GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 19, © 2015
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015
SEMIFINAL SHOWDOWN
The Georgetown men’s soccer team will face Xavier in the Big East tournament semifinals.
COMMENTARY Climate change is a problem; divestment is not its solution.
HACK THE DEBATE Innovation competition tackles voter engagement in presidential debates.
OPINION, A3
NEWS, A4
SPORTS, A10
University SNAPs At Noise TAYLOR HARDING & ANDREW WALLENDER Special to The Hoya & Hoya Staff Writer
When Drew Dushkes (GRD ’16) threw a mid-September housewarming party at his off-campus Georgetown residence, he never expected the night to culminate in Office of Student Conduct summons, the threat of sanctions and a disorderly conduct violation. Although Dushkes’ lease allows him to have guests on his back patio until 11 p.m., a neighbor called Georgetown’s Student Neighborhood Assistance Program and the party was shut down at 10:46 p.m., leaving Dushkes and his housemates with a disorderly conduct violation on their student records. “It seems like Georgetown has sort of increased its enforcement this year,” Dushkes said. “I’m not really sure where they draw the line, and therefore, that really restricts my ability to have a student life off campus.”
“I think my biggest gripe ... with our current offcampus noise policy is really how draconian a first offense actually is.”
ILLUSTRATION BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ /THE HOYA
The new McDonough Bus Turnaround is the off- and on-loading point for four GUTS lines; the campus plan-dictated change has increased commute and wait times for students and workers, including an approximate doubling in time of the Dupont Circle loop.
GUTS Lines Rerouting Draws Ire SARAH GRIFFIN
Special to The Hoya RYAN SHYMANSKY (COL ’16) Director, Student Advocacy Office
A HARSHER REALITY Since the implementation of the 2010 Campus Plan, off-campus noise violations have come with increasingly stiff punishments and stricter enforcement. The plan, passed in See NOISE, A6
The permanent rerouting of four Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle lines has resulted in longer waiting times and mixed responses from riders, as the McDonough Bus Turnaround opened yesterday. As per the 2010 Campus Plan, in which the university agreed to lessen noise and traffic congestion in the surrounding neighborhood, the Dupont Circle, Georgetown University Law Center, Rosslyn and Arlington routes now enter and exit via Canal Road.
In conjunction with the route restructuring, there is no longer GUTS service at the Car Barn route to Rosslyn, Va., via Prospect Street. The Georgetown University Student Association implemented an online survey yesterday immediately after the changes to garner student and faculty opinion on the change. After the first day of implementation, according to GUSA Vice President Connor Rohan (COL ’16), student feedback on the route changes has registered as primarily negative. “It’s only day one and we’ve already been inundated with student concerns. If I want-
ed to attend a university where it takes over a half-hour to get into D.C., I would’ve stayed in Fairfax, Va.,” Rohan wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “If the unreasonable transit times being reported are not soon drastically reduced, GUSA will respond accordingly.” GUSA President Joe Luther (COL ’16) said he waited 33 minutes for the bus to Dupont Circle, and that he will communicate riders’ issues to the administration. “I had a highly disappointing experience today between the amount of time in transit See GUTS, A6
Just Employment Policy Celebrates 10 Years PAUL TSAVOUSSIS Special to The Hoya
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the university’s implementation of the Just Employment Policy, a comprehensive agreement that ensures fair and competitive compensation packages for full-time campus workers. Under the policy, the university has incrementally increased compensation for full-time contracted workers every two years over the last decade, reaching the minimum total compensation requirement of $16.45 per hour this January, compared to the lo-
Bill Aims to Lower Voting Age MOLLY COOKE
allow them to vote in federal elections.
District of Columbia Councilmember Charles Allen (DWard 6) has introduced a bill that would lower the voting age from 18 to 16 for municipal and federal elections held in Washington, D.C. Councilmembers David Grosso (I-At Large) and Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) are co-sponsoring the bill. Even if the council passes the measure, Congress must approve it before implementation. If successful, D.C. would join Takoma Park, Md., and Hyattsville, Md., as the third city in the area to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections, but the first to
“If 16- and 17-year-olds are able to vote, they may be able to push some policy issues that are important for younger residents.”
Hoya Staff Writer
COUNCILMEMBER DAVID GROSSO (I-AT LARGE) Bill Co-Sponsor
Allen explained that despite original reservations, he became more receptive to the idea after hearing from community members about the maturity of 16- and 17-year-olds. Those lobbying for the bill also expressed a desire to reconnect younger people with city politics after
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the District experienced a rise in youth violence this summer. “There’s a lot of expectations that we put on [young people] … to be able to make good decisions for themselves,” Allen said. “If I trust a 16-year-old to do those things, why in the world wouldn’t I trust them to go to a voting booth?” Grosso also noted that these younger voters can provide new perspectives and highlight issues that have been neglected in the past. “I don’t see why we couldn’t make a pitch to younger residents to vote,” Grosso said. “If 16- and 17-year-olds are able to vote, they may be able to push some policy issues that are important for younger residents.”
See ANNIVERSARY, A6
FEATURED
DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA
If the new law passes, 16-year-olds would be welcomed to voting booths in the District of Columbia, like those at local Georgetown polling place Duke Ellington School of the Arts, pictured.
cal minimum wage of $10.50. In addition to its wage policy, the document also recognizes existing negotiated union agreements, ensures the right to a safe and harassment-free work environment, provides workers with access to university resources such as English as a Second Language classes and permits workers to unionize without intimidation or delay. The policy applies to both workers directly employed by the university and those employed by university contractors, such as Aramark, Epicurean and
NEWS No Rook
Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov spoke on Russia’s democratic deficit at an event. A5
NEWS MSB Drops in Rankings
SPORTS Upset Victims
OPINION Editorial
OPINION A Whole New Field
The MSB’s full-time MBA program dropped two spots in Bloomberg Buisnessweek’s rankings. A8
A further slide in sexual health rankings should serve as a wakeup call for campus education. A2
No. 2 seed Georgetown fell to No. 6 Providence in the Big East women’s soccer semifinals. A10
A student-athlete explains how sociology took him from struggling student to aspiring teacher. A2
See SUFFRAGE, A6 Published Tuesdays and Fridays
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