concernAs a result, the federal court ing implicit bias in policing. The will happen. I really implore stu- D.C. Human Rights Act. Ross accused his captain of lost jurisdiction over the lawsuit most recent training from over dents as soon as they feel they have been racially profiled or engaging in racial profiling, spe- and the judge remanded the the summer was titled “Bias and perceived bias by the university cifically of black people, and of portion of the case concerning Beyond: The Georgetown Stupunishing him when he refused the D.C. Human Rights Act to a dent of Color Experience.” to immediately report it.” Still, students have expressed to engage in the practice, ac- lower court. Because of the difficulties of coDespite legal provision pro- ordinating in-person events for a frustrations about the reporting cording to the court’s opinion. process and distrust in future re- His superior, Captain Glenette tecting employees against dis- department that operates all day, sults, according to GUSA Senate Hilton, is still currently em- crimination, the process of prov- Gruber has also used GUPD’s onployed by the university. ing it can prevent many plaintiffs line training system to train his Speaker Juan Martinez (SFS ’20).
officers on these issues. “Usually every couple of months, when a good article comes out on implicit bias as it relates to police work, it’s put in our online training system, and our officers have to read it and take a short quiz,” Gruber said. As official university responses leave unaddressed feelings of fear and frustration across Georgetown’s campus, however, students have organized to create Georgetown United Against Police Aggression, a group focusing on providing support to those who claim to have been racially profiled by the university police. GUAPA actively educates students on campus through leading “Know Your Rights” trainings about policing, on- and off-campus resources and the bias reporting process. GUAPA also called for GUPD to become more transparent with its policies, according to Sonia Adjroud (SFS ’20), a member of GUAPA. “Unfortunately, we have seen in the past that Georgetown, because GUPD has not released their procedures and protocols, is always able to say that they followed university protocol and procedure,” Adjroud said. “That is just a very ambiguous blanket statement that I don’t even know what it refers to.” In July 2018, members of GUAPA noticed that the link to the bias reporting form on IDEAA’s website was broken. The link to the bias reporting form led to a portal that did not have a form, and another form focusing on discrimination and harassment led only to a PDF document, according to an email obtained by The Hoya. GUAPA worked with IDEAA to correct these errors and hosted meetings with Georgetown administrators in which students could share their experiences of being discriminated against by officers, according to Adjroud. Student organizations hope to push the administration to take further action by supplementing anecdotal evidence with quantitative data. GUSA and GUAPA have both advocated for including a section about experiences with on-campus policing in the upcoming Campus Climate Survey. Official data from the survey would allow students to feel more supported, according to Martinez. “It will be a way to validate the personal experience of students because it is hard to build a case for change based on anecdotal stories, as people can dismiss it as an isolated incident,” Martinez said.
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Student Petition Calls for GU UHustle Venture Wins Bark To Rename MedStar Building Tank Entrepreneurship Contest HARRISON MCBRIDE Hoya Staff Writer
Students have signed a letter calling for the new MedStar Georgetown University Hospital surgical pavilion to be named after Eileen Niedfield (MED ’51), valedictorian of the first class of women accepted to the Georgetown University Medical Center. The Nov. 14 letter, signed by six student organizations and 18 students at the time of publication, argues that the surgical pavilion, which is currently under construction between Darnall Hall and the main MedStar buildings, should be named after Niedfield. A member of the Medical Mission Sisters religious order, she served as a surgeon in India for over 40 years. The letter comes after a corresponding resolution passed by the Georgetown University Student Association senate at its Nov. 3 meeting. The resolution was sponsored by senators Daniella Sanchez (COL ’22) and Joshua Marin-Mora (SFS ’21) and passed the senate with 24 votes in support and two abstentions. Marin-Mora, who also serves as the transportation and accessibility policy chair for the senate, decided to draft the resolution after reading an op-ed published in The Hoya by C.C. Borzelleri in January 2019 calling for the new building to be named after Niedfield. “I thought it was a profoundly written article and that is when I turned to Daniella to talk to her to see if she’d be interested in the idea that C.C. had initially proposed,” Marin-Mora said in an interview with The Hoya. Borzelleri’s wrote the op-ed after she completed a project with the Georgetown Women’s Alliance to hang panels in the Hoya Court highlighting the stories of women graduates of Georgetown University. While researching for the program, Borzelleri discovered Niedfield’s story, which she said was a particularly notable example of women’s contributions to Georgetown. “During the exhibit research process one of the hardest parts was selecting which of Georgetown’s women to highlight: there are just so many worthy
of recognition,” Borzelleri wrote in an email to The Hoya. “One story which particularly struck me was Niedfield’s, and the construction of the Pavilion was in its earliest stages at this point, so I thought there might be a chance to get this idea out there early before the building could be named after someone else.” Sanchez, who serves as the vice chair of the senate policy and advocacy committee and the gender equity policy chair, believes naming this new building after Niedfield would be a positive step toward better memorializing women on campus. “Georgetown can improve on highlighting women of the church, they can improve on highlighting women’s narratives through events,” Sanchez said. “They can just provide a lot more attention to us presently and that would help institutionalized gender equality for the future.” Georgetown traditionally names university buildings after historical figures, major donors or individuals who served within the university administration, according to Sanchez. Few campus buildings are named after individual women In 2013, there was a similar
campus-wide initiative focused on naming a building. A GUSA senator advocated for the newest residence hall to be named after Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus. This initiative inspired her January 2019 op-ed, according to Borzelleri. Student organizations that have signed the letter at the time of publication include Hermanas de Georgetown, the Latin American Student Association, Georgetown Latinx Leadership Forum, the Patrick Healy Fellowship, the Central American United Student Association and Georgetown Disability Alliance. The Georgetown Disability Alliance cited the positive implications of the bill as reasoning for the group’s decision to sign the petition, according to GDS founder and board member Anna Landre (SFS ’21). “GDA believes that the work of women has been marginalized in the history of Georgetown and, of course, in the world beyond,” Landre wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We need to work to correct this bias and that’s why we’re excited about the prospect of highlighting the work of a fantastic alumna through the name of the new Medstar building.”
Special to The Hoya
Republicans and Democrats should work together to ensure the United States and Israel maintain a mutually beneficial relationship to benefit the future success of both countries, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.) said at a Nov. 20 event. At the event “Rep. Gottheimer: The Democrats and the US-Israel Relationship,” Gottheimer discussed the current state of affairs between the United States and Israel regarding each nation’s economy and national security. Georgetown University College Democrats and Georgetown Israel Alliance co-sponsored the Wednesday event. Gottheimer serves as cochair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan coalition that seeks to address congressional dilemmas. He also co-sponsored the U.S.-Israel Cooperation Enhancement and Regional Security Act in July, which authorizes joint research and cooperation programs between the U.S. and Israel. Israel has long been a U.S. ally in the Middle East since the United States was the first nation to recognize Israel as a state in 1948 and Jerusalem as its capital in 2017. Remaining allies are necessary for regional protection and the international economy in both countries, according to Gottheimer. “This relationship is essential to our national security and important to the region,” Gottheimer said. “Part of what is so important in the U.S.-Israel relationship is the economic relationship.” From a U.S. political perspective, Republicans and Democrats should collaborate to develop policies that effectively navigate the U.S.-Israeli relationship, according to Gottheimer. “The U.S.-Israeli relationship has always been a bipartisan issue, and we must make sure this remains bipartisan,” Gottheimer said. The event comes after Is-
Hoya Staff Writer
UHustle, an online marketplace developed by Georgetown University students to connect college students running side businesses with potential customers, won $30,000 at Georgetown’s annual entrepreneurship competition, Bark Tank, on Nov. 14. The Bark Tank competition, which seeks to financially support business ventures created by Georgetown entrepreneurs, was supported by Ted Leonsis (CAS ’77), founder and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based production company Monumental Sports & Entertainment and hosted by Georgetown Entrepreneurship. Groups participated in the competition to win prizes from a total pool of $100,000. To reflect Georgetown’s Jesuit values, the prize supports Georgetown entrepreneurs that are addressing relevant global issues, according to the university website. The Bark Tank competition allows students the opportunity to develop business ideas that have a positive global impact, according to Jeff Reid, founding director of Georgetown Entrepreneurship. Last year’s winner was Shavini Fernando (GRD ’18), whose venture O2Wear monitors oxygen levels for individuals living with heart defects. “Our recent Bark Tank event was a powerful showcase for the aspiring entrepreneurs emerging from Georgetown,” Reid wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Through programs like Bark Tank, we help Georgetown stu-
dents identify and channel their entrepreneurial energy to make the world better.” Current Georgetown students, both undergraduate and graduate, as well as Georgetown alumni who have graduated in the last six months, were eligible to participate in the competition. This year’s winning venture was UHustle, a marketplace developed for students with side businesses to help them earn money through their side jobs through a streamlined online platform. UHustle, which was founded in October 2018 by Christy Felix (MSB ’20), Sinclaire Jones (MSB ’22) and Benjamin Ogbonna II (MSB ’20), was awarded $30,000 as the first place competitor. Before this year’s Bark Tank, Felix had already won multiple Georgetown-associated entrepreneurship competitions using UHustle, including Ventures and Values, Rocket Pitch and the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Challenge. Felix plans on using the prize money from the Bark Tank competition to continue developing and improving UHustle’s platform in the hopes of expanding the venture’s staff in the coming months. “Bark Tank gave UHustle the platform we needed to enhance our network and get help (for free),” Felix wrote. “We are currently looking for on campus coders to help UHustle improve upon our platform.” In addition to UHustle, two other business ventures, Globally Unified Air Quality and Unveil, tied for second place in the Bark Tank competition, each earning
YICHU HUANG FOR THE HOYA
Multiple student organizations called for the renaming of a Medstar building after Eileen Niedfield (MED ’51) in a Nov. 14 petition.
Gottheimer Calls for Bipartisanship In US Relationship With Israel GABRIELLA RAPHAEL
GIULIA TESTA
raeli and Islamist forces on the Gaza Strip agreed to a tentative ceasefire Nov. 14 after two days of fighting between the groups. This ceasefire was threatened two days later, however, as Hamas, a Palestinian political and militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched two missiles into Israeli territory that were struck down by Israeli Air Defense systems, according to The Washington Post.
“The U.S.-Israeli relationship has always been a bipartisan issue, and we must make sure this remains bipartisan.” JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-N.J.) Co-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus
Certain news outlets have mischaracterized the nature of recent violence between Israel and Hamas, according to Gottheimer. “I think the media, depending on the outlet, are portraying this as an attack on the Palestinian side and forgetting that Israel is responding and not being proactive in their use of force,” Gottheimer said. Gottheimer also addressed the recent prevalence of antisemitism across the United States. Gottheimer has witnessed antisemitic hate crimes in schools in his district and while campaigning for his House seat, he said. “In only the last few months, we have had six swastikas found in middle schools,’’ Gottheimer said. “I’m used to swastikas on my campaign signs and have faced comments questioning my loyalty to the USA as a Jew.” After President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017, hate crimes targeting Jews and
Jewish institutions rose 37% in the United States. Several antisemitic events occurred at Georgetown in 2017, including antisemitic graffiti discovered near Makóm, the Jewish prayer space, and swastikas spray-painted in LXR Hall during Rosh Hashana the same year. The growing trend of antisemitic sentiment in the United States has been exacerbated by social media, according to Gottheimer. “A simmering cauldron of anger has been unleashed because people feel they can say whatever they want and hide behind social media like cowards,’’ Gottheimer said. In a recent development in U.S.-Israeli foreign policy, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Nov. 18 that Trump’s administration determined Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law. More than 700,000 settlers reside in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both of which are in regions claimed by Palestine. The announcement breaks with decades of preceding U.S. foreign policy, according to The Washington Post. After Gottheimer addressed Georgetown community members, Maurice Zekaria (SFS ’21), a leader of the Georgetown Israel Alliance, led a question and answer period. A productive and impactful conversation came out of the event, according to Zekaria. “I think it was a great event and a lot of people came out with diverse opinions,” Zekaria said in an interview with The Hoya. “It was a great exchange of ideas.” The event exemplified Georgetown student interest in the U.S.-Israeli relationship, Gottheimer said in an interview with The Hoya. “There was a room full of very thoughtful students who asked many poignant questions,” Gottheimer said. “I am looking forward to coming back to Georgetown to address U.S. and Israel related issues.”
MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Business venture UHustle took home the first-place prize of $30,000 in the annual Bark Tank entrepreneurial competition Nov. 14.
$20,000 in prize money. The panel of judges who scored the event consisted of Leonsis and business industry leaders including Steve Barnes (CAS ’88, LAW ’92), co-founder and president of Homesnap, and Peter Biché(MSB ’78), CFO at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. GUAQ addresses air pollution around the world through its development of a cost-effective air sensor technology, according to Pascal Girard, the team’s mentor and advisor. “92% of the world’s population is breathing bad air. Not surprisingly, countries with the worst air pollution have the least (if any) Air Quality (AQ) monitoring,” Girard wrote in an email to The Hoya. “To address this disparity, Georgetown students and faculty are designing and building a highly modular, InternetOf-Things air quality monitor.” Georgetown entrepreneurs should take advantage of the campus resources available to students to develop their ideas, such as the Maker Hub and the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Challenge, according to Michael Bartholic (COL ’22), one of the founders of GUAQ, which began as a project created in the Maker Hub in Lauinger Library. “I think it should not be understated how much one can accomplish with even modest resources and the commitment to experiment,” Bartholic wrote. Unveil, the other second-place finisher, is a wellness brand that seeks to raise awareness about women’s health. The venture will donate a reusable sanitary product to a woman in a developing country for every undergarment sold in the U.S., according to Katie Fischer (GRD ’20), Unveil’s founder. “While addressing health issues in the U.S. market, Unveil also addresses issues around menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in developing countries,” Fischer wrote in an email to The Hoya. Fischer got the idea for her new business during a trip to Liberia, where she witnessed first-hand the challenges that many girls in the country faced around affording menstrual hygiene products. Fischer plans to use the prize to further develop Unveil, including creating a viable prototype for early customers and guide future product progress, she wrote. “With the funding I have won, I will now be able to develop MVPs, which is huge,” Fischer wrote. “With a product in hand, I can begin to crowdfund, beta test and continue to refine our business model.”
University To Implement Discounted Bikeshare Program MEREDITH MILLER Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown University announced a new low-cost partnership with the Capital Bikeshare University Program to make bicycling more financially accessible for students. Capital Bikeshare allows users the opportunity to temporarily rent bikes and park them at various stations throughout Washington, D.C. Georgetown’s partnership with the Bikeshare program will decrease annual membership costs for Capital Bikeshare from $85 to $25 for all Georgetown undergraduate, graduate, Law Center and Medical Center students, according to a Nov. 18 email from the Office of Planning and Facilities Management Capital Bikeshare has approximately 4,500 bikes throughout D.C., Maryland and Virginia, including a docking station for bikes directly outside the front gates of the university. Currently, 5% of Georgetown University commuters use bikes to get to campus, according to the university website. The Bikeshare program could have positive environmental impacts as more students are incentivized to use bikes over other, less sustainable modes of travel, according to Audrey Stewart, director of the Office of Sustainability. “The new Capital Bikeshare discount program helps advance sustainability at the university by making it more convenient and more affordable for students to choose bicycling, a carbon-free mode of transportation,” Stewart wrote in an email to The Hoya. In addition to the discounted annual rate, the program also allows students to obtain discounts on helmets from local bi-
cycle shops such as Bicycle Pro Shop on M Street, and grants the opportunity to attend a free Washington Area Bicyclist Association Confident City Cycling class, which teaches students of varying skill levels how to handle bikes and maneuver on bike trails. Initiatives started by the Georgetown University Student Association and Georgetown University Graduate Student Government encouraged the university to join the Bikeshare program, according to a university email. GUSA senator Joshua MarinMora (SFS ’21), who serves as the transportation and accessibility policy chair for the Senate, introduced a resolution calling for the university to adopt the discounted student Bikeshare program this past summer. The resolution received unanimous support during the regular term senate this fall in a vote Sept. 15. The GUSA executive branch has also contributed to the initiative in meetings with the administration, according to Nicolo Ferretti (SFS ’21), director of university affairs for GUSA. Ferretti, alongside GUSA Transportation Policy Coalition Chair Clay Volino (SFS ’22), met with administrators earlier this semester to work through the university approval process, according to Ferretti. The Bikeshare initiative was attractive to both GUSA and administrators because of the program’s easy implementation, according to Ferretti. “It quickly became one of our best project prospects because it didn’t require any university funding but only approval and a school-wide email,” Ferretti wrote in an email to The Hoya. Georgetown’s terrain poses difficulties for student cyclists. The League of American Bicy-
clists, an organization that promotes bicycle-friendly culture in the United States, deemed Georgetown a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly university. The determination denotes that Georgetown cyclists face many physical obstacles to accessible cycling both at the university and within the District. The initiative will hopefully make cycling more financially accessible for students despite physical impediments on campus, according to Ferretti. “GUSA Transportation is always looking for ways to make the campus more accessible and give students ways to get out of the Georgetown bubble,” Ferretti wrote. “This program is a win for many of our teams.” Students can register for the program on the Capital Bikeshare website, where they can confirm their eligibility as students of the university to apply the discount. Once registered, students are free to use the Capital Bikeshare program for a year before needing to renew their membership. Although the campus poses physical challenges for cyclists, the university has previously launched initiatives, including free monthly Bike Commuting 101 classes and 1,100 bicycle parking spaces across campus, to encourage bike riding. The Bikeshare program will be a welcome addition to the existing programs, according to Lindsey Bullen, a university transportation demand manager. “Georgetown is proud to offer other biking resources and services to students, faculty and staff,” Bullen wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We are thrilled to be able to add an affordable, convenient, fun, and active program for our undergraduate, graduate, Law Center, and Medical Center students.”
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Clinton, Yo-Yo Ma Featured In SFS Centennial Celebrations CENTENNIAL, from A1 students and other attendees, speaking on their leadership experiences in various fields and industries. As part of the programming, the SFS also hosted informational interviews to connect students and alumni. Centennial programming organizers published a book, “SFS 100: A Century of Service,” documenting the history of the achievements of SFS alumni and professors, according to Layman. The school also installed an exhibit in Lauinger Library, “The House That Walsh Built: A Century of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service,” showcasing historical items related to the school, such as graduation bulletins, photographs and school announcements, to draw attention to the anniversary.
The weekend was a highlight of the yearlong celebration of the SFS’ centennial festivities, according to Layman. “It’s not just one weekend; it’s not just one party, but it’s really a whole year of substantive engagement,” Layman said. “And the bigger thing was that Dean Hellman felt that the SFS needed to do a lot of planning not just to plan an event or series of events, but to start learning how to tell the story of the school and to do it over some time.” In addition to the gala, the SFS has and will continue hosting events throughout the rest of the academic year. The school held an informal “SFS Birthday Bash” in the Healey Family Student Center on Sept. 20 and will also be cosponsoring both a men’s basketball game in February and the annual Global Expo held by the Georgetown International Student Association in
the spring. Additional centennial celebrations for alumni farther from the Hilltop will take place in New York, San Francisco and London over the next few months, according to Layman. The centennial is an opportunity to gather students and alumni together and remind them of the importance of the SFS’ mission, Hellman said. The recent political climate in particular has emphasized the importance of the SFS in encouraging students to enter the field of foreign affairs, according to Hellman. “To some extent, the very idea of foreign policy professionalism is being undermined as we speak, as we’re watching it on television through the hearings and others,” Hellman said. “What an incredible opportunity to gather everyone together and remind ourselves of the importance of what we do here.”
ALEX BAKER FOR THE HOYA
Panelists, from left, David Chipman, Joseph Sakran, Helisa Cruz, Igor Volsky and moderator Stefan Sujansky (SFS ’22) discussed the impact of gun violence on marginalized communities at an event Nov. 19.
Gun Reform Activists Develop New Momentum, Panelists Say GUN VIOLENCE, from A1 several blocks away. The experience helped Murphy understand the horrific psychological effects shootings have on children, he said. “Every single kid at that school is faced with this reality that they might come to school that day and when they get home their parents won’t be there either,” Murphy said. “They fear for their lives when they walk to school, when they walk home, when they run out to the corner grocery on the weekend for their parents.” Baltimore has one of the highest rates of gun violence in the country, with over 500 people shot in nonfatal incidents and more than 150 killed as of July 2019, according to the Baltimore Sun. Gun violence takes a high emotional toll on people’s lives, especially young people, who face the risk of dying young from gun violence in some communities, according to Cruz, a resident of northeast D.C. and a senior at BASIS D.C. Public Charter School. “There are so many of my friends that have friends that should be writing their college essays with me, that should be experiencing any of these college processes but they’re not because they’re dead,” Cruz said. Gun violence disproportionately affects marginal-
ized groups, despite often only receiving widespread media attention when it affects white children, she said. “It seems like the media only cares when white kids die and I’m like, that’s unfair, because I feel as though black and brown kids deserve to live,” Cruz said. “Just because of the opportunities we aren’t given in a system that suppresses, is it really that fair that we won’t be able to live?” There are nearly 33,000 gun deaths in the United States annually, and nearly onethird of these are homicides, based on averages from 2012 to 2014. Black Americans are victims of gun violence at significantly higher rates than other racial groups, with a rate of 16.7 homicides per 100,000 people, compared to 1.5 homicides per 100,000 white Americans, according to Five Thirty Eight. Sakran agreed that gun reform only occurred after gun violence impacted predominantly white communities. “Frankly, it wasn’t until suburban white students started getting shot up that all of a sudden people started to care,” Sakran said. Despite the ongoing epidemic of gun violence, campaigns to address gun violence are gaining large-scale support, Murphy said. “The good news is this country is waking up,” Murphy said. “What we have become in a short six-year
period of time is more powerful than the gun lobby. We have more money, we have more activists, we have more voters that care about our issues.” Just four years ago, politicians were not having the same in-depth conversations about guns that they are having today, according to Volsky. “For a long time, politicians from both sides of the aisle, but certainly from the left, felt that talking about guns was a big liability,” Volsky said. “But what’s happened since is that, really, a growing realization that young people like you care about this issue and that you will vote based on this issue.” Educating the Georgetown community about the levels of gun violence in marginalized communities in D.C., as well as across the nation, is critical, according to James Benner (SFS ’21), a member of the Georgetown chapter of MFOL and one of the organizers of the event. “Unfortunately ,there are high rates of gun violence in other sections, particularly in communities across the river that I think goes unnoticed by the Georgetown students and the Georgetown community,” Benner said. “The main purpose of this event was just to bring in some of those voices who have experiences and who live in those communities who are regularly affected by gun violence.”
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Former President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) spoke at the “Centennial Gala Dinner” held at the National Building Museum on Nov. 16 as part of the School of Foreign Service’s centennial weekend celebrations.
New Spring 2020 Course Confronts Title IX Policy TITLE IX, from A1 Design Project.” “We won’t just be studying how universities could improve their cultures surrounding sexual harassment and assault, we will be designing resources and proposing improvements that will help Georgetown change our campus culture today,” Horton wrote in an email to The Hoya. The class will be broken into four units: Orientation, Power & Privilege, Prevention, and Protection & Due Process, according to Casey Doherty (COL ’20), one of the students planning the course. Students will also be asked to write weekly reflections and research creative ways to approach Title IX issues. The course will also collaborate with Health Education Services, the university’s Title IX staff and various student activist groups to educate students about the resources available to them at Georgetown, according to Lily Rubinstein (COL ’22), a student in “Interdisc Design Project.” Georgetown has had various vacancies in its Title IX office in the past 18 months. After former Title IX Coordinator Laura Cutway unexpectedly left the university in June 2018, Samantha Berner, then Title IX
investigator, began serving in both roles concurrently. On July 1, Berner was named fulltime Title IX coordinator and director of Title IX compliance, leaving the Title IX investigator role vacant. The university still has not hired a full-time investigator. Berner has joined with Collina in other classes to discuss Title IX with students and said she is looking forward to continuing her collaboration with Collina in the upcoming class. “We are grateful for our community’s respectful and diverse engagement on these complex issues,” Berner wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We are excited to see the results of the Title IX For a New Generation class and will continue to work with our partners across campus on steps to prevent sexual assault and misconduct at Georgetown.” In October, students in “Interdisc Design Project” attended a listening session about the results of the 2019 Sexual Assault and Misconduct Climate Survey hosted by the Title IX staff, according to Berner. The survey, released Oct. 15, revealed that only 44.0% of survey respondents believe it is likely or extremely likely that campus officials would conduct a fair investigation in response to
a report of sexual assault or other misconduct. Casey Doherty (COL ’20) joined “Interdisc Design Project” to learn about ways to combat sexual violence and create equitable Title IX policy at Georgetown. The campus climate survey results demonstrated a need to improve the relationship between students and Georgetown’s Title IX Office, according to Doherty. “Our campus climate survey shows that students don’t trust the Title IX Office or Georgetown in general to seek the best outcome for survivors,” Doherty wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This must change.” “Title IX for a New Generation” will provide students with the tools to identify issues with the current implementation of the Title IX policy at Georgetown, according to Doherty. “This class will equip students to be able to engage in difficult discussions, identify and explain power dynamics, and pinpoint problems within our current national and campus Title IX procedures,” Doherty wrote. “This class is empowering and critically important, and I’m proud to play a small role in its formation.”
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Provost Robert Groves outlined the process through which tuition money is allocated to different projects around Georgetown
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Opposition to Pope Undermines Student Activism Summit Church, Archbishop Says Advocates Youth Support SOPHIE HABER
CLARA GRUDBERG
Catholic opposition to Pope Francis is scandalous and unprecedented, Washington, D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory said at a Nov. 21 panel. The panel focused on the impact Francis has had during his six years leading the Catholic Church and challenges that he pope currently faces, particularly the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Gregory was joined by Helen Alvaré, an anti-abortion advocate and law professor at George Mason University, and John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University at the event in the Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart. The panelists spoke about the resistance movement within the Catholic Church against Francis, as well as the implications of the issues he has chosen to prioritize on during his time as pope. The speakers also reflected on the challenges currently facing the church, including the clergy sexual abuse crisis and controversies about the role of women. The extent of the pushback against the relatively liberal Francis, who was named pope in 2013, is anomalous, even for an ancient institution like the Catholic Church, according to Gregory. “Opposition to the pope is not new, but what is new is the level and intensity that is there,” Gregory said. “It’s the insidiousness of the opposition movement that I think is scandalous for us.” The Office of Mission and Ministry and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life hosted the panel, “The Francis Factor Today,” as part of the Dahlgren Dialogues series. The series, which was started in October 2017, features conversations with leaders on contemporary issues involving faith and public life. Francis has emphasized the church’s teachings on protecting the environment, embracing migrants and being more inclusive toward LGBTQ Catho-
Speakers emphasized the importance of giving youth the tools they need to engage in activism at the Georgetown University Student Association department of student activism’s first ever Student Activism Summit on Nov. 16. The event featured 19 speakers with expertise in a range of social justice movements from increasing access to education to disability justice. Participants at the summit could attend a keynote address, talks on coalition building and power mapping — which is a way to visually identify who holds power in reaching a goal — and panels with alumni and university administration officials. Keynote speaker Diana Acosta, a program associate for Fair Finance with the Georgetown University Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, spoke about the obstacles she faced as a young, Latinx immigrant and activist at Harvard University. Although many people ignore youth activists because of their age, young people should continue to share their perspectives and opinions, according to Acosta. “This was the context that I grew up in, feeling powerless because I was a child or young, and the perception was that young people shouldn’t speak up and that there is nothing that they can contribute,” Acosta said in her address. “That is a lie, and that is something that I’ve known from a young age, when I knew I had great ideas and I knew I wanted to change the world but no one
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John Carr spoke about the challenges facing Pope Francis on a panel with Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Helen Alvaré. lics. Many Catholics oppose Pope Francis because of personal or political motivations, rather than with constructive criticism, Carr said. “I think people try to use Francis to their own ends,” he said. “I think they try to score points. I think they try to get clicks. I think they try to lift up their own visibility.” Public controversy over Francis’ leadership has lasted for years. Journalist Ross Douthat warned that Francis could increase opposition from conservative Catholics and divide the church in a 2015 article in The Atlantic. In 2017, a high-ranking German cardinal spoke out to oppose Francis’ support of reforming the church’s ban on divorced Catholics receiving communion. The widespread use of social media can also explain why the opposition movement to Francis may appear to have more traction than opposition to previous popes, according to Gregory. “Social media gives the opposition a megaphone,” Gregory said. “The Holy Father has to deal with divisions that are trumpeted with no control.” The way the pope responded to his own mistakes handling the cover-up of the clergy sexual abuse scandal in Chile demonstrated his leadership, Gregory said. While in Chile, Francis accused survivors of sexual assault of slandering the priests
who abused them. Francis later apologized for his statements, saying he received inaccurate information and taking responsibility for contributing to the crisis. Gregory was impressed by the pope’s humility. “His apology was stunning,” Gregory said. “He’s revealed his humanity in startling ways.” The pope has also attempted to address the unequal representation of women in the church. The direct way that Francis speaks about the need for increased involvement of women in the church is effective in bringing attention to the issue, according to Alvaré, who is the adviser to the Pontifical Council of the Laity and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “One of the cool things about Pope Francis is he’s very blunt steering a big ship,” Alvaré said. “He says big things about the role of women in the church, and he says them many times, and I’m glad for that because this ship has to be moved.” The pope’s mantra of emphasizing service over servitude is something that should be applied to women’s role in the church, according to Alvaré. “I think there needs to be more of an involvement of women on an ongoing basis,” Alvaré said. “We’re not starting from scratch. There’s women doing all kinds of things. But we’re not celebrating it enough, and we’re not realizing it enough.”
was listening.” Though some activists have a tendency to drown other voices out with their enthusiasm, listening is an essential part of activism, according to Acosta. “Sometimes we think activism is again like this flashy space for us to be in, or this space for us to vocalize, vocalize, vocalize,” Acosta said. “But sometimes it’s hard for us to listen, and to sit back and hear what others are saying, and to actually understand that, you know it means stepping back too.” Summit attendees involved in student activism came from across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Acosta’s keynote on the importance of listening stuck out to Kavya Mishra, who attended the summit with the student activism club at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Md. “We do a lot of action and we put a lot of ourselves forward, but another part of activism is stepping back and listening and being able to understand what’s going on before we take action,” Mishra said in an interview with The Hoya. A week before the summit, Hoyas for Immigrant Rights organized the #HomeIsHere walkout Nov. 8 before a Supreme Court hearing on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Forty other university clubs and organizations co-sponsored the event and 157 students participated. Youth experience with digital media made for a more effective publicity strategy, according to panelist Gerson Quinteros, a community organizer at United We Dream,
an immigrant youth-led organization that was involved in the #HomeIsHere walkout. “They bring a lot of energy, a lot of creativity, that’s one thing the youth bring, and new, fresh ideas that we may not be thinking about, because we’re stuck in this bubble,” Quinteros said in the panel. “Some of you might be part of the digital world, and the digital world brings up a lot of new ways to reach out to people, we just did the walkout and we were using TikTok for that.” The summit was designed to motivate and instruct student activists, according to GUSA Executive Co-Directors of Student Activism Austin Riddick (COL ’20) and Hannah Levine (COL ’21), who organized the summit. “The vision was to provide students with the tools and inspiration to make their activism as effective as possible in whatever field they choose,” Riddick wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We looked for speakers mostly in the DMV area and tried to get representation in a wide range of issue areas and life experiences.” Not all students are informed or involved in activism; however, small actions of goodwill can correct that problem, Acosta said. “Activism can take shape in many ways, which means that you can do something seemingly small to change what is going on around us,” Acosta said. “Everything from cleaning up after yourself or noticing if someone needs a helping hand — there’s so many ways that we can make activism happen and be a reality for us.”
1st-Gen Students Need Greater Support, Jack Says ASHLEY ZHAO Hoya Staff Writer
Hong Kong Protests Demand Wary Journalism, Speaker Says SOPHIE HABER Hoya Staff Writer
As violence escalates in Hong Kong, newsrooms must make careful decisions about how they present the events of the protests, United States Bureau Chief for the South China Morning Post Robert Delaney said at a Nov. 18 event. The event titled “Perspective of Journalism in Hong Kong” was co-hosted by SCMP and the Hong Kong Student Association. At the event, Delaney reflected on the current status of reporting about the situation in Hong Kong. Protests began in the region this June in response to a bill proposed by the Hong Kong government that would permit the Chinese government to extradite criminal suspects from Hong Kong. The bill, introduced in February by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, was withdrawn Sept. 4. However, protesters have continued to demonstrate since the bill’s retraction, demanding Hong Kong’s government address issues of police brutality and increase democratic freedom. Violence surrounding the protests in Hong Kong has escalated recently, as protesters armed themselves with firebombs and bows and arrows against police in their demonstrations.
With the most recent phase of protests exhibiting the most violence yet, newsroom debates about how to characterize protesters have been prevalent, Delaney said. “Everyone who’s out on the street, whether they’re just walking quietly and peacefully towards Victoria Park and doing nothing more than showing up, are protesters,” Delaney said. “At the same time you have someone showing up and throwing a molotov cocktail at a police officer and it goes up in flames. If you read the coverage and look at the way we’re characterizing these different groups of protesters, you’ll see some differences.” In newsrooms, the ethics of whether to identify protesters is a contentious topic, according to Delaney. “That’s a discussion that causes a lot of handwringing and heartburn in the newsroom,” Delaney said. As unrest in Hong Kong continues, Delaney said that he cannot predict the future of the protest movement. He said he had expected the protests to settle as China and Hong Kong maintained business relations and underestimated social tensions. “I had this assumption that was a bit insulting, I now realize, that as long as Beijing allows business to continue as usual,
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Robert Delaney, U.S. Bureau chief for the South China Morning Post, spoke on the state of journalism in Hong Kong.
no one is going to get too upset in Hong Kong,” Delaney said. “Well, I was dead wrong. I didn’t understand and I didn’t anticipate the depth of feeling that is happening in Hong Kong.” After more than 150 years of British colonial rule, Hong Kong fell back under Chinese authority in 1997 and became a Special Administrative Region, functioning under a “one country, two systems” policy that allows the region a significant level of autonomy. The protested bill produced controversy over the functional autonomy of Hong Kong given the bill’s extradition allowances. Not enough people understand the significance of Hong Kong’s colonial past to the current government of China and to Chinese people, according to Delaney. “I think the depth of that concern and that sensitivity is missed on a lot of people in the U.S., and as much as we possibly can, we try to point that out,” Delaney said. “In the day-to-day reporting, it’s not really something that you can factor into every story.” Fifteen Georgetown students studying abroad in Hong Kong this semester were told to leave their programs last week following the uptick in political unrest in the city. Within the last week, the previously isolated demonstrations reached the universities Georgetown students were enrolled in, culminating in protesters setting a university building on fire. Delaney joined SCMP after nearly 20 years of experience working in journalism. Delaney spent 11 years as a correspondent in China for Dow Jones Newswires and Bloomberg covering economics before joining SCMP. Although journalists have a wide range of stances on the situation in Hong Kong, journalists must still be conscious they are presenting the news accurately, Delaney said. “I’m not going to lie; there are differences of opinions within the newsroom,” Delaney said. “At the end of the day we have to deliver a report that is going to be as objective as possible.”
While universities in the United States have made progress in admitting a more diverse student body, schools must better support low-income and first-generation students throughout their college experiences, assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Anthony Jack said at an event Thursday. The event, titled “A Conversation with Tony Jack,” was hosted by the Georgetown Scholars Program, a campus organization that provides support, advising, networking and mentoring to over 600 Georgetown undergraduates, most of whom are first-generation college students or come from lowincome family backgrounds. At the event, Jack discussed his first book, “The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students.” Despite the recent efforts of many selective universities to increase the diversity in their student bodies, the emphasis on admitting more low-income, first-generation students often does not translate into a greater effort to provide support to these students, according to Jack. “You can diversify a campus all you want,” Jack said. “We all know that just because you gain access doesn’t mean that you have access to the resources of that place.” Universities often only focus on improving overall admissions and graduation rates of lower-income students without paying attention to issues these students may be facing on a day-to-day basis, Jack said. “We only focus on who gets in and who gets out,” Jack said. “We never focus on the experience throughout college life, those overlooked moments between convocation and commencement.” In his book, Jack reflects on his own experience transitioning from a low-income, public school background to a selective, private high school and university. Based on his observations, he distinguishes between two different groups within the low-income college student population: the “doubly disadvantaged,” low-income students coming from public
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Tony Jack, a professor of education at Harvard University, highlighted the need for support for low-income students. schools, and the “privileged poor,” those who attended private or boarding schools. A large majority of the low-income students whom universities admit are part of the privileged poor, according to Jack. This tendency prevents universities from making practical progress in increasing opportunities in higher education for low-income college students, Jack said. “If you’re getting such a significant number of your lower-income students who also were taught by the Harkness method, who were taught by Ph.D.s in high school, who studied abroad in high school, you won’t feel the pressure to do as much work to incorporate, include them into the conversation, because you’re so used to people already doing that themselves,” Jack said. The Harkness method is a learning method primarily practiced in boarding schools involving students seated at a large, oval table to encourage free discussion with minimal teacher intervention. While the doubly disadvantaged and the privileged poor both experience the financial burden inherent to higher education, the privileged poor come to colleges better equipped because of their earlier exposure to the kinds of practices expected of college students, according to Jack. “When we talk about social class in higher education, it’s always one of two
things: tuition costs and how much money you have or social class in the form of cultural capital, like do you feel comfortable having certain conversations about where you can go for vacation and other things like that,” Jack said. Of the top 12 high schools that sent the most students to Georgetown in 2014, eight were boarding schools, and two were private schools. More recently, Georgetown ranked 12th on a 2017 New York Times study detailing income inequality at universities, with more students coming from the top 1%, defined as families with an annual income higher than $630,000, than students coming from the bottom 60%, defined as having an income less than $65,000. Universities must work towards gaining a greater understanding of the diverse backgrounds and hardships of low-income college students, according to Jack “That ignorance is hard to navigate because the people who often control the purse strings of the university have the least amount of contact with students and have the least knowledge of the kind of environment, home situations and experiences en route to college of what our students have,” Jack said. “And until we change that, until we actually understand the true profile of our student body, we will continue to fail our students in ways that we actually can help them.”
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Students, Faculty Urge GU To Work Student Petition Pushes Back To Return Liu Siblings to US On Call Your Mother Opposition JAIME MOORE-CARRILLO Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown University students and faculty deliberated over strategies and encouraged the university to attempt to accelerate the return of Victor Liu (COL ’21) and his sister, who are being prevented from leaving China, at a Nov. 17 event. Chinese authorities barred Liu and his sister, Cynthia Liu, from leaving China since June 2018 in an attempt to compel their estranged father, Liu Changming, to face criminal charges in Chinese court. Changming, who left China in 2007 and cut ties with his children and wife in 2012, is accused of facilitating a $1.4 billion fraud scheme during his tenure at a state-owned bank and is among one of China’s most wanted criminals. The siblings first traveled to China in June 2018 with their mother, Sandra Han, to visit their dying grandfather. Days after their arrival, the siblings lost contact with their mother, who was detained and sent to a secret holding facility. All three are U.S. citizens. The Lius’ case comes as the United States and China have engaged in a trade war, a geopolitical struggle that has made the Lius’ return increasingly difficult, according to Evan Medeiros, the Penner Family chair in asia studies in the School of Foreign Service and a Cling Family senior fellow in U.S.-China Relations. “What the Chinese are focused on is negotiating this big trade deal with the Trump administration, and, as a result, the situation of Victor and Cynthia is a chit that the Chinese are trying to figure out — what kind of leverage can they elicit from the United States,” Me-
deiros said at the discussion. The event, titled “Detained in China: One Year Later, What Can We Do?”, was organized by the Asian American Student Association. After a brief presentation by AASA leaders, Victor Liu’s personal friends offered anecdotes about Liu and called on the Georgetown administration to do more to facilitate his release. The university should increase publicity on the issue and reevaluate Georgetown’s relationship with China, according to Noor Darwish (MSB ’21), Liu’s freshman year roommate. “It’s been a year, and we haven’t gotten a statement from the president’s office about Victor’s situation, and that would really generate a lot of noise in the media and hopefully spur policymakers to do something,” Darwish said at the event. “We have 10 partners in China — different universities, different organizations. It would really be a big statement if we cut off those ties.” The university’s global engagement office has 29 partners in China, including The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies, a Jesuit educational center offering coursework and programing, and excursions to increase the world’s understanding of China; the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, an executive state agency; and the China Construction Bank, a major bank in China. Two university officials offered insights into the administration’s efforts to free the siblings. The university has met with senior U.S. government officials, including President Donald Trump and contacts in China, to help Liu and his family, according to Joe Ferrara, chief of staff to University President John J.
DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95). “We have engaged in constant advocacy for Victor and Cynthia and their family,” Ferrara said at the discussion. “The message we’re trying to send in all of this is that we look at Victor as a member of the Georgetown community, and the most important thing we do every day is to try and protect the safety and security of the Georgetown community.” Ferrara has been in routine communication with Liu since June 2018, he said. Government officials familiar with the case, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have advocated for the siblings’ release with little success, according to Medeiros. “The U.S. has raised this multiple times at very, very high levels, and the Chinese response, to my understanding, is sort of some equivalent of, ‘How much is it worth to you?’” Medeiros said. Liu, who would have begun his junior year this semester, studied classics and economics his freshman year and was deeply involved in Hilltop Consultants and the Georgetown University Student Investment Fund on campus. The Georgetown University Student Association executive called on China to immediately release the siblings and advocated for the U.S. government to work to return Victor and Cynthia Liu in a Nov. 14 statement. “The Georgetown University Student Association considers the wrongful detainment of Victor and Cynthia Liu an attack on our community,” the statement said. “We are committed to continue advocating for our international humanitarian rights on behalf of all of our individual members.”
Copley Crypt Chapel Renovated, Reopens After Year and a Half YALDA ZARRABI Special to The Hoya
The renovated Copley Crypt Chapel of the North American Martyrs and the St. William Chapel, located in Copley Hall, reopened Nov. 18 after being closed since March 2018. The Copley Crypt Chapel is in the Copley Hall basement and St. William Chapel is located above it on the first floor. The renovations to Copley Crypt Chapel and St. William Chapel were completed in two phases: the first being exterior renovations, followed by interior upgrades. Renovations for both chapels included reconfiguring mobility ramps and restoring windows, flooring, stained glass and roofing, according to a university spokesperson. Improvements to fire hazard protection, electrical work and security were also added to the chapels. Copley Crypt Chapel, which can only be entered through the back of Copley Hall, will be open for Orthodox Christian liturgical services and weekly Catholic mass Monday through Thursday at 10 p.m. The St. William Chapel is used for Protestant services and related activities. Both chapels were last renovated in 1995. St. William Chapel, which can be used for Protestant weddings, has 125 chairs. Copley Crypt Chapel has seating for 65 people and is too small for weddings. However, baptisms may be held there, according to a university spokesperson. Renovating the chapels ensured that both spaces will continue to be used for prayer ser-
vices and activities, according to a university spokesperson. “This project was critical to assure that both chapel spaces remain viable worship and gathering venues, and prevent further degradation of the building envelope and interior finishes,” a university spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Hoya. Copley Crypt Chapel was established in 1932 in honor of eight Jesuit missionaries from France who were killed in the mid-seventeenth century, according to a university spokesperson. The stained glass windows in the chapel are dedicated to the eight murdered Jesuit missionaries. The chapel is decorated with iconography typical to both Catholic and Orthodox Christian religious worship. Copley Crypt Chapel was originally used for the wakes of Jesuits before their burial in the Jesuit Cemetery, located below the entrance to the Copley Crypt Chapel. Knights of Columbus at Georgetown University used Copley Crypt Chapel for meetings and activities in the past, according to Knights of Columbus member Paul Keh (SFS ’20). The sense of unity that meetings in the chapel fostered helped create a close knit student community, according to Keh. “When I first came to Georgetown, I was very unsure of where I was,” Kuh said. “But the one thing that was constant for me was the fact that within sacred places there was always a place to be quiet and to recognize there was something big-
ger than me. So this particular place, Copley Crypt, means a lot to me.” The completed renovations to Copley Crypt Chapel come after the Oct. 25 announcement of the spring 2020 establishment of a multi-Dharmic worship space and the opening of the new Georgetown University Masjid, a Muslim prayer space, on Aug. 30. Dahlgren Chapel, the primary space for Catholic services, was renovated in 2012. The chapel renovations have kept important original structural elements while improving on necessary areas, according to Keh. “All the important parts remained exactly the same, the altars are the same, the cross is the same, the arrangement of the chairs is the same, and all the parts that could have been improved, were improved,” Keh said. “I’m very pleased with what they’ve done. I’m just really grateful.” The renovated Copley Crypt Chapel is an inclusive space where students can gather together and take time to pray and reflect, according to Director for Catholic Life and Campus Liturgist Jim Wickman. “My hope is that Copley Crypt Chapel will be a place on campus where any and all students find a home,” Wickman wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It is a beautiful and simple space, where one can enter, sit — even if just for a few minutes — and feel the quiet and peace. It is a place where one can pray, meditate, reflect, and feel centered once again.”
MICHAEL HOWARTH FOR THE HOYA
Copley Crypt Chapel, which can be entered through the back of Copley Hall, was originally used for the wakes of Jesuits before their burial in Georgetown’s Jesuit Cemetery.
ANNA FERRAZZI Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown University students launched a petition Nov. 14 supporting the opening of Call Your Mother Deli after local politicians called for the Board of Zoning Adjustment to deny the popular bagel deli’s pending zoning application. The petition protesting the delay of Call Your Mother’s opening has 456 signatures from students and community members at the time of publication. The BZA postponed a decision Oct. 30 about whether or not to permit the restaurant to open at the corner of 35th and O Streets to Dec. 4. To be allowed to open in the iconic pink building at 3428 O St. NW, formerly Greenworks Florist, Call Your Mother needs a zoning variance, an exception to the space’s current designation for retail. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E passed a resolution supporting the variance 6-2 on Oct. 2. Washington, D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and ANC 2E Commissioner and Chair Rick Murphy dissented and wrote letters to BZA opposing the exception Oct. 17 and Oct. 22, respectively, before the BZA deferred its decision. Call Your Mother has its first location in Petworth and a stand at the Georgetown University Farmers’ Market. The prospect of the trendy deli, recently listed on Bon Appetit’s top 50 nominees for best new restaurants nationwide, having a brick-andmortar location in the neighborhood excites students, according to Christian Mandrakos (MSB ’20), who started the petition. “Like many other students, we were looking forward to the restaurant’s opening, having tried their food before at the Farmers’ Market,” Mandrakos wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Many of us viewed it as an affordable, high-quality food alternative with a convenient location.” Mandrakos said the news about the deli’s opposition gave rise to the idea, and his friend Esther Doerr (MSB ’20) suggested he start a petition to share the perspective of Georgetown students. Evans cited concerns about the increased traffic Call Your Mother could bring to the neighborhood, from frequent truck deliveries and customers driving to the location, in his Oct. 17 letter. “All of this would affect the quality of life for these resi-
KASSIDY ANGELO FOR THE HOYA
Local politicians have called for the Board of Zoning Adjustment to deny the bagel deli’s pending zoning application. dents,” Evans wrote. The Georgetown neighborhood already accommodates long lines at popular restaurants without a problem, according to Call Your Mother owner Andrew Dana. “Well, I don’t know what the detriment to the neighborhood of there being a line is. Even the Georgetown Cupcake line is a very calm line, so I would push back on Jack Evans’ comments and say I don’t know what the negative impact is there,” Dana said in an interview with The Hoya. “We truly do just want to be a neighborhood-based restaurant.” Dana ultimately wants to open several Call Your Mother locations that will cater to their individual neighborhoods. “We’re not on TV like Georgetown Cupcakes or anything like that, we just want to be a part of the community, and I also think the fact that we have another location in Parkview and plans to open another one in Capitol Hill shows that our future vision is to truly be neighborhood-based and not to be drawing people in from other neighborhoods,” he said. The Dec. 4 hearing is an opportunity for Call Your Mother to demonstrate its value to the surrounding neighborhood, Dana said. “We’re trying to stay optimistic that, on Dec. 4, they will give us approval, and if they give us approval Dec. 4, we’ll be ready to open a couple days after that,” he said. “We’re continuing to show that we’re good neighbors and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure it’s smooth and there’s no issues.” A bagel at Call Your Mother starts at $2.50, and the deli offers sandwiches like challah sub roll cheesesteak concepts. It fills the need for more affordable breakfast and lunch options close to
campus, according to signatory Katherine Evanko (MSB ’20), who lives on 35th Street. “Saxby’s bagels are very gross,” she wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We need good bagels and inexpensive breakfast options in the neighborhood.” Cheap and fast off-campus dining options are limited in the Georgetown neighborhood. Currently, Wisemiller’s Grocery and Deli and Saxby’s are the only counter service breakfast or lunch spots within three blocks of campus. They accept GOCard debit dollars, and Dana has said he will look into accepting GOCard at Call Your Mother, too. Call Your Mother would be both convenient and affordable for students, according to Rachel Staats (COL ’20). “As a student living one block away, I think [Call Your Mother] would be a great way to address the lack of affordable food options in the area. Any resident who is against their opening must not have tried their za’atar bagel,” she wrote in an email to The Hoya. Staats also commented on the online petition: “yes!! give me za’atar bagel or give me death.” The petition is a welcome show of neighborhood support in the face of opposition that would otherwise be disheartening, according to Dana. “Georgetown students are just as much a part of the neighborhood as somebody who lives in a house there and has, you know, been a resident, so I think it’s important that the Georgetown students’ voices are heard and this just shows us that most of the neighborhood does support us and is into it,” he said. “It just really motivates us in this slog of trying to open. It’s easy to get frustrated, and seeing stuff like this really gets us motivated.”
GradGov Drafts Proposal Calling For Subsidized Metro Pass Program HANSEN LIAN Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown University Graduate Student Government has begun drafting a proposal to implement a subsidized metro pass system for full-time graduate students to increase financial accessibility to transportation. The draft proposal from GradGov requests that the university participate in the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority’s University Pass program, which provides unlimited riding privileges to District-area students at a discounted price through a transportation card. The cost of the U-Pass for students would be reflected in a calculated rise in tuition of $130 a semester for full-time graduate students based on the value of the card, according to the draft proposal. The cost of the U-Pass for students is $1 per day, which is less than the $2 one-way Metrobus fare. GradGov plans to submit a formal proposal to the Georgetown administration by Feb. 1. Following the submission, the group hopes to come to an agreement with the university that the school will implement the program should it be approved in a student referendum. Should an agreement be reached, the program and the associated mandatory tuition increase will then be voted on in the student referendum, which GradGov hopes to hold in the spring with the intention of starting the program by the fall 2020 semester, according to Lewis May, a second-year graduate student in the School of Foreign Service and president of GradGov. Implementing the U-Pass program will make transportation more affordable for the many students commuting to campus, according to May.
“It’s insane to me that there’s no subsidized public transport at a university where you can’t drive to campus during the day and all graduate students live off campus,” May said. “I feel like transport and having free transport is like one of the most slam dunk ways that you can ensure equitable access to campus.” While the university provides free Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle buses to some areas of the city, GUTS buses only run on five routes and operate only on weekdays and a limited basis on Saturdays, according to the university transportation website. Transportation options are limited for students who live and work in different parts of the city, according to Henry Watson, a first-year PhD student in the department of government and advocacy director of GradGov. “While the GUTS bus is an absolutely invaluable resource which is of great value to many students, it does not (and cannot) connect Georgetown University to the entire city,” Watson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Travelling into the city is mandatory for many graduate students who must take on unpaid internships as part of their academic programs.” While the program comes with a mandatory tuition increase, the initiative would still benefit students because the cost of the U-Pass is less than the current cost of transportation for students, according to Watson. “The costs of transportation may seem low, but they are important to graduate students living on tight budgets,” Watson wrote. “The $1/day fee structure represents a cost savings even to light users of the transit system.” The current proposal is directed at obtaining the U-Pass pro-
gram for graduate and law students only. However, GradGov hopes to eventually bring the U-Pass program to undergraduate students as well, according to May. In addition to making traveling around the District more affordable, a U-Pass system at Georgetown would support a more environmentally sustainable transportation method, Watson wrote. “Providing free access to public transportation will take cars off the road,” Watson wrote. “This not only helps to reduce traffic in and out of Georgetown University, it promotes environmental sustainability and reduces emissions.” The U-Pass program has already been put into place at several universities in the Washington, D.C. area, including Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College, the Washington College of Law and American University. AU adopted the UPass program in the fall of 2016 following a successful student referendum. The program provided AU students with over 1.5 million Metro rides in the first year of its implementation, according to the WMATA website. Georgetown should follow AU’s lead in making transportation more financially accessible for graduate students, according to Watson, who completed his master’s degree at AU last year. “The cost of transportation creates a discouragement for myself and other students to explore parks and museums, attend special events, partake in community service, and fully take advantage of the experiential learning opportunities off campus,” Watson wrote. “American University has opened up the region to its students through U-Pass, but Georgetown has yet to follow suit.”
NEWS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
THE HOYA
A9
DPR Takes Control of Duke Gelardin Media Equipment Ellington Field Maintenance Relocating to Lau 3rd Floor SARAH DONOFRIO Hoya Staff Writer
District of Columbia Public Schools is transferring the care and maintenance of Duke Ellington Field to the Department of Parks and Recreation, according to a Nov. 21 email from DPR Chief of External Affairs Tommie Jones obtained by The Hoya. In the midst of ongoing questions about the lack of public recreation space in Northwest Washington, D.C., DPR will hold a community meeting Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Georgetown Church at 3240 O St. NW to gauge the community’s needs for Ellington Field, according to Jones. The meeting will discuss the transfer process and answer questions, Jones wrote in the email to the Parent Teacher Organizations of Hardy Middle School, School Without Walls High School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Ellington Field’s transfer allows DPR to expand its use, especially for local schools, according to a Nov. 14 email from DPR Director Delano Hunter to Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E obtained by The Hoya. “The activation of the Ellington Field will result in increased community access to this facility for their neighborhood recreational needs while simultaneously providing local schools, such as Duke Ellington School for the Aris, Hardy Middle School, and School Without Walls, with a location to host after-school athletic activities,” Hunter wrote. The transfer of the field, which is located on Reservoir Road between 38th and 39th streets, was first announced at a July meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, which represents Georgetown, Hillandale and Burleith,
according to The Northwest Courier. Commissioners and community members expressed frustration at the lack of transparency in the process at the time, having first learned of the transfer during the meeting. There are few public recreation fields in Northwest D.C. Jelleff Field, across the street from Hardy Middle School, has been the subject of controversy since August after DPR extended a 2009 contract granting the Maret School near-exclusive access to the field. Hardy Middle School does not have access to Jelleff’s field during prime after school hours due to the DPR deal with Maret, a private school in Ward 3. In exchange for field access, Maret will provide continued funding for field improvements and maintenance. The deal prompted outcry from local parents who argue that access to the public field should not be restricted. Hunter was expected to testify at an Oct. 21 hearing on the Jelleff Field contract that creating a field at Duke Ellington would be a potential solution to the lack of space, according to The Washington Post. Adjoining Jelleff Field is the Jelleff Recreation Center, which some community members say also requires changes to meet neighborhood needs. Renovations to the Jelleff Rec Center building are planned and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has budgeted $7 million as of fiscal year 2020, intended to bring Jelleff’s Rec Center into compliance with the American Disabilities Act. Renovations to Jelleff’s aging rec center are long overdue, according to Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E Commissioner Kishan Putta. “There is not a single thing you can do in the building
without climbing or descending stairs, it’s the least accessible building I’ve ever seen,” he said in an interview with The Hoya. “It’s old, its inaccessible and it’s crying out for renovation and revitalization.” However, there is concern on whether or not the budgeted funding would be enough. The city will not approve the next budget until June 2020, so no further money has been budgeted yet, according to Martin Welles (LAW ’09), vice president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Hardy Middle School. “This is enough for refurbishment but not a full-scale renovation,” he wrote in an email to The Hoya. Welles emphasized that the budgeting process should take into account the neighborhood’s specific needs for Jelleff. “There’s a tremendous need for an indoor swimming pool that can serve competition swim teams and recreation,” he said in an interview with The Hoya. “Comprehensive planning needs to occur for the needs of the community.” Over 400 local residents responded to a survey conducted by ANC 2E that gauged the community’s needs. The new recreation center will be developed and designed according to the community’s feedback, according to ANC 2E Commissioner Elizabeth Miller. “It was clear from the survey that we should be thinking more broadly about exercise, fitness, and community programming as a way to serve the most residents and make Jelleff as vibrant as possible,” she wrote in an email the The Hoya. “I look forward to a robust community engagement process on the renovation and how to make Jelleff Recreation Center the heartbeat of Georgetown and Burleith.”
Evans Recall Vote Campaign Gains Traction Across Ward 2 MOIRA RITTER Hoya Staff Writer
A group leading the push for Washington, D.C., to hold a recall election for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans (D) submitted 5,588 signatures in favor to the Board of Elections on Nov. 18. Ward 2 Citizens Recall is a group of local residents campaigning for a special recall election that would ask Ward 2 voters whether or not to remove Evans from office, following numerous ethics complaints against the councilmember. The Board of Elections has 30 days to trigger a special election if it verifies that the petition was signed by 10% of registered Ward 2 voters. The petition needed 4,949 votes, according to the Oct. 15 voter registration total, and it exceeded this threshold. Ward 2 Citizens Recall described the reasons for its petition in a recall statement submitted to the Board of Elections April 12, citing the ongoing federal investigation into Evans’ numerous ethics violations, and began its petition campaign May 18. Nine of Evans’ 12 fellow councilmembers have called for his resignation after a third-party law firm released a report Nov. 4 detailing 11 ethics violations by Evans since 2014. “While Councilmember Jack Evans has been asked to resign by most of his colleagues on the DC Council, it will be his constituents who have the final say,” Recall Campaign Chairman Adam Eidinger said in a Nov. 18 news release. The law firm O’Melveny and Myers independently investigated Evans on behalf of the council. Evans has been accused of corruption, specifically by using his council position to benefit the interests of clients of his consulting company since the spring of 2018. Six in 10 D.C. residents believe Evans should resign, according to a poll by The Washington Post. If voters remove Evans from office, he would be the first member of D.C. Council to be removed since the passage of the Home Rule Act in 1973. Some Ward 2 constituents expressed opposition to Ev-
ans’ removal in a Nov. 19 letter on behalf of Evans entitled “The Jack We Know.” The over 20 Ward 2 signatories urge the D.C. Council not to remove Evans from office, claiming that doing so would rob residents of their elected voice, according to the letter. “What runs throughout Jack’s long service as a Councilmember is his commitment to the residents of Ward 2 and, indeed, the District of Columbia, whether responding to their needs and requests or foreseeing structural ways to create the environment for a vibrant economy serving the public good,” they wrote. Six Democrats are running to replace Evans, who has not yet declared a run for reelection. The candidates are Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Patrick Kennedy, Kishan Putta and John Fanning; former Obama administration staffer Jordan Grossman; and political newcomers Daniel Hernandez, a former Marine, and Yilin Zhang, who is active in the League of Women Voters D.C. statehood campaign. Putta and Zhang worked over last weekend to help collect signatures in support of the petition, according to Ward 2 Citizens Recall. Grossman and Putta are among those who signed the petition. A recall vote is far overdue, according to Grossman. “I signed the recall petition because it’s long past time for Jack Evans to be removed from office. Ward 2 deserves a councilmember focused on fighting for a more equitable and inclusive city, not selling his office to paying clients,” Grossman wrote, who plans to run in the special election if Evans is recalled. Evans’ violations should not be excused, according to Putta, who said that he decided to give his support to the recall effort following the release of the D.C. Council report. Putta joined petition gatherers at the Wisconsin Avenue Safeway and collected several signatures in support of the recall, he said. “I agree fully that this is wrong and we deserve better. So after council report came out, I decided to join the recall effort in the last approximately two weeks,”
Putta said. Ward 2 Democratic candidates Jordan Grossman and Kishan Putta received endorsements this week as the race for the seat grows more complex. Grossman received an endorsement from Jews United for Justice Campaign Fund, a campaign fund that helps educate D.C.’s Jewish community about local elections, Nov. 13. D.C. for Democracy, a progressive grassroots organization that seeks to educate D.C. residents about campaigns, also held a meeting Nov. 14 to vote on their endorsement for the Ward 2 campaign. While Grossman received the majority vote, 54%, he did not meet the threshold necessary for endorsement, DC4D Operations Director Kesh Ladduwahetty explained. DC4D requires a vote of 67% support to give an endorsement. “We have left open the possibility of another vote in the future,” Ladduwahetty wrote in an email to The Hoya. The endorsement from JUFJ and the support from DC4D are critical developments in the campaign, according to Grossman. “Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) Campaign Fund and DC for Democracy members have made clear that our campaign to represent Ward 2 on the DC Council is the most progressive and the cleanest break from Jack Evans and his corrupt machine,” Grossman wrote in an email to The Hoya. Putta, a commissioner on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, received an endorsement from former U.S. Surgeon General and Ward 2 resident Vivek Murthy on Nov. 14. Murthy served as former President Barack Obama’s surgeon general but was asked to resign by President Donald Trump in 2017. Murthy’s endorsement validates the work he has done to campaign in the neighborhood, according to Putta. “I have admired him for years, and it was a great honor, and we are very proud of it,” Putta said in an interview with The Hoya. “We believe, as he said, this is a validation of my hard work over the years to improve our city and our ward.”
GRACE BUONO Hoya Staff Writer
Lauinger Library’s media equipment, currently located in the Gelardin New Media Center on the first floor of Lau, will relocate to the third-floor circulation desk in January 2020 to centralize the library’s resources and make the equipment more accessible, the library announced Nov. 14. Faculty, students and staff can rent electronic equipment including cameras, audio recorders, Chromebooks and iPads from Gelardin. Georgetown community members checked out the media equipment a total of 19,500 times between July 2018 and June 2019, according to Beth Marhanka, head of Gelardin and the Maker Hub. Gelardin, which first opened in 2001, serves as the main resource for university members to use multimedia resources. Gelardin staff members are trained to help users choose equipment for various digital media projects and provide services like individual project consultations and workshops. The equipment’s move to the third-floor circulation desk will streamline the process of utilizing resources for the campus community, Marhanka wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The goal of moving the circulation of media equipment to the 3rd floor is to improve our users’ experience by enabling them to check out all Library items from a single circulation point on the entry-level and allowing patrons to access media equipment checkouts/returns for an additional 30 hours per week,” Marhanka wrote. As a result of the move to the circulation desk, the media equipment will now be managed by the access services department of the library instead of Gelardin’s staff, according to Marhanka. The department manages material circulation like borrowing books within Georgetown University and the Washington Research Library Consortium, a partnership between nine universities in the Washington, D.C. area to improve students’ access to resources. Lau is training circulation desk staff to ensure they will be able to consult access services employees about the media equipment once the move happens, according to the library’s announcement regarding the move. “Library staff members are currently training across departments in order to provide
the best support possible for this change,” the library wrote in the Nov. 14 announcement. “Gelardin staff will continue to be available for instruction and consultation on the media equipment.” Gelardin is open 66.5 hours per week, while the circulation desk is open 99.5 hours per week, according to the library’s fall 2019 schedule. The relocation will free up members of the Gelardin media team to focus on helping students with media production using specialized software like Adobe Creative Suite and on expanding virtual reality programs in the center, according to Marhanka. “We have several VR systems you can use to explore immersive apps where you can paint on a 360-degree canvas, travel anywhere in the world and feel like you are really in that location, or even experience the impact of climate change on the ocean floor,” Marhanka wrote. “Our whole philosophy is that when you give powerful tools to creative, smart people, the possibilities are endless.” After using Gelardin’s services for personal projects, Marlee Turner (NHS ’20) began working at Gelardin’s firstfloor equipment desk this semester to be a resource for others, she said. “Personally I had started working here because I really liked the Gelardin New Media
Center,” Turner said in an interview with The Hoya. “I liked to come down here and have these people here as a resource for using the equipment.” While library staff in Gelardin began planning for the equipment’s move last summer, Turner said she was unsure why the library was proceeding with the move. Gelardin’s technology loan system has not been integrated into the circulation desk in the past because the center involves specialized equipment, according to Turner. “I think it’s separate because these people really know how to use the equipment and they specialize in it,” Turner said. “When it’s upstairs it will be combined with normal library and I think it will be a harder transition. It’s kind of missing out a good part of the first floor because these people are here and they will help you and it’s kind of just like a creative space.” The Gelardin team is devoting time to training staff rather than making final decisions about how to use the vacated space, according to Marhanka. “We’re still discussing what to do with the space being vacated when the equipment goes upstairs,” Marhanka wrote. “During the Spring 2020 semester we’ll be looking into all the options. Right now our focus is on training our student employees and making sure our users know about the upcoming changes.”
GELARDIN MEDIA CENTER/FACEBOOK
Media equipment currently located in the Gelardin New Media Center on Lau 1 will be relocated to the circulation desk on Lau 3 in January 2020.
Environmental Injustice Tied To Disability, Racism, Speaker Says ELIZABETH BRENNEMAN Special to The Hoya
Environmental injustice and disasters are linked to issues surrounding disability, poverty and racism, University of Alabama social and cultural studies professor Nirmala Erevelles said at an event Nov. 13. The event “Disability, Eco(in) justice and Transnational Solidarity,” was sponsored by the disability studies program, the South Asian Society and Rangila, an annual, student-run philanthropic showcase of South Asian dance. Erevelles focused on how ecological injustice creates barriers for marginalized groups, citing environmental crises in Bhopal, India and Flint, Mich. An act of negligence led to a gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal in 1984 that exposed 600,000 residents to 30 tons of toxic and poisonous gas. The pesticide plant accident, caused by water entering a tank of toxic methyl isocyanate, caused the deaths of between 3,800 to 16,000 residents, according to The Atlantic. The pesticide plant accident disproportionately affected impoverished citizens in Bhopal who were forced to live in affordable housing made cheaper by its proximity to the plant, according to Erevelles. “Because Bhopal in India was promising jobs, there were a lot of people who migrated from the rural areas into the city and because they couldn’t afford housing in the big city, they built these little shantytowns across from the plant,” Erevelles said. “On the day when the gases escaped from the plant, people were dying in the space
because many of them lived outside.” The incident in Bhopal demonstrates how social and historical context in environmental crises can cause marginalized community members to become disabled, according to Erevelles. “Where here you don’t get just born with a disability, you could become disabled within certain violent historical, social and political conditions,” Erevelles said. “You’re not just born disabled, you can become disabled because of this kind of environmental injustice.” The water crisis in Flint, Mich. parallels the situation in Bhopal, India, according to Erevelles. In 2014, the city of Flint switched its municipal water source to a pipeline connected to the Flint River in order to cut costs for the town. After the pipeline switch, residents reported changes in water color and smell. In 2015, the water in Flint was tested and found to contain dangerous levels of lead, among other possible contaminants. Governmental negligence in addressing the Flint water crisis in a timely manner has led to numerous negative health outcomes, according to Erevelles. “It can cause health problems, it can decrease bone and muscle growth, poor muscle coordination, damage to the nervous system, kidneys or hearing, speech and language problems, developmental delays, seizures and unconsciousness in cases of extremely high lead levels and behavioral challenges,” Erevelles said. The Flint water crisis has been unresolved for four years, leading to criticism of the government’s slow response. Reluctance to aid the people of
Flint, nearly half of whom are black, is largely because of a lack of value placed on black lives, according to Erevelles. “Vulnerable bodies are devalued,” Erevelles said. “An invulnerable body, we presume, produces profit. A vulnerable body sucks profit from spaces.” To address conversation surrounding disabilities on campus, Georgetown University approved the disability studies minor in 2017, after three years of advocacy by the Disability Studies Minor Working Group. The minor focuses on the intersectionality between disability, philosophy and women’s and gender studies, among other disciplines. Georgetown can better understand the connection between disability and environmental injustice through collaborations between the disability studies program and sustainability student organizations, according to event attendee and disability studies professor Libbie Rifkin. “I think that, among other things, there should be more collaboration between disability studies and climate justice initiatives on campus,” Rifkin said in an interview with The Hoya. “There’s great work to be done and I know a lot of students are really interested in climate change. I think it’s important to bring disability into the conversation.” Providing equitable access to education to marginalized and impoverished communities is crucial in improving accessibility, according to Erevelles. “Education should be a space where people are nurtured to be the best they can be on their terms, not on standards,” Erevelles said.
A10
SPORTS
THE HOYA
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
WOMEN’S SOCCER
FOOTBALL
WVU Notches 2 Early Goals Hoyas Fall Apart in 20-17 To End Georgetown’s Season Loss to Bucknell on Road RACHEL GAUDREAU Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown took to the pitch on Saturday afternoon in their eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament to challenge West Virginia, ultimately falling in the home match by a final score of 2-0. With home-field advantage and a 3-0 victory over the Mountaineers (11-7-2, 5-3-1 Big 12) earlier this season on Sep. 15, the No. 25 Hoyas (13-5-3, 6-1-2 Big East) began the game with immediate pressure in an attempt to secure an early lead. The Blue and Gray tallied both a corner kick and shot within the first minute of play, threatening the Mountaineers’ back line after senior forward Casey Richards sent a ball well downfield for some very early pressure. Despite these offensive efforts, West Virginia struck first in the match with a goal in the 13th minute. Mountaineer defender Jordan Brewster made a run down the field to start the play, dribbling past and drawing in several Georgetown defenders before connecting with midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel, who slotted the ball through to forward Alina Stahl. Stahl received the ball in front of the goal, drawing freshman goalkeeper Anna Leat off her line and prompting chaos in the box, with Stahl eventually poking the ball into the back of the net from the ground. The goal shifted momentum in the match, with the Hoyas finding themselves down 1-0 just 13 minutes into the match. In response, the Blue and Gray offense continued its attack, primarily playing down the right side of the field with balls fed into junior forward Jenna Menta and sophomore defender Jenna Royson. The Hoyas generated many opportunities in the following minutes, tallying six shots while holding the Mountaineers to one in the 20 minutes after the West Virginia goal. Georgetown’s best chance arose in the 27th minute on a cross from Richards that found graduate forward Amanda Carolan open on the
right side of the box. Carolan took a one-time hit on the ball but forced it wide of the net, unable to direct it on frame. In the 40th minute, West Virginia put away a second goal, once again off of Stahl’s foot. The forward received the ball in the box, held off the Georgetown defense to turn toward goal and powered a shot inside the right post past a diving attempt by Leat. The goal gave the Mountaineers a comfortable lead for the remainder of the half, sending the Hoyas, who had dominated possession during the first 45 minutes of play, into the locker room with a two-goal deficit. Earlier this season, the Hoyas similarly found themselves in a multiple-goal deficit in their match against Creighton, eventually fighting their way back to finish the game in a 2-2 draw. The Blue and Gray looked to force a similar result in their matchup with West Virginia. With their season on the line at the start of the second half, Georgetown pressured the West Virginia defense from the whistle. In the 50th minute, Leat came up with a big save to keep the Hoyas in the match as she charged off her line to shut down another scoring attempt by Stahl. The Hoyas responded with several chances of their own, including a first-time shot rocketed from outside the box in the 56th minute by senior midfielder Carson Nizialek and a shot from senior forward Paula GerminoWatnick on a cross in the box that ultimately went wide of the net in the 57th minute. Georgetown maintained pressure, forcing West Virginia to scramble to make clearances on a consistent basis throughout the second half. West Virginia goalkeeper Rylee Foster held down the Mountaineers’ defense, making two crucial saves in the second half to prevent the Hoyas from pulling within one. In the 79th minute, Georgetown executed one of its most dangerous plays of the game as a corner kick by Germino-Watnick found the head of Carolan, who directed it on frame. Foster pushed the ball away at the last second to deny Carolan a goal. The play gave the Hoyas anoth-
er corner, this time taken by Richards. Freshman midfielder Julia Leas received the corner from Richards in the air and headed the ball on frame for yet another shot attempt by the Hoyas. Leas’ shot was ultimately rejected by Foster as she just got a glove on the shot to deflect the ball away. The Blue and Gray offense would tally four more shots before the end of regulation but ultimately found itself unable to capitalize as it fell by a final score of 2-0. In the game, the Georgetown offense found itself plagued by offsides calls, recording five infractions to West Virginia’s one. Despite efforts to play balls through to awaiting forwards, the Hoyas could not find the right timing. On the day, Georgetown outshot West Virginia 19-8 and had a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks. Georgetown ends its 2019 season with 13 wins and a No. 25 ranking in the nation. The Hoyas finished the season with numerous league recognitions, including Germino-Watnick’s title of the Big East midfielder of the year and senior defender Meaghan Nally’s title of Big East defensive player of the Year. With the conclusion of the season, Georgetown loses six seniors, including Nally, Germino-Watnick and leading scorer Carolan. Head Coach Dave Nolan expressed his appreciation for the senior class and their contributions to the program over the past four years in an interview with GUHoyas. “It's a tough pill to swallow for the team, especially for the seniors. They have to think back to the last four years and the careers that they had at Georgetown,” Nolan said. “If making the NCAA tournament every year and getting to the Big East final every year is failure, then that is an incredibly high-level failure.” After a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament and a second-place finish in the Big East championship this season, the Hoyas now look to the upcoming 2020 season with hopes to rebuild, once again secure the title of Big East champions and earn another appearance in the NCAA tournament.
KELTON MILLER Hoya Staff Writer
After a fourth quarter comeback by the Bucknell Bison, the Georgetown football team suffered a 17-20 defeat Saturday, Nov. 16, in Lewisburg, Pa. Georgetown freshman running back Joshua Stakely, rushed for a career-high 139 yards on 28 carries. This tally included a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Gunther Johnson passed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 14-24 passing, while junior quarterback Joseph Brunell threw 6-10 for 81 yards. Georgetown's first touchdown came with five minutes left in the first quarter off of a 3-yard pass from Johnson to sophomore wide receiver Joshua Tomas, who had 83 yards on the day and led the Hoyas in receiving. This play capped off a six-play, 39-yard drive that lasted two minutes and 23 seconds. Off of this play, Georgetown successfully executed an onside kick directly following their opening touchdown. Senior kicker Brad Hurst kicked off for just 12 yards before recovering the ball himself off of an opportune bounce. The Hoyas fumbled just three plays into their extra possession, however, losing whatever momentum they had built. Junior running back Jackson Saffold fumbled after a 3-yard loss and the ball was scooped up by Bucknell freshman cornerback Gavin Pringle, who returned the ball 55 yards for a touchdown. The Bucknell extra point was blocked by sophomore defensive end Quincy Chinwuko, ending the first
GRACE COHN
Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown men’s crosscountry team placed second out of 25 teams as the women placed third out of 31 teams last weekend at the NCAA regional championships in Bethlehem, Pa. Both teams overcame cold weather to advance to very strong finishes. Although the men's team's streak of four consecutive Big East championships came to an end two weeks prior at the hands of Villanova University, it showed up ready to compete in the Mid-Atlantic regionals. It was once again bested by Villanova in the 10-kilometer race, with Villanova running an average time of 30:12 and Georgetown running an average of 30:27. Upperclassmen showed strong leadership and strong finishes on the team. Fifth-year student Nick Wareham ran a career-best time of 30:03, managed to place fifth overall and finished first for the Hoyas. Only eight seconds behind Wareham was graduate student Spencer Brown, who finished eighth overall. The Hoyas also claimed the 11th, 18th, 25th, 26th and 23rd spots overall to conclude the meet with 67 points, 30 back from first place Villanova with its dominant 37-point performance. Senior Matthew Bouthillette and sophomore Rusty Kujdych finished exactly two seconds apart. This finish was good enough to automatically qualify the team for a nationals bid, for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Head Coach Brandon Bonsey was extremely proud of his runners, especially for qualifying for NCAA championships. “I am beyond excited for the men to automatically qualify for the NCAA championships next week. All seven men ran tough team races. I was especially proud of our upperclassmen,” Bonseh said. “Nick Wareham, Spencer Brown, Jack Van Scoter and Matthew Bouthillette led us today. Those guys experienced
the pain of the last two years not qualifying and made sure that wouldn’t be the case today. They raced hard and for each other.” The women’s team showed a strong third place finish in the regionals, behind Penn State and Villanova. With an average time of 20:40, it was only six seconds on average behind the first place team, but placed in third with 46 points, 18 behind the second place team. First for the Hoyas was graduate student Madeline Perez with a 20:22 finish, placing fifth overall for the race. Sophomore Sami Corman finished 10th overall, 12 seconds behind Perez at 20:34. The next four finishes also came exclusively from the Class of 2022, with Alyssa Aldridge finishing at 18th, Baylee Jones at 23rd, Katherine Modrall at 35th and Margie Cullen at 40th. Senior Meg Mathison also raced and placed 46th, eight seconds behind Cullen. With their strong finishes, Corman and Perez were able to garner bids to compete at nationals individually. Unfortunately,
they were not able to garner an automatic or at-large bid to nationals. An automatic bid would have required a victory in this meet, while at-large bids are chosen by the NCAA for season-long performances as a team. Head Coach Julie Cully was proud of the team, despite the disappointment of falling short of nationals. “The women ran the best race of our 2019 season today, and although narrowly missing the NCAA final is a disappointment, we are thrilled with Madeline and Sami’s performance finishing fifth and 10th, while nabbing two of the four automatic individual spots for the NCAA final,” Culley said. “We took a huge step as a program today and with one sixth year and the next four individual finishes being from the sophomore class, the future is bright for the Hoyas.” While the season is over for the women’s team, the men’s team will be on the course again in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 23, in the national championships.
GUHOYAS
Senior runner Jack Van Scoter placed 11th at the NCAA Regionals last weekend, recording a strong time of 30:27.1.
for the Hoyas. They started the quarter at third and 11 on their own 38-yard line. In the first play of the quarter, Johnson was sacked for a loss of 13 yards. The Hoyas then went to punt, but it was blocked and recovered at the Georgetown 18-yard line. Bucknell senior running back Chad Freshnock finished off the short drive with a 3-yard run into the endzone. The Bison went for the two-point conversion but were unable to convert, making the score 17-12. The very next drive was a quick three and out for Georgetown, and Hurst completed the drive with a solid punt, putting the Bison on their own 27. Bucknell then took the ball 73 yards in just 1:37, scoring a touchdown. Bitikofer completed a 45-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver, Dominic Lyles, who scored in tight coverage. Bucknell was able to capitalize on their touchdown this time, converting for two points. This conversion brought the score to 1720, ensuring that a field goal would only tie. This score remained as Georgetown was incapable of scoring for the remaining 10 minutes of the game. While they had two drives in which to score, both ended in punts with only a few minutes remaining as the Bison managed to kill the clock. Georgetown has one more game in the season, which will determine whether or not the Hoyas finish with a winning record, with any championship aspirations long out of sight. They currently sit at 5-5 (1-4 Patriot League) going into this Saturday’s game at the College of the Holy Cross, which will make or break the season.
ON THIN ICE
NHL Teams Continue To Struggle After Titles
CROSS-COUNTRY
GU Men Secure 2nd-Place Finish, Women Capture 3rd
quarter with Georgetown up on the scoreboard, 7-6. The second quarter started with Georgetown in a scoring position, first and goal at the Bucknell 9-yard line. Brunell threw incompletions on first and third down while Stakely ran for just three yards on second down. The Hoyas then conceded for a 23-yard field goal, which Hurst slotted home. The rest of the half went scoreless and the Hoyas went into halftime winning, 10-6. The third quarter featured sustained defensive dominance, with Bucknell unable to score any offensive points. Georgetown successfully turned their defense into offense as junior defensive back Jonothan Honore intercepted junior quarterback Logan Bitikofer’s pass. He returned the ball 15 yards before being taken down at the Bucknell 39-yard line, setting up some of the Hoyas’ best field positions for the day, with Georgetown ultimately unable to capitalize on the short field. Georgetown travelled the 39 yards in six plays and in just under 2½ minutes. The drive was finished by a Stakely 15-yard run. This touchdown put Georgetown ahead, 17-6, but marked their last scoring play of the game, forcing the defense to make clutch plays in maintaining the two-score lead. The Hoya defense had held the Bison to just 90 offensive yards in the first three quarters. Going into the fourth, the Hoyas maintained a 17-6 advantage. Bucknell scored two unanswered touchdowns, however, in the fourth quarter to secure the victory on their senior day. The fourth quarter began with a rapid backward slide
Maddy Welch Winning a championship is a blessing and a curse because ultimately the only move from that apex is down, as has been the case for many of this decade’s NHL dynasties. This process of keeping as many stars as possible on the team while finding replacement parts to fill the gaps left by their ever-increasing salaries is the trick to maintaining competitiveness in the league. In the NHL, a team’s best path for sustained success is not by increasing the frequency of transactions, but rather by increasing the intensity of player development. The Golden State Warriors have exemplified this particular effect this season after making the last five NBA finals and winning three. They are currently 2-12, and as their list of injured players grows, this season looks more and more like a lost cause in the team’s first season back in San Francisco. Now, I am fully aware that the Warriors do, in fact, play basketball, so let’s get on to some hockey. The NHL is arguably the league with the most competitive parity of the four major sports. It has a hard salary cap, and finding, let alone affording, more than two or three bona fide superstars on the roster is borderline impossible with top players taking up large quantities of the salary cap while teams still field rosters of at least 20 players. Over the last decade, however, some teams have found consistent success. The Blackhawks and the Penguins have three championships each over this time span, and both are shells of their former selves but have reacted differently to the cap pressures of winning and winning sustainably. The Blackhawks are surging after starting the season with a 3-6-2 record in October. It was painful to watch, and their coach is lucky to still have a job after that dreadful start. Since their last cup victory, they steadily per-
formed worse and worse in the playoffs, culminating in a sweep by Nashville in 2017 and have missed the playoffs ever since. The Penguins currently occupy a wild card spot in the standings but their star, and the hockey player with the most name recognition in the world, Sidney Crosby, will undergo a surgery that will have him out of the lineup for at least six weeks. The Penguins follow the “next man up” mantra, and young players Jared McCann and Dominik Kahun have lately stepped up to fill open roles in the offensive rotation. The Penguins are on a streak of making the playoffs 13 consecutive times, but they were also swept in the first round last year. The model of these teams during their cup runs was relatively straightforward: Keep the superstar cores together and cost-controlled, and use whatever is left in the salary cap to fill the rest of the roster. For the Penguins, the players that stayed together through all three cups were Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and goaltender Marc-André Fleury, with their netminder now between the pipes for the Vegas Golden Knights. In Chicago, the Blackhawks have an even longer list of players present for the three cups, including Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marián Hossa, Patrick Sharp and even the since-fired Coach Joel Quenneville, who has taken his talents to the Florida Panthers. Unsurprisingly, the best players are the most effective at winning cups, so it is imperative to keep them. After their championship runs, the Blackhawks have traded and reacquired players they lost to keep under the salary cap. In so doing, the Blackhawks have definitively demonstrated this is not the way to keep a competitive edge. The players they got in return some years later were not the same ones they traded or let sign deals elsewhere after their championships. They were slower like Brian Campbell, less effective like Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp, and perhaps somewhat traumatized by negative experiences on other teams like Brandon Saad. Although the Blackhawks were able to find older pieces in the short term to fill their lineup
once they could no longer afford all of their championship players, there was little developing youth in the pipeline as youth and draft picks were mostly traded to support the Blackhawks’ constant roster moves. The Blackhawks are finally relying on their youth and are reaping the benefits of the strong play of Alex Debrincat, Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach and others. The Penguins, throughout their championship runs, have turned to youth to improve their teams. Their current goaltender Matt Murray won his first and, through a quirk in the rules, second Stanley Cup with the Penguins as a rookie. Jake Guentzel, another rookie during their cup run, turned into a completely different animal during the playoffs, tying the record for most points in a postseason by a rookie in 2017. Both of these players continue to be integral members of the Penguins roster. Now I mentioned the Golden State Warriors because the model for continued success we have been examining in hockey may apply in basketball. The Warriors have maintained the core players, Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who have all signed for the next few years. They have also acquired D’Angelo Russell to round out that core. Through their monumental underperformance this season, mostly because of injuries to everyone, they will likely keep the first-round pick that a winning season would have sent to the Nets. For these reasons, I do not think that the plight of the Warriors will continue very far into the future. This season might be painful, but the cap and roster situation is clear: Drafting and youth represent the path forward for the struggling team. Really young, inexperienced, yet talented players are ultimately the most cost-controlled and effective way to inject new talent into a roster and keep a competitive edge. Teams are risk-averse, but in the NHL the maximum salary for a newly drafted player is $925,000. More development and fewer transactions must be the name of the game for teams looking to maintain a competitive edge. Maddy Welch is a senior in the School of Foreign Service. ON THIN ICE appears online and in print every other Friday.
SPORTS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
MEN’S SOCCER
THE HOYA
A11
MEN’S BASKETBALL
3-1 Win Over Friars Hoyas Control 2nd Half Against Texas Earns Big East Title BIG EAST, from A12
midfielder Sean Zawadzki found himself in space outside the box and hit a shot that sailed just wide of the post. Minutes later, freshman midfielder Dante Polvara tried to find senior forward Achara with a cross. Providence cleared the cross right to sophomore midfielder Dylan Nealis, whose shot went just wide of the post. In the 41st minute, Providence had a golden opportunity to widen their lead when sophomore midfielder Christopher Roman played junior midfielder Davis Smith in on goal. However, sophomore goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis came out and made a huge diving save on the attacker to keep the Hoyas within one. Wiese told GU Hoyas about the team’s discussion in the locker room at halftime, emphasizing the potential for the team’s offense despite the Friars shutting them down until halftime. “We knew how good they could be, and we said at halftime if we want to show we are one of the best teams in the country, we’ll make them regret only taking one on us in that first half,” Wiese said. Early in the second half, the Hoyas began to take control of the game and it began to look like it was only a matter of time before they equalized. In the 56th minute, Montes received the ball on the left-wing and played a quick give-and-go with Polvara. After receiving the ball again, Montes was taken down in the box, earning a penalty kick for Georgetown. Polvara, who had sealed the team’s spot in the championship in penalty kicks against Butler on Wednesday, stepped up to the penalty spot once again and buried the kick in the right corner, tying the game at one goal apiece. In the 60th minute, freshman forward Will Sands found Polvara. However, Polvara’s shot from close range went just wide of the net as the game remained tied but the Hoyas were building momentum toward a tie-breaking tally. In the 61st minute, Achara pulled up and seemed to injure his left leg, which led to junior forward Jack Beer coming onto the pitch. Beer made a quick impact by scoring the gamewinning goal for Georgetown in the 73rd minute. Beer hit a free kick on the ground that hit off the post and bounced into the bottom right corner, giving the Hoyas a 2-1 lead. Georgetown would add a third goal moments later in the 74th minute to expand the lead to two goals, putting the championship trophy in full focus. Beer began the attack
by playing Polvara in down the left-wing. Polvara then crossed it to junior forward Derek Dodson who finished the attack by scoring with a low and powerful one-time finish. The game ended after ninety minutes with Georgetown defeating Providence 3-1 to gain its third consecutive Big East Championship title. The Hoyas are the third team in Big East history to win three consecutive Big East Championships, joining the St. John’s Red Storm — who won the championship four times from 1992 to 1995 — and Seton Hall — who won each of the 13 titles from 1986 to 1998. The current Hoyas, however, have had the greatest championship run since the 2013 Big East realignment, with no other school having captured three titles in the past seven seasons. Beer, Nealis, Polvara and Dodson were all named to the Big East All-Tournament squad. Nealis was also named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the tournament and Beer was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Nikopolidis got the win in net for Georgetown and made five saves in the process. Beer told GU Hoyas how the team rallied the energy, cohesion and determination needed to win the game. “We just came out flat and at halftime we got together and decided to work hard and put our heads to it and get after it and that’s exactly what we did,” Beer said. This is only the second time is Georgetown men’s soccer history that the team won both the regular season and the Big East Championship in the same year. Wiese described to GUHoyas the feeling of winning yet another championship, certainly demonstrating pride in his players, hungry for the championship feeling despite nearly the entire team knowing how it tasted the previous season. “This never gets old, it’s great. I get a little emotional because every time you come through and win one of these, there are certain people who do something above and beyond and we had a whole lot of those guys today,” said Coach Wiese. With the victory, the Georgetown Hoyas earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Hoyas are the No. 3 ranked team in the bracket and will play host to the winner of Pittsburgh and Lehigh on Nov. 24 at 12 p.m.
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SUBUL MALIK/THE HOYA
Senior center Omer Yurtseven drives to a win in the Hoyas’ recent game against Georgia State. In the victory over Texas, Yurtseven struggled with foul trouble, only recording 13 minutes, though he did score 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in his limited playing time. TEXAS, from A12
half, the Hoyas managed to hit 12 of their first 18 field goals and grab 11 of 14 rebounds. After finishing at the basket for two of his 14 points, Akinjo allowed for the Hoyas to maintain a 66-56 lead with just 7:30 left in the game. Despite Yurtseven fouling out with 5:28 remaining
in the game, the Hoyas lead proved insurmountable for the Longhorns. Behind free throw shooting from Akinjo, who made all 10 of his free throw attempts, and tough play on the defensive end in the final few minutes, Georgetown cruised to a 16-point victory, the Hoyas’ best performance so far in this young season.
Head Coach Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) was visibly energized by his team’s play, as the Hoyas shot 58% from the field while holding the Longhorns to just 22% after the break. The Blue and Gray also improved on its performance down low, scoring 24 points and outrebounding the Longhorns 21-8. On the defensive end, the Hoyas
tallied an impressive six blocks and six steals. After an impressive all-around performance, the Hoyas look to build on their momentum heading into the championship this Friday at 7 p.m. where they will face the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and can be heard locally on The Team 980 on 95.9 FM.
FREE KICK
Pundits Too Quick To Write Off Messi HAMPERS, from A12
scorer but as a visionary creator. He created the most chances, 105, and had the highest number of average key passes per game, 2.7. Barcelona’s failure against Liverpool in May 2019, in which the team turned a 3-0 first-leg lead into a 4-3 aggregate loss, gained worldwide attention and harmed Barcelona’s status as titans of the European soccer world. However, Messi did score two goals in the first leg — one of which was a mesmerizing free kick from 35 yards out — and produced quality scoring
chances in the second leg, including an excellent through ball to teammate Jordi Alba. Barcelona’s defense ultimately collapsed, but through no fault of Messi, who remained upfield where he belonged for the duration of the game as the team’s back line consistently allowed goals despite parking the bus. There is an understandable desire to recognize high-achieving players in less glamorous but nonetheless important positions. This rationale led to midfielder Luka Modric receiving the Ballon d’Or last season despite scoring only seven goals in 2018. While van Dijk is an excellent
player, awarding him this year’s Ballon d’Or would be disproportionately based on the success of Liverpool on the whole, a team that benefits from three highly talented forwards and its brilliant manager Jurgen Klopp. Meanwhile, Messi’s FC Barcelona has suffered from many issues, including abysmal performances during Messi’s calf injury and calls for manager Ernesto Valverde to be fired. In fact, Messi’s return to the starting lineup in late September has been the saving grace that catapulted Barcelona back to the top of the La Liga standings when their position had been truly
slipping without him. Since his return, they have been scoring and winning more than the rest of the league, which was not the case when Messi was injured. Messi’s personal accolades this season already include the UEFA Forward of the Year for his 12 Champions League goals in 10 games, the Golden Shoe for most domestic league goals and the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the year. His superb 2019 performance should be capped with a muchdeserved sixth Ballon d’Or. Dean Hampers is a senior in the College. FREE KICK appears online and in print every other week.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
GU Offense Stalls Late Against Dukes JAMES MADISON, from A12
scoreless until Jones hit a jump shot with 7:05 to play. According to Jones, the pace was the result of coaching decisions made at halftime. “The coaches are always going to challenge you at halftime. I think Coach Howard definitely challenged us,” Jones said. “The JMU coach also challenged them but they did a better job answering.” Head Coach James Howard was also cognizant of the major style change at halftime, saying the coaching staff of both teams were instrumental in the change. “They got going. Good teams, the coaches are always going to challenge,” Howard said. The quarter remained lowscoring, as only three shots
were made in the first five minutes of the quarter. The Dukes’ offense kicked into gear first, however, cutting the remains of the Georgetown 17-point lead to one point as the scoreboard read 45-44 with 2:36 to play in the third. The Dukes eventually took a 48-47 lead on a threepointer from redshirt senior guard Jackie Benitez in the final minute of play, with that score remaining for the rest of the period, as the Hoyas only scored six points to the Dukes’ 17 throughout the frame. The fourth quarter saw more physicality than the rest of the game, with each team ratcheting up the defensive intensity to the tune of seven combined fouls in the first 4.5 minutes. With 1:47 to go in the game and the Hoyas
trailing by seven, Kovacikova dribbled into a trap near halfcourt as the ball went out of bounds, sparking a crucial review to determine possession as the game neared its end. The review revealed that the ball was last touched by the Dukes as Georgetown maintained possession. After the game, Howard admitted he was thankful for the replay, allowing him to adjust his defense and draw up an offensive set. “It was about setting up the defense, and drawing up an offensive play to get the score at the other end,” Howard said after the game in an interview with The Hoya. Kovacikova had an open look from downtown to cut the deficit to four with just over a minute to play, but the
shot would not drop, as James Madison was able to run the clock down further. Ultimately, the Hoyas were unable to score in the final minute as the Dukes won 66-57. For the game, the Hoyas’ most prolific offensive weapon was Jones, finishing with a strong 13 points. Sophomore center Shanniah Wright finished with 10 points and five rebounds while converting all eight of her free throw attempts. The Dukes relied heavily on the offensive performances of Smalls and forward Devon Merritt, each of whom scored 21 points. The Hoyas return to action Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Charles E. Smith Center against The George Washington University Colonials at 2 p.m.
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ALEXA VILLALPANDO FOR THE HOYA
Graduate student guard Taylor Barnes, 24, looks to pass out of a double team on the low block in the Hoyas’ loss to James Madison. Barnes finished the game with eight points, though she struggled in other facets of the game, recording four fouls and a plus-minus of negative 19.
Sports
Men’s Soccer Georgetown (15-1-3) vs. Pittsburgh (10-7-2) Sunday, Nov. 24, 12 p.m. Shaw Field
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
NUMBERS GAME
TALKING POINTS
WOMEN’S SOCCER The Hoyas had their season end at the hands of the West Virginia Mountaineers 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
See A10
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I play at my best when I’m on the attack, when I’m just staying aggressive.”
Women’s Basketball Guard Brianna Jones
MEN’S SOCCER
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Second-half scoring margin for men’s basketball against No. 22 Texas on Thursday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
GU Captures 3rd Hoyas’ 2nd-Half Surge Conquers Longhorns Consecutive Big East Title With 3-1 Win BEN GAVER
Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown men’s basketball team played their strongest game of the season this Thursday in an impressive win against the No. 22 Texas Longhorns in the 2k Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Hoyas (4-1) held the Longhorns (4-1) to just 6 of 27 shooting from the field in the second half, outscoring their opponent 45-24 in the 82-66 victory. This matchup was the Hoyas’ first game of the season against a ranked opponent and the Hoyas were up to the task. The Blue and Gray remained even with the Longhorns for much of the first
half, with neither team able to pull away in the first 20 minutes. After a turnaround jumper by senior center Omer Yurtseven, the Hoyas would jump out to an early 8-5 lead with 16:35 remaining in the first half. Behind two three-pointers and a monster second-chance dunk, the Longhorns would gain a 13-8 lead of their own just 56 seconds later. The Hoyas and Longhorns continued to trade baskets and after a stepback jumper by junior forward Jamorko Pickett, who finished the game with an impressive 15 points, the score stood at 1918 in favor of the Hoyas. In the early going, the Hoyas were led by strong play
yet again from sophomore guard Mac McClung. McClung tallied 11 of his 19 points in the first half, along with two steals and two three-pointers. McClung went on to hit a clutch field goal with 6:23 left, bringing the score to 27-25. Texas guard Matt Coleman III led the Longhorns with 22 points, 18 of which came from behind the three-point line and helped Texas quickly regain the lead. After sophomore guard James Akinjo hit his first field goal of the night, Georgetown brought the score to 35-34. Outrebounding the Hoyas 20-13 in the first half, Texas would finish the half on a 7-0 run to head into the locker room with a 42-37 advantage.
Facing a deficit heading into halftime, the Hoyas returned to the court with much more energy in the second half. Yurtseven, who only scored two points in the first period, scored Georgetown’s first eight points of the second half. After a three from Pickett, Georgetown took their first lead since the 6:01 mark of the first half, bringing the score to 48-46. Once the Blue and Gray gained the lead, the team would not look back, scoring 12 unanswered points to gain a 10-point lead while simultaneously holding Texas to zero field goals in over four minutes. To begin the second See TEXAS, A11
FILE PHOTO: MAGGIE FOUBERG/THE HOYA
Senior midfielder JB Fischer dribbles up the field in a recent home victory for the Hoyas. Fischer had one shot against the Friars.
DREW SEWALL Hoya Staff Writer
The top-seeded Georgetown men’s soccer team defeated thirdseeded Providence 3-1 at Shaw Field to earn their third straight Big East Championship on Nov. 17. Coming off a shootout victory over Creighton, the Hoyas (15-13) got off to a slow start against the Providence Friars (14-6). Despite Georgetown having the first chance of the game off a curling free kick from junior midfielder Jacob Montes, Providence controlled the majority of the game throughout the beginning of the first half. Head Coach Brian Wiese commented on the team’s slow performance in the first half in an
interview with GUHoyas. “It was one of the poorest first halves we’ve had and a lot of that is a credit to Providence,” Wiese said. In the 14th minute, Providence redshirt senior defender Joao Serrano played a lovely through ball to freshman midfielder Esben Wolf on the left side of the box. Wolf then cut the ball back and played a pass to redshirt senior midfielder Tiago Mendonca who hit a one-time shot into the far corner of the net, giving Providence a 1-0 lead. Following that goal, Georgetown began to generate a few opportunities of their own. In the 23rd minute, sophomore
SUBUL MALIK/THE HOYA
See BIG EAST, A11
Junior forward Jamorko Pickett slams home a dunk in last Sunday’s victory over Georgia State. Against Texas at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Pickett scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, finishing as the team’s second-highest scorer on the night to go with his five rebounds.
FREE KICK
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
JMU Defeats Georgetown 66-59 JAKE WEXELBLATT Hoya Staff Writer
The Georgetown women’s basketball team hosted the James Madison University Dukes on Thursday night, falling by a final score of 6659 despite leading by as many as 17 points in the first half. The Hoyas (1-2) came into the match against the Dukes (3-1) having seen their season end at their hands last spring. James Madison knocked Georgetown out of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinal in Harrisonburg, Va., on March 31 by a final score of 54-44, ending the Hoyas’ 2018-19 campaign with a 19-16 record. Georgetown opened the game with the same lineup as they had against the University of Pittsburgh and Davidson College, with the Hoyas beating the Panthers after a season-opening loss to the Wildcats.. The starting lineup featured graduate student guard Brianna Jones, senior forward Anita Kelava, sophomore guard Nikola Kovacikova, graduate guard Taylor Barnes and freshman forward Graceann Bennett. The first quarter had a highscoring start, led by Barnes, who scored five quick points before picking up her second foul with more than six minutes to play. Kovacikova was a force toward the end of the period, hitting two consecutive jump shots as part of a 6-0 run that gave the Hoyas an 18-14 lead after the first quarter of play. The quarter was marked from start to finish with sloppy play from both teams, with the Dukes tallied eight first quarter turnovers to five for the Hoyas. Jones hit each of her first
three shots from the field, but it did not affect her strategy for the rest of the game. “I play at my best when I’m on the attack, when I’m just staying aggressive and it definitely just helps to have teammates who have confidence in me,” Jones said in an interview The Hoya. “They’re always telling me to keep shooting.” The Hoyas’ strong finish to the first quarter spilled well into the second as that 6-0 run blossomed into a greater 17-2 run, forcing the Dukes to call timeout down 29-16 with
7:01 remaining in the half. The Hoyas kept their offense going in full gear throughout the duration of the second quarter, entering halftime with a 41-31 advantage. The Hoyas hit their first nine free throws attempted in the first half, a strong showing in the controllable fundamentals as the rest of the game was much more chaotic. The first half featured 12 turnovers and 13 fouls for the Dukes, with the Hoyas keeping close in both categories with their nine fouls and seven turnovers. At the
half, Jones paced the Hoyas with 11 points on four of eight shooting, while guard Kamiah Smalls led the Dukes with 14 points on six of ten shooting from the field. Junior center Breonna Mayfield and junior forward Tatiana Thompson did not play a ton in the first half, recording eight and six minutes, but their plus minus ratings of 12 paced the Hoyas at the break. Both offenses came out of the break sluggish, with the third quarter remaining See JAMES MADISON, A11
ALEXA VILLALPANDO FOR THE HOYA
Sophomore guard Tayanna Jones drives to the hoop in the Hoyas’ game against James Madison. Jones finished the night with a season-high 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Visit us online at thehoya.com/category/sports
Dean Hampers
Messi Has Strong Case To Win His 6th Ballon D’Or At 32 years old, Argentine legend Lionel Messi is entering the late stage of his illustrious career. While Messi still mesmerizes the minds and captures the hearts of FC Barcelona’s loyal fans, many pundits believe that his reign as soccer’s king is over, though this claim is far from true. Critics of Messi point to his recent struggle to win major competitions. The Argentina national team fell short in the knockout stage of the 2018 World Cup, and his Barcelona side bottled threegoal leads in each of the last two Champions League tournaments. Ahead of the Dec. 2 ceremony for the 2019 Ballon d’Or, soccer’s most prestigious individual award, oddsmakers list Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk — who was part of the Liverpool team that won the Champions League — as the favorite over Messi. Since Messi is a forward and van Dijk a defender, juxtaposing the two players is largely an apples-to-oranges comparison. This issue is inherent in giving individual awards for a team sport. However, advanced statistics — including recoveries, take-ons and tactical intelligence — from the International Centre for Sports Studies suggest that van Dijk has
not even been the best at his position throughout 2019. Niklas Sule of Bayern Munich notched a higher overall score between March and September, the span during which van Dijk received his highest praise for his role in Liverpool’s European title. Contrary to mainstream opinion, Messi’s position as the world’s best player remains on solid ground. He has scored 39 goals and 14 assists with Barcelona in the 2019 calendar year. His yearly total of goals plus assists is higher than any player in Europe’s top five leagues. Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s perennial “rival”, was also nominated for the Ballon d’Or; with the two consistently leading their teams to the top of La Liga’s standings while competing against one another for the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo places only 29th on the list of goals plus assists in 2019, despite facing overall weaker competition than his career-long rival. Messi led Barcelona to the team’s second straight La Liga title in convincing fashion, finishing 11 points above second-place Atletico Madrid. Messi’s role on the team is not only as a prolific See HAMPERS, A11