GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 95, No. 10, © 2013
TUESDAY, october 1, 2013
NEW GOAL IN SIGHT
EDITORIAL GUSA senate elections would benefit from two structural reforms.
Former pro soccer player Robbie Russell takes a pre-med path at GU. SPORTS, A10
TRAIN TO BALTIMORE The D.C.-Baltimore MARC Train line is adding a weekend service.
SWEARING IN GUSA senators began their terms Sunday after record voting turnout.
NEWS, A4
OPINION, A2
NEWS, A6
Dance Space Scarce Amid Construction
Homecoming Weekend 2013
Groups search in vain for adequate rehearsal space Ashley Miller
Special to The Hoya
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA & DANIEL SMITH FOR THE HOYA
Clockwise from top left: students and alumni socialized near an inflatable mascot, cheered for the men’s soccer team, watched the football game and attended the tailgate during Homecoming on Saturday.
Construction of the Healey Family Student Center in New South has left some student groups in the lurch. While many have found temporary accommodations sufficient, dance groups have struggled to make do in spaces not designed for performance. HFSC is scheduled to open in fall 2014, at which point space in New South’s Riverside Lounge will still be limited. Though some storage and rehearsal accommodations are temporary, other groups can expect the search for space to continue through next year. The Georgetown University Dance Company was granted space at certain times of day in Yates Field House, forcing the group to rework the rehearsal schedule it has kept for years. The times available at Yates, mostly in the morning, conflict with more members’ academic and employment commitments. “The consistent shifting in rehearsal and class times is hard for dancers who want to plan ahead for their lives,” said Nora Rosengarten (COL ’14), GUDC production director and Georgetown University Student Association undersecretary of the arts. “For choreography, there are always people missing now,” GUDC President Cara Davis (COL ’14) added. “We are happy with the physical space, but the
JOSH GORDON FOR THE HOYA
When Healey Family Student Center opens in 2014, struggles for student space will likely continue. scheduling was definitely rough.” Scheduling space for the group during business hours has affected the degree to which GUDC can collaborate with the surrounding community. “We lost a couple of guest choreographers and guest teachers because they’re professional local artists that work 9-to-5. We haven’t been able to get some of the ones that we really love,” GUDC member Emma Murphy (SFS ’16) said. Murphy also noted problems with the floor space in Walsh Black Box Theater, where GUDC holds some supplemental practices. Dancers must dance on a sprung floor, often referred to as a marley floor, to reduce the risk of injury. “The Yates studio is a lot bigger, but See HFSC, A6
District GU Tightens the Leash on Mascot Care Sees HIV Drop-off Kit Clemente
Special to The Hoya
Though still nation’s worst, D.C. infection rate falls 46 percent Sam Abrams
Special to The Hoya
The District of Columbia, which has historically had the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the United States, has seen a 46 percent drop in the rate of infection between 2007 and 2011 from 3.2 percent to 2.4 percent, the Department of Health announced last week. HIV cases in the District decreased from more than 1,300 in 2007 to 718 in 2011, and 80 percent of identified cases were treated within three months of diagnosis. Nevertheless, the 2.4 percent rate is still far above the national average of 0.4 percent. In 2009, NPR reported that D.C.’s HIV/AIDS 2007 rate of 3.2 percent was higher than some West African countries. If the District were considered a country, it would have been placed on former President George W. Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief list, which contained the 15 countries in the world with the worst HIV/AIDS rate. On the list, D.C. would have ranked above four PEPFAR countries: Democratic Republic of Congo (1.3 percent), Ethiopia (1.4 percent), Sierra Leone (1.5 percent) and Rwanda (2.9 percent). On the higher end of the scale were South Africa (17.8 percent) and Zimbabwe (15 percent). See AIDS, A5
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Fr. Christopher Steck, S.J., walks Jack the Bulldog. Steck will not be caretaker for the new mascot.
Although university administrators assured students and alumni that the mascot tradition would continue after the departure of mascot-in-training Jack Jr. this summer, one aspect of the next bulldog’s role on campus will be different: his caretaker. Fr. Christopher Steck, S.J., will not care for the new mascot, despite doing so for last 10 years, including the year and a half when Jack Jr., or J.J., was on campus. In August, the university announced the selection of a new bulldog, born June 29. The Bulldog Advisory Committee has regularly met to discuss the approach to be taken with the new dog. The ques-
Required Cab Upgrade Prompts Driver Protest Ryan Thomas
Special to The Hoya
One month after the original deadline for D.C. taxi cabs to install credit card readers, GPS and a driver verification system, drivers are protesting consequences for failure to meet the deadline, which they say is not their fault. Nearly 200 cab drivers protested problems installing the Modern Taximeter System in Freedom Square on Wednesday. The final deadline for MTS installation was yesterday. Drivers have faced backlogged service from the eight Payment Service Providers responsible for MTS installation, which include Creative Mobile Technologies,
Gleike Taxi Inc., Hitch, D.C. VIP, Transco, USA Motors, Yellow Cab of D.C. and United Ventures Consortium. D.C. Drivers United for Equal Rights and the Excluded Worker Project, which organized the protest, reported that five of these eight PSPs are currently backlogged and that credit card readers that have been installed have often malfunctioned. The groups also complained about fees tacked on by these PSPs that go beyond the expected monthly service charge. Additionally, the taxi driver organizations said that drivers have been turned away from their pre-assigned installation appointments.
tion of a timeframe for the arrival of the bulldog remains unclear. After J.J.’s abrupt removal from campus, the committee is trying to ensure a smooth transition for the new mascot. “My initial suggestion was that the puppy be housed in New South with me, and that a senior, chosen competitively, be given a paid, internlike role in which he or she would take on significant responsibility for the new mascot,” Steck wrote in an email. “I would need help if I were to take on the role of caretaker again, and I thought that a responsible, dog-loving senior would be ideal.” These suggestions were rejected by the university. “The university felt that it would be better to find a more permanent person — seniors would change
every year — who would be able to take on all of the responsibility for the role of mascot caretaker,” Steck said. “Doing so would simplify the position.” It is unclear exactly to whom the application would be open, though Steck suggested the caretaker need not necessarily be a Jesuit or a faculty member. “I don’t think there are any constraints on what role the person will have at the university, if any,” Steck said. “I believe the ideal would be that the person has some sort of employment at Georgetown so that they could bring the new mascot to their offices, and allow him to be seen regularly on campus. It would also be important that the caretaker See MASCOT, A5
Tester Talks Shutdown
DANIEL SMITH FOR THE HOYA
Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) met GU College Democrats on Monday in the Mortara Center to discuss the shutdown. See story at thehoya.com.
See CABS, A5 Published Tuesdays and Fridays
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