The Hoya: November 13, 2015

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

Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 20, © 2015

FRIDAY, november 13, 2015

A SENSE OF ‘WONDER’

Renwick Gallery’s latest exhibition uses architectural installations to amaze visitors.

EDITORIAL The rerouting of GUTS lines has cost workers time and money.

MARCHING ON The Georgetown men’s soccer team advances to the Big East finals.

OPINION, A2

SPORTS, B10

GUIDE, B1

Demonstrators Address Demands to University Ashwin Puri Hoya Staff Writer

“What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.“ Black student activists led around 250 students, faculty and community members in a demonstration in Red Square last night to express solidarity with college students of color experiencing racism domestically and internationally. The group announced a list of six demands directed at the university’s administration that address racial injustice at Georgetown.

The activists will stage a sit-in on the second floor of Healy Hall, outside the office of University President John J. DeGioia from 9 a.m. until midnight, beginning today, until their demands are met.

The demands include changing the name of Mulledy Hall and the McSherry Building, which houses the meditation center. The name retention of Mulledy Hall sparked ire earlier this year, calling attention to the actions of Fr. Thomas Mulledy, S.J., the provincial of the Maryland Society of Jesus and future university president, who authorized the sale of 272 slaves to a Louisiana plantation in 1838. McSherry Hall is named after then-University President Fr. William McSherry, S.J., who served as Mulledy’s lawyer during the sale.

The demonstration ignited after ongoing racial tensions at the Uni-

JULIA ANASTOS/THE HOYA

NAAZ MODAN/THE HOYA, DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA

Around 250 students gathered in Red Square to express solidarity with black students around the world, sharing personal experiences and a list of demands for change at Georgetown, including the immediate renaming of Mulledy Hall. Students will hold a sit-in at the Office of the President. versity of Missouri, Yale University and the University of the Western Cape in South Africa culminated in protests, strikes and the resignations of university administrators over the past month. Students at many universities, including Syracuse University, Howard University and the University of California Los Angeles,

have held demonstrations in solidarity with these schools.

The demands, announced at the demonstration and printed on disseminated leaflets, included the creation of an endowment for recruiting black professors — equivalent to the net present value of the profit from the 1838 sale — and mandatory

training on diversity issues for professors.

Activists also called for increased memorialization of Georgetown’s enslaved through an annual program focused on education, placing plaques on the known unmarked graves of slaves and revising university tours to include information on

the history behind campus sites.

Demonstration of Solidarity The event began at 5 p.m. as participants gathered in a large circle, encompassing almost the entirety of Red Square. The event coordinators — See SOLIDARITY, A6

Employment Study Prompts Look at Transgender Rights Eunsun Cho

demic backgrounds.

In 10 of 21 sets of applications, employers contacted at least one or more A D.C. Office of Human Rights report less-qualified cisgender individuals over published Nov. 3 found that transgender more-qualified transgender individuals. citizens in Washington, D.C., face signifi- Employers tested in the study included cant barriers in seeking employment amid universities, groceries, hotels, retail stores discussions regarding and restaurants. transgender discrimina- “When you’re the According to OHR Dition on campus and at rector Monica Palacio, MedStar Georgetown Uni- third gender that transgender individuals versity Hospital. face particular challengThe data revealed that the university does es other minority groups transgender individuals not recognize, that do not because of changare less likely to be hired es in their physical and than cisgender individu- makes everything legal identification. als. The OHR conducted much more difficult.”

“They have to go its research by filing two through long difficult groups of applications medical procedures and LEXI DEVER (COL ’16) with a variety of D.C. sometimes don’t have employers, the first with health insurances to applications perceivably cover this procedure,” Pafrom transgender women and the sec- lacio said. “Their legal names change and ond perceivably from cisgender women. that can create difficulty.”

The first group of applications had more In 2011, the National Gay and Lesbian work experience and higher college GPAs. Task Force and the National Center for Researchers controlled other perceived differences in ethnic, economic and acaSee TRANS, A6

Special to The Hoya

FACEBOOK

Anti-sweatshop activist Jim Keady posted a picture on social media of three studentathletes modelling gear with the Nike logo taped over as a symbol of protest.

Calls for Nike Boycott Mount As evidence of unethical business practices mount, students, including athletes, seek to end athletic department’s contract Patricja Okuniewska Hoya Staff Writer

Student-athletes and other members of the university community are calling for the university to boycott Nike products, launching a campaign, citing the company’s unethical business practices.

The movement, seeking to end the department and company’s partnership, marks a turning point in the relationship between Georgetown Athletics and Nike, which began in the 1970s. Currently, the athletics department provides student-athletes with Nike apparel.

The students were motivat-

ed by andiscussion led by antisweatshop activist Jim Keady on Monday, which addressed poor working and living conditions at the company’s factories in Southeast Asia.

After the event, audience members, including studentathletes, participated in a discussion on how to raise awareness about Nike’s practices, which culminated in the formation of an informal student group focused on the issue. The group held its first meeting to discuss strategy Thursday night and will announce its initiatives soon.

Sports Information staff were unable to provide comments from the student-ath-

Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947

letes at press time.

On Tuesday, Keady shared a photo on Facebook showing the Nike logo covered with tape on the university-provided sneakers of three Georgetown student-athletes. The picture has received 496 likes and been shared 388 times as of press time.

According to Keady, the tentative goal of the movement is for the Georgetown community to partner with a specific factory or factories and serve as a voice for workers’ rights.

He said students need to further increase awareness about the issue on campus as part of

FEATURED OPINION Gun Reform

College students have a responsibility to push for national gun control legislation.

A3

BUSINESS & tEchnology Tech Startup for Veterans

Sports National Champion

GUIDE War With the Newts

MULTIMEDIA Basketball Preview 2015

A Georgetown alum has co-founded a company to help veterans find jobs in the tech industry.

A10

A new drama uses satire to tackle issues of labor exploitation and racial discrimination.

B3

Freshman Haddon Hughes won the singlehanded national sailing championship.

B10

Kick off the 2015-16 basketball season with a video showcasing highlights from rallies and games. thehoya.com

See BOYCOTT, A6 Published Tuesdays and Fridays

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

A2

OPINION

THE HOYA

Friday, november 13, 2015

THE VERDICT

EDITORIALS

En Route to Disaster What can people do with 30 minutes of their time? Read a book to their children. Write back to their grandmother. Sleep in. Work for wages. These are some of the things the Office of Transportation Management and the Office of Planning and Facilities Management neglected to consider when they redesigned the Georgetown University Transportation System bus routes. The university must stand up for its staff, students and priorities by reopening previous bus routes or devising new transportation methods to correct the problems caused by the relocation of the Dupont Circle Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle stop to the south side of campus.

With the recent changes to the GUTS bus lines, mandated by the 2010 Campus Plan, many faculty, staff, graduate students and visitors to the university and hospital face up to 30-minute additions to their daily commutes, especially those who take the Dupont GUTS bus line, increasing commute times by 2.5 hours per week, more than 10 hours per month and nearly a week per year. These changes, designed to placate fussy neighbors in the guise of creating “a more connected living and learning experience,” contribute to lost productivity, family time and sleep, not to mention an increased carbon footprint for the university. If the administration insist on maintaining the relocation, they must consider compensating employees for their lost time.

With the GUTS stop relocation, Georgetown denies its students, faculty and staff the fullest possible integration with the D.C. community further reinforcing the oft-bemoaned “Georgetown bubble.”

Moreover, the redesigned GUTS bus turnaround is both inconvenient and illogical. The lack of appropriate advertisement and signage in both English and Spanish for the new bus routes means that many faculty members, students and workers who were not informed of the route changes do not know where to wait for their transportation. For those living in west Georgetown, the removal of the Car Barn bus stop means that trips to Rosslyn involve an additional 15-minute walk to the McDonough Arena stop.

The new GUTS bus route has serious deficiencies. If the university is to maintain its commitment to access to reliable transportation, important changes must be considered.

To facilitate access to transportation, the administration should reopen previous bus stops or consider expanding access to Zipcar and Capital Bikeshare on campus.

The redirection of the Dupont GUTS bus and its implications for student life have achieved the opposite of the administration’s master planning initiative, which envisions a “more dynamic student residential community on the north side of campus” and therefore must be reconsidered.

C C C C

C C

Founded January 14, 1920

Keeping it Real — Bravo is creating “Real Housewives of Potomac,” focusing on the elite suburbs of D.C. One Small Step for Pandas — Bei Bei, the 2-month-old baby panda currently at the National Zoo, took his first steps Monday.

Uber Green — Carpooling is gaining traction in D.C. Lyft offers carpooling starting next Thursday; Uber made uberPool available in D.C. in October.

Meth in the Museum — The Museum of American History has a new exhibit with props from the hit TV show “Breaking Bad,” including Walter White’s black hat and some of the fake meth used in the show.

Snobbiest of the Snobs — Washington, D.C., was named the snobbiest city on the East Coast and the seventh-snobbiest city in the U.S. Unlucky Meteor Strike — Scientists from the European Space Agency predict that a chunk of space debris will enter Earth’s atmosphere near Sri Lanka.

Fittingly, the space debris will enter the atmosphere on the unluckiest day of the year, Friday the 13th.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Michelle Xu

Swipe Left on Hunger Georgetown students frequently encounter homeless men and women in Washington, D.C., perceiving this vast inequality but not knowing how to help. Swipe Against Hunger, a campus organization that allows students to donate unused meal swipes once a year before the Thanksgiving holiday to people experiencing homelessness, provides a simple method of aid.

However, 212 meal donations — the number of donations it achieved in 2014 — is not enough to make a substantial impact on the D.C. homeless community. Georgetown students have a responsibility to uphold the university’s Jesuit values by continuously donating food throughout the year; hunger is not confined to the holiday season. The drive has the potential to have a more profound impact if it were to become an endemic part of the university’s culture, tradition and mission. Student organizations need to increase their collaboration to increase the frequency of food donations for the D.C. homeless population year-round.

To make this system a tradition and uphold the values of care and student ownership at Georgetown, student organizations can make gains by hosting regular food drives. Closer coordination between organizations such as Georgetown Individuals Vocal and Energetic for Service, Georgetown University Habitat for Humanity, Hoya/

Homeless Outreach Programs and Education or the Organization Assisting the Homeless Student would make hunger among D.C.’s homeless population an issue that is always present in students’ minds. This cooperation would enable the groups to transcend small-scale donations and have a greater effect in combating D.C. hunger.

Looking beyond intracampus organizations, students could partner with the Food Recovery Network, a national student movement against food waste and hunger founded by University of Maryland students with 155 chapters, including One at The George Washington University.

A partnership would further add to student organizations’ impact by giving the Georgetown community the means to donate a large portion of leftover food found in on-campus dining locations in drives that serve the homeless year-round.

Such a program could also significantly expand Georgetown’s students’ engagement with the homeless population and their awareness of local hunger issues, while providing a greater understanding of what it means to live by Jesuit values.

While the once-a-year model used by Swipe Against Hunger has its benefits, a more consistent commitment to feeding the homeless population would lay the groundwork to maximize the efficiency and positive impact of students’ actions.

This week

Encourage Applied Study In a rapidly urbanizing world, the establishment of an urban studies minor at Georgetown is imperative. Fortunately, sociology professor Brian McCabe and English professor Sherry Linkon are collaborating to issue an official proposal for this minor in the College.

This interdisciplinary minor would equip students with the skills necessary to tackle the host of emerging issues associated with urbanization and provide the practical education often neglected within the ivory tower.

McCabe says the material will engage in topics related to climate change, gentrification, homelessness, inequality, refugee migration and other urban problems through projectbased coursework and research. This minor is distinctly different from the justice and peace studies due to its specific urban focus. Since urbanization is an important feature of this age, it should be added to the curriculum of studies available to students. The creation of an urban studies minor would provide students with empirical methodology to discuss the issues associated with this change.

Additionally, the university would be remiss to neglect this proposal, especially given the program’s success at other elite institu-

Katherine Richardson, Executive Editor Daniel Smith, Managing Editor Molly Simio, Online Editor Toby Hung, Campus News Editor Kristen Fedor, City News Editor Tyler Park, Sports Editor Jinwoo Chong, Guide Editor Daniel Almeida, Opinion Editor Isabel Binamira, Photography Editor Shannon Hou, Layout Editor Becca Saltzman, Copy Chief Courtney Klein, Blog Editor Laixin Li, Multimedia Editor

Editorial Board

Daniel Almeida, Chair Gabi Hasson, Irene Koo, Charlie Lowe, Sam Pence, Parth Shah

tions. Found in seven of the top 20 universities ranked by the U.S. News & World Report, the urban studies program at the University of Pennsylvania, for example, has educated students on urban issues for more than four decades and requires participants to pursue an internship in the surrounding city, where relevant theory can be explored in a practical manner. Students can leverage this minor for careers in education, urban planning, public policy and research. If implemented, the administration could add value to the handson program by including requirements like internships, research and fieldwork to better connect theory and practice.

Furthermore, the implementation of an urban studies minor would allow for a more practical and flexible education compatible with the university’s values of student ownership.

The skills they attain would prepare students to work and engender meaningful change with community groups, public agencies, nonprofits or private organizations.

Georgetown’s location in Washington, D.C., represents a unique opportunity for the study of practical projects like those already pursued at other elite institutions.

[ CHATTER ]

Be sure to check Chatter, The Hoya’s online opinion section, throughout the week for additional opinion pieces. melina hsiao (col ’18) Hillary Clinton’s new stance on marijuana, which is a position of reclassification:

“

I frankly think it’s a measure — changing the classification of marijuana, that is — that both sides of the issue can get behind.

Such a change is not altering any laws; its main function is to allow for greater research regarding marijuana use and potential abuse. If both sides actually think their opinions are based on scientific facts or findings, whatever comes of the research should already support your own view.”

Find this and more at

thehoya.com/chatter

Mallika Sen, Editor-in-Chief

Brian Carden, General Manager

Deputy Campus News Editor Tom Garzillo Deputy Campus News Editor Ashwin Puri Deputy City News Editor Emily Tu Features Editor Andrew Wallender Deputy Features Editor Maureen Tabet Deputy Sports Editor Madeline Auerbach Deputy Sports Editor Molly O’Connell Paranoia Editor Andrew May Deputy Guide Editor Sean Davey Deputy Guide Editor Kate Kim Deputy Guide Editor John Miller Deputy Guide Edtior Jasmine White Deputy Opinion Editor Lauren Gros Deputy Opinion Editor Jonathan Marrow Chatter Editor Julia Weil Sophie Faaborg-Andersen Deputy Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor Dan Gannon Deputy Photography Editor Kathleen Guan Deputy Layout Editor Nick Bailey Deputy Layout Editor Cleo Fan Deputy Layout Editor Charlotte Kelly Deputy Layout Editor Matthew Trunko Deputy Copy Editor Nick Greco Deputy Copy Editor Jeanine Santucci Deputy Copy Editor Sarah Wright Deputy Blog Editor Catherine McNally Deputy Multimedia Editor Reza Baghaee Deputy Multimedia Editor Rachelle Moon

Joseph Scudiero, Director of Accounting Addie Fleron, Director of Corporate Development Jinwoo Chong, Director of Human Resources Lucy Cho, Director of Sales Ashley Yiu, Director of Technology Evan Zimmet Selena Parra Sydney Wawrzyniak Brittany Logan Emily Ko Shreya Barthwal Caroline Gelinne Nicky Robertson Kristen Chapey Natalia Vasquez Julie LeBlanc Steven Lee Casandra Schwartz

Operations and Treasury Manager Senior Account Manager National Accounts Manager Local Accounts Manager Alumni Engagement Manager Special Programs Manager Personnel Manager Organizational Development Manager Market Research Manager Public Relations Manager Local Advertisements Manager National Advertisements Manager Systems Manager

Contributing Editors & Consultants

Sam Abrams, Kara Avanceña, Madison Ashley, Alexander Brown, Kim Bussing, David Chardack, Jinwoo Chong, Robert DePaolo, Ben Germano, Penny Hung, Jess Kelham-Hohler, Natasha Khan, Lindsay Lee, Carolyn Maguire, Emily Min, KP Pielmeier, Elana Richmond, Zack Saravay, Eitan Sayag, Katherine Seder, Ian Tice, Michelle Xu, Jason Yoffe

Board of Directors

Christina Wing, Chair Brian Carden, David Chardack, Chandini Jha, Jess Kelham-Hohler, Lindsay Lee, Mallika Sen Letter to the Editor & Viewpoint Policies The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

Viewpoints are always welcome from all members of the Georgetown community on any topic, but priority will be given to relevant campus issues. Viewpoint submissions should be between 600-800 words.

The Hoya retains all rights to all published submissions.

Send all submissions to: opinion@thehoya.com.

Letters and viewpoints are due Sunday at 5 p.m. for Tuesday’s issue and Wednesday at 5 p.m. for Friday’s issue. 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 Katherine Richardson at (310) 429-5752 or email executive@thehoya.com.

News Tips Campus News Editor Toby Hung: Call (202) 315-8850 or email campus@thehoya. com.

City News Editor Kristen Fedor: Call (908) 967-3105 or email city@thehoya.com.

Sports Editor Tyler Park: Call (973) 7180066 or email sports@thehoya.com.

General Information The Hoya is published twice each 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. © 1920-2015. The Hoya, Georgetown University twice 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. Additional copies are $1 each.

Editorial: (202) 687-3415 Advertising: (202) 687-3947 Business: (202) 687-3947 Facsimile: (202) 687-2741 Email: editor@thehoya.com Online at www.thehoya.com Circulation: 4,000

OPINION

Friday, november 13, 2015

G

Twitter Success Is Deceiving A

s we inch closer and closer to 2016, one thing that pundits have emphasized is a candidate’s Twitter success, measured by the number of followers or retweets a candidate accumulates following a debate or event. Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina scored 22,000 followers apiece after the first debate, Ted Cruz was mentioned in nearly 5,000 tweets per minute after criticizing debate moderators for media bias and Hillary Clinton has been on the receiving end of countless demeaning hashtag trends.

CNBC’s Nicholas Wells, Eric Chemi and Mark Fahey recently released an analysis of social media success for presidential candidates, highlighting the importance of a follow on social media as it represents an investment of one’s attention in what the candidate says in the future. A follow is perceived as conscious support and retweets are seen as “hell yeah’s” to whatever someone has to say.

However, Twitter success is deceiving. The obsession with Twitter success overlooks the fact that the population of Twitter users does not represent the overall American population or the population of voters. Roughly 52 percent of people who actually use their Twitter accounts are less than 30 years old, while 81 percent of voters in the 2012 presidential election were 30 years old or older. Not only do the demographics between Twitter users and the voting population differ drastically, but there are also far fewer Twitter users in America than voters.

The total number of regular American Twitter users is estimated to be 66 million, while the 2012 election turned out 130.3 million voters, which was an unusually low turnout.

What do these statistics mean politically? Even if a candidate gains popularity on social media, it does not equate to success in the polls.

Twitter users, more often than not, stop voting altogether. Their trends do not reflect the opinions of the voting population.

As an avid tweeter, I can discredit Wells, Chemi and Fahey’s claim that a follow is comparable to a vote or that it shows support for a candidate.

A follow takes the smallest degree of effort and often happens impulsively and without much reason. I followed Donald Trump not because I support him but simply because I am amused by what he says, even if I disagree with pretty much everything he tweets.

Similarly, even though I think Roger Goodell is detrimental to the NFL, I follow him as a daily reminder of what not to be. Also, with Twitter’s format, it is easy to accidentally click the follow button while scrolling down your timeline without even realizing you just followed someone you didn’t want to. A follow holds minimal significance and to perceive a follow as a vote is greatly misguided. Follows, retweets and mentions go towards candidates who are temporarily trending, but a candidate’s relevance is much more short-lived than the perceptions of their Twitter success.

The problem with placing importance on Twitter success is that it blurs the line between support from the public and support from followers. A candidate can tweet a punchline quote from a speech or a blurb from a policy proposal, attract hundreds or thousands of retweets and say, “Look how many people support it.” What is overlooked is that followers could have retweeted the candidate without hearing the rest of the speech or analyzing the rest of the policy, thus producing uninformed support. Furthermore, these punchline tweets can act as abbreviated national messages that constituents will use to make their decisions, but national messages cannot be conveyed in 140 characters or less. Politics will focus on producing one-liners that can accrue the most retweets, rather than substantial ideas and debate that can be analyzed.

But though Twitter is becoming increasingly important in connecting voters to candidates, candidates are less connected to voters by being more connected to Twitter. Policies and messages are no longer about what voters truly care for, but what can hit more strings and get more retweets than the next candidate.

Seeking Twitter success is seeking ephemeral validation that holds little significance. Soon enough, candidates and analysts will realize that a vote is a much harder win than a follow.

Lam Nguyen is a sophomore in the College. But I Digress appears every other Friday.

A3

VIEWPOINT • Bauerschmidt Sweeney, Delaurentis & Stuer

But i digress

Lam Nguyen

THE HOYA

Prioritize Workers’ Rights

eorgetown is currently celebrating the 10-year anniversary of our Just Employment Policy, but at the same time, we must acknowledge the areas in which we continue to fail our campus workers.

A group of students from the Georgetown Solidarity Committee and employees in the Facilities and Management Department attempted to meet with Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey and Director of Business Practices J. Callahan Watson to discuss concerns regarding facilities’ working conditions.

When our group of students entered the Planning and Facilities Management office Tuesday, Nov. 10 for our scheduled meeting, Morey confronted us and said he would not jointly meet with workers and students because the two are “different audiences.”

Money said he was unprepared for a meeting that included workers. Students argued that because we shared the workers’ concerns, we functioned as a single audience. Morey remained uncooperative and hostile, condescendingly telling a student that he “didn’t understand” the explanation.

“This meeting was set up for about a week and we come in there and he was just disrespectful for the whole time,” one of the workers present, who did not want to be named, said.

“He refused to answer any questions or give any good reason why we should not meet and that was unacceptable. He’s supposed to be responsible for the safety and the care of the students and he showed me that he will disregard that somewhere down the line. And as the workers, if he talks to a student like that, just imagine what he does to the workers.”

We wanted this meeting to be the culmination of an ongoing effort by workers and students to address violations against workers and questionable

Any conversation about working conditions must involve the workers themselves. hiring practices. Students and workers have been discussing their concerns since the start of the year and brought them to managers through several letter deliveries Oct. 30. Morey’s refusal to meet with both students and workers was a disappointment but also raises the question of what he is willing to say to students that he does not want workers to hear. We refused the separate meeting in the interest of transparency, because we believe that any conversation about working conditions must involve the workers themselves. If any voice needs to be heard, it is theirs.

Our primary concern is that workers have reported severe understaffing in the facilities department. This understaffing requires workers to perform other tasks before starting

their usual assignments, often without overtime pay. This also frequently requires workers to perform multiperson tasks on their own, including repairs using ladders and work involving heavy machinery. Workrelated injuries, as well as exhaustion from overwork, have forced many workers to take short-term disability leave. Positions left vacant by workers on disability have not been filled, compounding the original issue.

Despite serious understaffing, the Facilities and Management Department has created several new manager positions within the last few years with salaries significantly higher than those of the workers. Even as the workforce has shrunk to a dangerous level, more managers are being hired to coordi-

VIEWPOINT • Stenger

nate their declining numbers. Rather than promoting current employees for these positions, Morey hired the majority of new managers from Architect of the Capitol, the agency for which he worked before coming to Georgetown.

Why would Morey pass over employees who have been at Georgetown for decades and have strong relationships with their co-workers in favor of these outside hires?

These allegations of overwork and questionable hiring practices point to a workplace that fails to uphold our university’s Jesuit values of care, dignity and safety, as well as our commitment to act in solidarity with the worker as manifested by our Just Employment Policy. Furthermore, we hope that the administration — particularly Morey — will cooperate with both students and workers to correct the problems of understaffing and create a safer, more respectful environment for Georgetown’s facilities workers.

Therefore, we ask Morey, the Facilities and Management managerial staff and the Georgetown administration as a whole to provide us with records of all new managerial hires since December 2012, records of how many workers have been employed in each of the Facilities and Management departments for the last five years, a specific plan to address the understaffing problem and a commitment to stand by the workers of Georgetown in accordance with our Jesuit values and the Just Employment Policy.

Sophie Bauerschmidt Sweeney is a junior in the College. Vincent Delaurentis is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. kory stuer is a freshman in the College. They are representatives of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee.

OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO

National Gun Reform, Redefining Failure A Student Responsibility At Home and Abroad

O

ne hundred forty-nine days ago: Nine parishioners were shot dead with a legally purchased 45-caliber handgun in Charleston, N.C. Seventy-nine days ago: Two journalists were shot on live TV with a legally purchased 9mm handgun in Moneta, Va. Forty-three days ago: 10 people were shot with six legally purchased handguns and rifles at the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg, Ore. This is not news. Hearing about another mass shooting is not as shocking as it should be. We have become so desensitized that we feel powerless. We have grown numb to the daily reminder that none of us are safe from the national epidemic of gun violence. The gun lobby has proven to be more powerful than our demand and desire for a safer world.

The very senselessness that leads to the act of randomly taking someone’s life through the pull of a trigger is mirrored in our paralyzed response to the tragedies. The families of every victim taken by gun violence — along with the rest of the American people — are left wondering who will be next.

We shouldn’t have to wait to find out.

As a freshman at Georgetown, I was pleased to find out about Georgetown Against Gun Violence: a club committed to educating the community about gun violence and to leading a movement for reform, starting with students. The two founders of the club, Emma Iannini (SFS ’16) and Sarah Clements (COL ’18), are from Newtown, Conn. After the Sandy Hook shooting, three years ago this December, Emma, Sarah and many other activists around the country transformed their pain into positive change. They have called on all of us to be more than simple bystanders who are silenced by the seemingly impossible task ahead. They encourage us to stand up and demand that our voices be heard.

I’ve lived my whole life in the flatlands of Oakland, Calif., a place I’m proud to call home. I have fond memories of the streets of Oakland, such as playing kickball with the neighborhood kids and walking to school with my dad and sisters. But although I always feel safe at home, my neighborhood is no stranger to violence — gang-related or otherwise.

Two years ago this December my 20-year-old cousin Michael was walking home late at night about a mile from my house. A local gang member drove up the street and shot Michael point-blank in the head with an illegally purchased gun. He shot him from inside his car, then drove off. He took his life because he thought Michael had done something he had not done. He killed Michael on a hunch.

My cousin was left lying on the sidewalk because someone had mistaken him for someone else.

Before Michael was murdered, the street corners with candles in remembrance to victims and the names of homicide victims in the news all seemed to be the sad realities of other peoples’ lives. But suddenly, I saw my last name in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle. A member of my family had died an unnecessary death from a completely preventable cause. Gang retaliation is one example of the many ways in which guns can enable people to act on assumption and emotion. We cannot simply take someone’s life because we have a hunch that they might deserve it in our prejudiced calculus.

While Georgetown students are very diverse, the fact that we have access to a college education gives us a national advantage over countless people and a responsibility to use our resources to give a voice to the voiceless. Whether those at risk from gun violence are suburban elementary school students or inner-city residents, our Jesuit values have instilled in us a call to be women and men for others. As students at Georgetown, we are part of a tradition that fosters social change and leadership in the service of others.

This year marks the first year that deaths by guns outnumber deaths by cars for Americans aged 18 through 30.

The National Rifle Association, among others, resists any legislation for gun reform and worries that stricter gun safety laws would compromise America’s most fundamental freedoms.

Gun reform is crucial to preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands and is not an attempt to take away all guns. It’s time to put our safety above the shallow argument that our right to bear arms is at stake This year, we,as college students have already lived through 26 college campus shootings. A university is an institution of learning. On campus, we should feel safe from unwarranted attacks. It is a shameful truth that many college campuses, including ours, are currently developing comprehensive safety protocols in the case of a school shooting. Unfortunately, these safety protocols are necessary; we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the terrifying reality at hand.

Previous generations have failed us by refusing to stand up to the gun lobby.

Now it is confronting us, and unless we take action, we, too, will fail. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our fellow students to call for gun safety reform and demand action.

We cannot let ourselves grow numb to yet another tragedy. We cannot tolerate being in a constant state of fear.

We must find the courage to stand up.

The access to college education gives us a responsibility to advocate for gun control and to give a voice to the voiceless.

Sarah Stenger is a freshman in the College. She is also the co-director of the School Safety team at Georgetown Against Gun Violence.

I

waltzed into the academic office, sifted through the stack of China-Africa relations papers and confidentially picked up my own before checking my grade. 52 percent. Once upon a time I was high school valedictorian, and now here I was, sitting two percentage points above the failure mark on a paper that counts for half the class’ cumulative grade. Oh, how times have changed. As has my relationship with “failure.”

My nonchalance at the prospect of failing a course for the first time in my life while receiving my personal lowest grade ever was not without reason. Thank the Lord my abroad grades won’t factor into my GPA. But apart from this technical reasoning, I have also come to terms with falling desperately short of success while abroad.

South Africa does not have the same grading system as does the United States with its GPA obsession.

Instead, most of Alexander my peers at Stellenbosch are working to pass their classes, rather than score the highest marks to move a 3.61 GPA to a 3.63. It’s not uncommon for a student, even a bright student, to fail a class and have to retake a course now and again. In fact, it is quite common that students take an extra year or two to finish their degree rather than finish within the three year goal.

Students who finish in three years enter the work force immediately. Students taking an extra year or two have a slightly different journey, but ultimately enter that same work force with the same academic background. Perhaps South Africa’s concept of failure — one that eliminates the stigma and provides the necessary academic support to ensure no one is left behind — is superior to the American concept, which has connotations of degradation and humiliation. American ideas about failure can lead to pressure to drop out of school entirely for failing one class, or even worse, moving to the next level without mastering the foundations first.

I thought my paper analyzing China’s motives and future prospects with respect to naval antipiracy operations off the Horn of Africa was brilliant. The grader thought the structure was trash and the title was too long.

No matter which one of us is closer to the truth, I know a whole lot more about China’s evolving military now than I did before. In fact, writing this paper gave me an idea for a second paper in my International Relations of Africa class that the professor recommended I attempt to publish. Yesterday’s failure became today’s success. They weren’t different paths; they were two parts of the same journey.

I’ve learned from failure outside of the classroom as well. The student protests that shook the nation a few weeks ago pushed exams back a week, heavily affecting travel plans. After failing to plan enough in advance, and then changing plans six times to finally fit my new exam schedule, I ended up deciding to travel solo.

Starting tomorrow I’m going to be spending a week hiking in a mountainous valley and wine vineyards.

However, I won’t be alone on this guided 60 kilometer leisurely hike.

As if third wheeling wasn’t already awkward enough, I now will be third wheeling four different couples I don’t even know. I’m starting to think I might have accidentally booked a honeymoon activity rather than a solo trek.

I have also failed to pack for this trip that begins tomorrow.

That’s okay. I’m officially done with classes, with a break longer than Christmas for the Bobroske first time since August 2014.

Out goes the structured life that got me to valedictorian and in comes more spontaneity that makes me enjoy the little things in life.

I failed to understand why everyone was weirdly touching my hand for an extended period of time, only to finally realize they were attempting the local three-part handshake.

I failed to go to the iconic Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held as a prisoner because I bought the tickets for the wrong day.

At the beginning of the semester, I completely failed to answer any question about viticulture. At the last Wine and Culture Society event I attended, my American friend and I ended up winning the trivia competition, proudly defeating the South Africans at their own game.

Started from the bottom, now we have a free bottle of Pinotage — South Africa’s specialty wine.

It turns out that failure is not always so bad after all. Failure is not always the antithesis of success, but rather the other side of the same coin. Failure can spark new ideas, provide motivation to overcome obstacles and teach life lessons. Whether you are on the brink of a serious problem like failing a class or simply experiencing a comical “epic fail,” just know that failure doesn’t always have to be dark and gloomy.

We can shape failure into something new and good. We can also let failure go and start from scratch. We all will experience failure, even if it is entirely out of our control; what we make of that failure, though, is entirely up to us.

Alexander Bobroske is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

Oh The Places You’ll Go appears every other Friday.

A4

THE HOYA

PAGE FOUR

NEWS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Virtual reality software is now available for students at the Gelardin New Media Center at Lauinger Library. Story on A7.

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya.

IN FOCUS

HONORING VETERANS

“

verbatim

D.C. citizens are citizens of the United States just like any other American yet they cannot vote on laws that directly affect how they are run.”

Madeline Taub (COL ’18), a Washington, D.C. native, on statehood. Story on A8.

from

MSB.GEORGETOWN.EDU

KATHLEEN GUAN/THE HOYA

The university celebrated Veterans Day with a ceremony organized by the Georgetown University Student Veterans Association and Office of University President John J. DeGioia on White-Gravenor Lawn on Wednesday. See story on A5.

WHICH SCHOOL ARE YOU? Feeling isolated? Struggling with your sense of self and purpose? Take our quiz to figure out if you are a MSBro or a diligent SFSer. blog.thehoya.com

GU Falls Further in Annual Sexual Health Rankings ALY PACHTER Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown fell 19 spots, from 93 to 112, in the 10th Annual Trojan Brand Condoms’ 2015 Sexual Health Report Card, a study that ranked 140 colleges and universities based on the accessibility of sexual health resources and information available to students on campus.

The report card, released Nov. 4, graded schools on services across 11 categories including quality of resources and information, HIV and STI testing, condom and contraceptive availability and sexual assault programs and resources. In 2013, Georgetown ranked 96.

Trojan Brand Condoms partnered with Sperling’s BestPlaces, an independent research company, to conduct its survey. Bert Sperling, the survey’s creator, said the drop indicates a lack of improvement rather than a decline in services.

“It’s not what I would call a significant drop,” Sperling said. “It could be a matter of Georgetown not having really any less services than last year. It could also have a lot to do with how a lot of the schools around it changed their positions.”

Sperling also said the lack of information about both male and female contraceptives online contributed to Georgetown’s low ranking. Currently, the website only lists common first signs of pregnancy and directs students to Health Education Services.

“How to keep from getting pregnant, how to be safe from sexually transmitted illnesses … that kind of information is not available at all,” Sperling said. “If students want that kind of information, they have to look elsewhere.”

Director of Georgetown’s Student Health Center James Marsh said he is surprised by the university’s drop in the ranking.

“We have not changed anything regarding how we offer access to sexual health services,” Marsh wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “I am puzzled as to why we fell in the rankings.”

According to Marsh, the university’s relatively low ranking may be attributed to its religious affiliation.

“As a Catholic institution, we do not offer or discuss abortion services or offer free contraceptive devices, such as condoms,” Marsh wrote.

Maddy Moore (SFS ’17), a member of the Sexual Assault Peer Educator program, said the university’s Catholic identity hinders access to adequate sexual health resources.

“This lack of resources is mitigated by unofficial student groups, such as H*yas for Choice, but the need is not fully addressed,” Moore wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “It

NAAZ MODAN/THE HOYA

Georgetown ranked 112th on the 10th Annual Trojan Brand Condoms’ 2015 Sexual Health Report Card, falling 19 spots from its 93rd ranking in 2014. Schools were evaluated on the accessibility of sexual health resources, with Oregon State University taking first place. often seems like the conversations around sexual health are not being addressed on an institutional level through offices and programs.”

H*yas for Choice Events Coordinator Dani Reardon (COL ’18) said that the group faces obstacles in its work to fill the gaps in sexual health resources.

“Because of our lack of resources and funding, we cannot always meet student need,” Reardon wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “For example, H*yas for Choice cannot provide birth control and, in general, students are unable to get birth control at Student Health unless they explicitly state they are using it for hormone regulation and not for the purpose of birth control.”

Researchers collected extensive data via student health center representatives, along with follow-up secondary research on those centers and services they provide on campus.

Assistant Director of the Student Health Center Roanna Kessler said that while the Student Health Center at Georgetown does not provide contraception, it does provide certain resources pertaining to sexual health.

“We provide comprehensive screening, testing and treatment for the entire array of sexually transmitted infections,” Kessler wrote in an email to THE HOYA. “We also prescribe hor-

monal contraceptives for medical indications such as irregular periods [and] severe cramps.”

In addition to the services provided by the Student Health Center, HES offers free pregnancy tests and has a special phone line for sexual health questions and pregnancy concerns.

HES Director Carol Day said the program addresses a variety of issues beyond health and pregnancy.

“Our office is also the best first stop for students who are impacted by sexual assault, relationship violence [and stalking],” Day wrote in an email to THE HOYA. Marsh agreed that certain aspects of the Student Health Center could be improved.

“We could examine our approach to sexual health education offered during private office visits to ensure we are offering the most accurate and current information” Marsh wrote. “We could also strengthen our relationship with the department of health education.”

Moore said the addition of programs that address sexual health and healthy relationships could greatly improve the university’s standing.

“We have programs that encourage authentic discussion around sexual violence, but those issues are undoubtedly linked to the collective silencing around consent

and what it means to engage in a healthy sexual act,” Moore wrote.

Top ranked schools including Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Georgia and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor boast extensive online resources and a network of student peer groups.

OSU was named the best school in the country for sexual health for the second year in a row, earning perfect scores in nearly every category.

“It often seems like the conversations around sexual health are not being addressed on an institutional level through offices and programs.””

MADDY MOORE (SFS ’17) Sexual Assault Peer Educator

Sperling highlighted the importance of the report card for both students and administration in opening a dialogue about student sexual health.

“It provides documentation for dialogue, a sort of evidence,” Sperling said. “Students have, in the past, gone to their administration and said

‘Look how we’re doing. Why aren’t we doing better than other schools? Why aren’t we getting the information that other people have?’”

Sperling also touted the rankings as a resource for parents interested in learning what resources and information are being offered to their children.

“This is the first time for a lot of students leaving home and it’s great to know that the college is providing this information so students can make the transition into adulthood in the best way possible,” Sperling said.

According to Moore, conservative alumni and outside organizations have pressured the university to avoid providing information and resources surrounding sexual health.

“As a Catholic institution, the university is tied to moral teachings and understandings around sex that might not always prioritize the well-being of students,” Moore wrote. “It’s crucial to understand that our Jesuit messages of cura personalis apply to addressing students’ sexual health decisions.”

Reardon said that the unversity’s religious affiliation is no excuse for its lack of resources.

“While I understand that Georgetown’s Catholic identity is deeply entrenched, it is unhealthy for Georgetown to not be realistic about the sexual health needs of its students,” Reardon wrote.

news

friday, november 13, 2015

THE HOYA

A5

Veterans Day Ceremony Highlights Service, Integration SYED Humza Moinuddin Hoya Staff Writer

The university celebrated Veterans Day with a ceremony featuring speeches from veteran students, faculty and administrators on the integration of veterans into the wider community on White-Gravenor Lawn on Wednesday.

The ceremony also posthumously honored alumnus Charles Rand (MED 1873), who received a Medal of Honor following the Civil War. The Georgetown University Student Veterans Association and the Office of University President John J. DeGioia organized the event, which included a reception in Riggs Library after the ceremony.

Students in the McDonough Military Association, a group of student veterans in the McDonough School of Business, also led a wreath-laying in Arlington Cemetery on the day.

In his keynote address, GUSVA President James Perkins (GSB ’16) praised how Georgetown paves the way for students to pursue their own paths of service.

“As one of the most elite universities in America, Georgetown is in a unique place where we transform many youth into the future leaders and policymakers,” Perkins said.

“Standing here, you will also see how many of us transition into the exercisers of policy.”

Perkins also said the university could do more to better integrate veteran students into the community, calling for more dialogue between the two.

“We simply cannot thank our veterans until we appreciate what they’ve done,” Perkins said. “In order to do so, we need to bridge a gap. I ask all of you to just listen, and embrace the opportunity … to engage and have meaningful interaction with someone from the military.”

At the event GUSVA Undergraduate Liaison Nick Broussard (COL ’17) also agreed that the university

community would benefit from improved discourse between student veterans and the rest of the student body.

“I actually view Veterans Day as a catalyst for nonmilitary and military-connected individuals to interact in a way they may not under other circumstances,” Broussard said.

“Getting thoughts and ideas in the open, establishing relationships and conversation — all these things can only create a better environment for learning and broaden understanding of our experiences.”

At Georgetown, the Hoya Battalion serves as a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps battalion that has commissioned more than 4,100 officers over the past two centuries. The battalion also includes cadets from five local institutions, including Georgetown, American University and The George Washington University.

Alumnus Lieutenant General David Barno (SFS ’87) also delivered an address on how veterans are distinguished from civilians.

“Call it a spirit or ethic that veterans take from their time in uniform out into their lives, a deep-down belief that animates them to want to continue to serve and keep giving back to the nation,” Barno said.

Following Perkins’ speech, Barno delivered an address on the importance of overcoming elitism among active and former service members.

“I reject that notion that veterans are intrinsically somehow better than our fellow citizens,” Barno said. “Such an elitism, which suggests that somehow [service members] are such a special breed above others … is something I don’t think is right.”

Barno also stressed that returning service members should focus on contributing to the country in a positive way.

“The spirit of selflessness and commitment that our veterans bring with them, from flight deck and operating bases to their church-

KATHLEEN GUAN/THE HOYA

Veteran students, alumni and community members participated in a Veterans Day ceremony on WhiteGravenor lawn Wednesday afternoon, which also honored Medal of Honor recipient Charles Rand (MED 1873). es and homes … is truly what unites all our veterans,” Barno said. “Their spirit is what makes them especially valuable resources for America.”

Chief of Staff to the Office of the President Joe Ferrara received a flag from Lieutenant Colonel Michael Donahue of the Hoya Battalion onstage that symbolized the link between the university community and military service members.

Veterans Office Director LeNaya Hezel, who was involved in planning

the ceremony, expressed her respect for the day’s celebration of veterans’ accomplishments.

“Veterans Day, in my view, is about honoring and celebrating those who have made many sacrifices for the sake of our nation,” Hezel said.

“Whether it was the ultimate sacrifice, or the sacrifice of being away from their homes and family, it’s important to acknowledge their service and the way they made our country better.”

Navy ROTC member Audrey Fordham (NHS ’18), who attended the ceremony, said it is important to consider the impact veterans can have on wider community discourse.

“I think it’s important for people to see how veterans come back and contribute to the university,” Fordham said. “The more we celebrate their experiences, the more we can learn from their perspectives, and the better a community we can become.”

Metro Leadership Changes Professors Launch Urban Studies Minor Proposal Molly Cooke Hoya Staff Writer

The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority board of directors unanimously named Paul J. Wiedefeld the next Metro general manager and chief executive officer Nov. 5.

Wiedefeld, who formerly served as CEO of the Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, will replace Interim GM/CEO Jack Requa, who has now served for 10 months after a formal WMATA board vote to officially appoint him Nov. 19.

Additionally, the House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan amendment to approve the Federal Transit Administration’s takeover of the Metro on Oct. 9.

This selection follows former defense and airline products executive Neal Cohen, rumored to be the WMATA’s first choice, leaving negotiations Nov. 2, reportedly due to an unwillingness to undergo public scrutiny.

WMATA board of directors Chairman Mortimer Downey emphasized the board’s support of Wiedefeld’s appointment and expressed the belief that the new leadership will improve Metro operation.

“This Board is very pleased to have a senior executive of Mr. Wiedefeld’s caliber who will help us build a new standard of

safety, reliability and financial stability for our system,” Downey said in a Nov. 5 WMATA press release. “The board will continue in our governance and oversight role in a manner that helps Paul succeed in running the day-to-day operations of Metro to better serve our riders, rebuild faith in management and restore credibility with stakeholders.”

The press release also noted that Wiedefeld is declining further comment until after his official appointment next week.

“I am humbled and excited to learn of the Board’s unanimous support, but believe it is inappropriate to comment further until the Board takes its final action at the November 19 meeting,” Wiedefeld said in WMATA’s press release.

According to the Washington City Paper, the Metro’s consumer satisfaction is at its lowest point since 2013, with 82 and 67 percent satisfaction rates for the bus and rail systems, respectively.

Wiedefeld’s leadership comes after other efforts to improve WMATA’s rider satisfaction. WMATA launched Amplify, an online forum for rider feedback, Oct. 15.

WMATA Riders’ Union spokesperson Graham Jenkins expressed hope that Wiedefeld’s appointment will mark the start of a new phase of leadership for the

Metro.

“The number one thing is to have some leadership that’s stable and seems permanent,” Jenkins said.

“Hopefully he will bring with him a new sweep of leaders and upper-level managers to implement his vision.”

Jenkins cited a number of issues he hopes Wiedefeld will address, including frequency of trains, fares, safety and communication. Midday frequency on weekdays for all rails is 12 minutes.

“At the very least [this] is a waste of this expensive infrastructure,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said the Riders’ Union would like to see a more reasonably priced monthly pass. Currently, WMATA’s only offer is a rail-only 28-day pass for $237.

Jenkins also highlighted the need to prioritize Metro rider security. Jenkins noted that this would require improved communication between upper management and line-level employees responsible for construction, as well as riders.

“The safety culture is a real thing that the agency should be striving for,” Jenkins said. “Much more informative notices of pending track work, of disruptions, and why we’re being disrupted and what’s being done to prevent future instances of it would be ideal.”

ROBERT CORTES FOR THE HOYA

After 10 months under the leadership of interim GM/CEO Jack Requa, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority board of directors named Paul J. Wiedefeld to the position.

Emily Tu

on a strength that already exists at Georgetown, simply making it more visible and organized.”

Linkon also emphasized the practical compoSeveral faculty members are collaborating nents of the curriculum as a chance for students with the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and to become more actively engaged in the Washthe Working Poor to develop an undergradu- ington, D.C., community. ate urban studies minor, which they aim to “I think it’ll have a really strong hands-on elebegin offering in fall 2016. ment that will let students take the experiences English professor Sherry Linkon, sociology they’ve had through things like all the various professor Brian McCabe and John Russo, a visit- programs offered through the Center for Social ing researcher at KILWP, are leading the devel- Justice and develop those and make them deepopment of the minor. The group initially began er, make them richer, and do some research but considering the curriculum last winter and re- also do their own grant writing and project decently completed the proposal. velopment and hands-on work in the neighborThe minor will be an interdisciplinary course hoods of D.C.,” Linkon said. of study focused on the implications of urbanizaThe current minor proposal outlines an extention on a variety of fields. The minor’s courses sive application process for students. The process will be taught by faculty from fields including will determine costs, feasibility, time span and sociology, psychology, anthropology, English, outcomes for students’ proposed projects. history, justice and peace studies, international “To apply, students will need to identify the health and the culture and politics program in core issues addressed by the project, discuss the School of Foreign Service. potential community partners, develop a budThe project to develop the urban studies mi- get and work plan to complete the project, nor is part of the Designing the Future(s) of the identify learning outcomes from the compleUniversity initiative, a program founded last tion of the urban studio and construct evaluApril that seeks to introduce various projects of ation tools to determine how learning will be educational experimentation. measured,” a statement on the Designing the For the new minor to be implemented, it Future(s) website reads. must first be approved by the Core Curriculum The minor will also include projects that allow Committee in the Office of students to engage with the the Provost, a group of 13 community.

“It will go beyond all faculty members from vari“Some potential studio projous departments that ap- the kinds of volunteer ects may include communityproves all curriculum probased organizing efforts, poliposals. The proposal may work that students cy-based research on an urban also have to be reviewed by problem, ethnographic field rethe main campus Executive already do in D.C. to search in a neighborhood, proFaculty, a legislative body ask students to think ducing a documentary about including representatives neighborhood change, or orfrom each academic unit of about how you would ganizing an exhibit or arts festhe Main Campus, includtival or developing services to ing department, program, solve the problems address a specific community faculty, senate and student that this city faces.” need,” the website reads. representatives.

Linkon highlighted the educaThe KILWP was founded tional benefits participants can SHERRY LINKON in 2009 to establish projects gain from the program, which English Professor that explore workers’ rights aims to supplement the commupolicies, coalition-building between labor and nity work students currently already take part in. community groups and student engagement in “It’ll provide an opportunity for those who are local advocacy. interested in the problems and challenges that According to a presentation created by Linkon cities present us with, everything from poverty and Russo, the course of study will recognize and and gentrification to how economic growth hapexplore the intersectionality that characterizes pens,” Linkon said. “We’ll really treat this city as a current working-class issues in the United States. lab and engage our students in trying to address “[The Urban Studies minor will be] focused on the issues in this city. It will go beyond all of the the history, lived experiences, perspectives, social kinds of volunteer work that students already do organizations and activities of the working class, in D.C. to ask students to think about how you emphasizing intersections between class, race, would solve the problems that this city faces.” gender, sexuality and other aspects of diversity,” Linkon and Russo also stressed the role the miLinkon and Russo wrote in the presentation. nor can play in increasing awareness and under“[The minor] emphasizes worker agency and standing of issues in urban studies. views the working class as actors, not subjects.” “[The minor is] not only about the labor According to the Designing the Future(s) web- movement, or about workers of any particular site, core courses for the minor will be drawn kind, or workers in particular place; we study from the university’s current urban studies clus- how class works for people at home, work, and ter, which tags courses in various departments community,” Linkon and Russo wrote in the related to urban studies. The minor will empha- presentation. “[We] encourage class conscioussize both coursework and project-based research, ness and agency among the working class.” with students completing nine or more credits Linkon expressed optimism about the implein coursework and six additional credits from mentation of the minor, but noted that the upcollaborative or independent projects. coming administrative approval process for the Linkon explained that the cluster acts as a curriculum may be lengthy. foundation for the minor to build upon in struc“It’s a really exciting opportunity, but we also turing its curriculum. have a long way to go before we’re ready to do it,” “We’re trying to decide if there will be any spe- Linkon said. “I want people to get excited, but I cific courses required or if there will be a struc- don’t want people to think that this is going to ture to the kinds of things we want students to happen instantly. These things can take some do,” Linkon said. “But that cluster helps make time.” clear to us and make clear to our colleagues across campus as this proposal develops that Hoya Staff Writer Margaret Heftler contributed there is a genuine interest and we’re building reporting.

Hoya Staff Writer

A6

news

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015

Report Reveals Transgender Discrimination in DC TRANS, from A1 through the collaboration platform.

Transgender Equality reported that the unemployment rate for transgender individuals was 14 percent, twice the national level of 7 percent at that time. Unemployment rates of transgender individuals who are Latino, black or of mixed race were 18, 28 and 18 percent, respectively.

Bobbi Strang, a transgender woman who is a member of the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, said it is common for individuals to go through an extended period of unemployment after gender transition. In her own case, it took more than a year for her to find a new job after transition, even with 10 years of management experience, a master’s degree, fluency in Spanish and a teaching certificate.

Strang recounted an experience where the interviewer suddenly stopped the conversation immediately after she revealed her transition and never followed up. “[Employment discrimination] is much worse for transpeople that have limited skills and education and experience,” Strang said.

Palacio emphasized how discrimi-

nation occurs not only in employment but also in housing, medical benefits and legal protection for partner privileges.

“We are still binary when we think about gender: boy and girl, male and female,” Palacio said. “I don’t think that we are culturally ready to adapt to [gender nonconformity], even though D.C. is one of the most LGBT- friendly [areas] in the United States.”

Even with the OHR’s findings, D.C. provides the nation’s strongest districtwide employment discrimination protection for the LGBT community. The D.C. Human Rights Act explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment, public accommodations and educational institutions.

As of 2015, D.C. joins only 18 states that have statewide legislation outlawing employment discrimination against both gay and transgender individuals. Many states do not provide full protection for both groups.

For example, Massachusetts ensures legal protection for all LGBT individuals in employment and housing, but not for transgender individuals in public accommodations.

According to Lexi Dever (COL ’16), a transgender student who works at the LGBTQ Resource Center, Georgetown provides support to LGBT students in the realm of employment.

After Dever’s transition, she held four different jobs on campus without experiencing problems.

“I don’t think that we are culturally ready to adapt to [gender nonconformity], even though D.C. is one of the most LGBT-friendly [areas] in the United States.”

MONICA PALACIO Director, D.C. Office of Human Rights

Transgender students may also request to use a chosen first name in lieu of their legal name through MyAccess.

Dever stressed that it is still difficult for gender nonconforming students to find gender-neutral residences under the current housing policy, which requires that students live only with others of the same gen-

der.

“When you’re the third gender that the university does not recognize, that makes everything much more difficult,” Dever said. “While some people might not find this as discrimination, I do. They definitely inhibit one’s ability to work and live in Georgetown, in D.C., in the U.S. or in the world.”

According to GU Pride President Campbell James (SFS ’17), there have been several incidents this year in which Yates Field House employees removed students from locker rooms based on their perceived gender identity. James also added that there are no gender-neutral restrooms in several older buildings on campus.

“There are always issues in bathrooms and locker rooms where people may not look how others would expect them to,” James said. “So that ends up leading to a lot of discrimination and discomfort.”

In terms of university policy, Dever expressed the belief that increased student engagement and transparency would contribute to future changes for LGBT students. “[The school needs to ask,] ‘What are your experience as students?

How have you struggled or thrived?

What is working and not working?

What do we need to fix that?’ And [the school should be more] open about the process ongoing,” Dever said.

Transgender patients accused MedStar Georgetown University Hospital of denying treatment to multiple transgender patients in June. One of the patients filed a complaint to the OHR about the hospital’s alleged refusal to treat transgender individuals. The case is still pending.

MedStar Director of Media Relations Marianne Worley maintained that the hospital does not discriminate in an email to The Hoya in June.

“We see and diagnose anyone who presents to us,” Worley wrote. “Quality always drives our decision in determining what is best for patients and we continually evaluate our services and programs to ensure the highest quality outcomes. A gender transition program is very complex requiring an array of specialists with expertise in hormonal therapy, surgery and psychological services, to name just a few. Our conclusion has been that a high quality gender transition service is best delivered in the context of an integrated program rather than in a fragmented manner.”

Community Expresses Solidarity Student-Athletes SOLIDARITY, from A1 Crystal Walker (SFS ’16), Candace Milner (MSB ’16), Queen Adesuyi (COL ’16), Ayo Aruleba (COL ’17) and Stephanie Estevez (COL ’16) — began with speeches that identified the experiences of students of color at Mizzou and Yale as reflections of a prevalent national issue.

“We came here today because this is not just a problem with Mizzou, not just a problem with Yale, not just a problem with UWC. This is a problem all around the world,” Walker said. “Anti-blackness is real, anti-blackness is a thing, and if we stand and take that, then they’re going to do whatever the hell they want to us.”

Walker also emphasized the importance of working toward institutional change to achieve progress.

“We’re tired of dialogue,” Walker said. “We want tangible change.

There are so many things that can be done with the stroke of a pen. I don’t think we realize that.”

Milner said she defined solidarity as ensuring equal education and holding Georgetown accountable for its past wrongs and the experiences of current students.

“Solidarity is to ensure black students have access to education no matter where they come from. We will stand on this campus and we will hold Georgetown accountable for the experiences of black students,” Milner said. ”We will hold GU responsible for the experiences of black bodies on this campus since they were here. … Black bodies built those buildings.”

After announcing the sit-in and distributing leaflets delineating demands, the organizers invited students of color to share their experiences of racial injustice at Georgetown. They also circulated an online petition to collect signups for the sit-in to ensure a minimum of 10 students are seated outside the Office of the President at all times.

Students organized the rally through a Facebook event, which has garnered over 600 RSVPs as of press time. The event continues to stay active in order to organize the sit-in and for further demonstrations of solidarity. In addition to attending the event, many students reposted a Facebook status urging solidarity with Concerned Student 1950, the group of Mizzou students who spearheaded activism on their campus.

Campus RESPONSES In a statement to The Hoya about the rally, DeGioia said encouraging continued conversation and dialogue is an important part of Georgetown’s identity.

“As a university, we are a place where conversations are convened and dialogue is encouraged, even on topics that may be difficult. This is what we have done, and what we will continue to do at Georgetown,” DeGioia wrote.

DeGioia also stressed the importance of continuing to build upon conversations on identity with work that combines administrative and student input.

“We are supportive of our students and proud of the ways they have engaged race, identity, diversity and equity here at Georgetown and in our nation,” DeGioia wrote. “We look forward to continuing our work together with our community.”

After student and community activists raised concerns over the retention of Mulledy Hall’s name, DeGioia announced the formation of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation in September.The group consists of 16 students, faculty and alumni, and is dedicated to addressing the history and ramifications of Jesuit slaveholding at Georgetown, but it has been criticized for its slow pace, as student activists stated

at the rally that simply encouraging dialogue on the issue is not enough.

In response to suggestions of changing campus tours to reflect Georgetown’s slaveholding history, Blue and Gray Tour Guide Society Vice President Lizzie Pinede (COL ’16) said Blue and Gray is open to improving tours to emphasize the contributions of the black community to Georgetown.

“Blue and Gray strives to portray the history of Georgetown as positively and accurately as we can. With that said, we cannot ignore how the institution of slavery has had an impact on the history of this university,” Pinede wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“We are open to any and all suggestions of how our tours can better include the history of the buildings on campus, as well as honor and appreciate the many positive contributions black people have made on this university.”

Campus dialogue around diversity achieved a milestone with the passing of the diversity requirement to university core curriculums in April 2015, which came as a result of increased student activism including the Being Black at Georgetown hashtag, a nationally covered lens into the experiences of black students at Georgetown. According to event organizers, the passing of the diversity requirement is only the beginning in a fight against racial injustice on campus.

In the past year, students have participated in a “campus die-in,” a show of solidarity with victims of police brutality nationwide, among other demonstrations of solidarity. Activists also traveled to Ferguson, Mo., and composed the “Am I Next?” spoken word video, a nationally recognized spoken word piece conceived and organized by LaDarius Torrey (COL ’16) and performed by Walter Kelly (COL ’16).

A National DIALOGUE The student movement at Georgetown is the result of ongoing racial tensions on university campuses, which received extensive media coverage this week when the University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe resigned Monday. Wolfe and his administration had been under fire for failing to address issues of racial intolerance. Last week, Jonathan Butler, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, went on a hunger strike, while members of the university football team refused to play in their weekend game to bring attention to prevalent racism on campus.

Racism and violent threats were also levied toward students at Howard University yesterday, as an anonymousindividual made reference to the University of Missouri and threatened to kill any black student on Howard’s campus. These threats follow additional death threats posted on the social media application Yik Yak toward Mizzou students Wednesday.

The demonstration also comes at a time when activists have argued that the media has failed to accurately cover the experiences of individuals of color. Activists’ dissatisfaction with the media came to national attention when University of Missouri students physically blocked Tim Tai, a Mizzou student and photojournalist working on assignment for ESPN, from covering a the student protest.

In an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Wednesday, journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr wrote that the media should focus on covering victims of racism in a way that shows compassion.

“In most circumstances, when covering people who are in pain, journalists offer extra space and empathy,” Starr wrote. “But that didn’t happen in this case. These young people weren’t treated as hurting victims.”

Student activists at Georgetown announced before the demonstration that they would not speak with any members of both on- and off-campus media, and encouraged other attendees to not speak to the press.

“For the sake of the space we will be in, please do not speak to any on campus/off-campus media folk as we don’t want the narrative to be misconstrued,” Walker wrote on the Facebook event page. She explained her stance in a later post that linked to Starr’s piece.

SHARING PERSPECTIVES Members of the university community responded positively to the activists’ efforts.

Associate professor of history Marcia Chatelain, an alumna of the University of Missouri and member of the Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, said she is encouraged by the cooperation and solidarity between students across varied schools both domestically and internationally.

“It’s great. What I love that I’m seeing, that has really inspired me, is this ability of students to understand … at the end of the day, all students, regardless of where they go to school, want to have a safe and meaningful experience as students,” Chatelain said.

Center for Multicultural Equity and Access Executive Director Charlene Brown-McKenzie said she appreciated the depth to which Georgetown students engage issues of racial injustice while emphasizing selfcare.

“As our own GU students also confront issues of racial injustice on campus and their home communities, they can encounter racial battle fatigue and I valued their care for each other as there was a clear call for ‘self-care,’” Brown-McKenzie wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson, who attended the demonstration, said the administration will work in tandem with students to affect change on campus.

“It was valuable for me to hear the student perspectives and the experiences and issues that we care about.

We’re committed to continuing to work together with students, to take these issues seriously, to work to change our campus, to make it the best Georgetown it can be,” Olson wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity Rosemary Kilkenny, who also attended the demonstration, said it was important to hear students’ reflections on their experiences. “[I] was struck by the students’ passionate reflections about their individual experiences at Georgetown,” Kilkenny wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Georgetown University Student Association President Joe Luther (COL ’16) also applauded the turnout and focus of the rally.

“It was inspiring to see so many people standing in solidarity tonight.

The organizers of the event did a great job highlighting what is a continuing problem across this country,” Luther wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Special Assistant to the President Fr. Raymond Kemp, who teaches “Solidarity and the Christian Virtue at Georgetown,” emphasized the impact the rally will have on the greater Georgetown community.

“Seeing half of my class actually speak for solidarity today is inspiring. ... The events at Mizzou, and Yale, and at college across the country are being felt by everyone,” Kemp said. “Here, after today’s rally, people in our community will get the message.”

Hoya Staff Writers Toby Hung, Syed Humza Moinnudin and Aly Pachter contributed reporting.

Protest Nike Use

Group forms after anti-sweatshop event, scrutinizes Nike-Georgetown relationship BOYCOTT, from A1 the campaign. “[Students] need to take provocative public action so that they will have the support of the community because the community understands what they’re doing and why they’re doing it,” Keady said.

According to the Student-Athlete Equipment Agreement, to which all student-athletes must adhere upon joining the university, student-athletes are not allowed to alter university-provided apparel. Violation of this rule may result in their removal of the sports team.

“Never cut, tape or alter any issued equipment or apparel,” the agreement states. “Any unauthorized altered equipment or apparel will result in a bill to the student-athlete to replace the item.”

Justice and peace studies professor Eli McCarthy worked to bring Keady to campus. McCarthy said that an important aspect of the movement will revolve around how Georgetown, as a community, can work together in solidarity with workers, in light of the university’s relationship with Nike.

“A lot is going to depend on passion of students and their creativity and wisdom,” McCarthy said. “As a school in the nation’s capital and as a Jesuit school with a good reputation for intellectual thinking and social justice, there is definitely potential within the system to broaden this out.”

Nike’s relationship with Georgetown Athletics has come under scrutiny in recent years. An article in The Washington Post from October 2012 detailed the relationship between men’s basketball Head Coach John Thompson III and Nike.

Thompson sits on the Nike board and is a friend of Nike CEO Mark Parker.

Jacob Maxmin (COL ’17), the founder of Wearable Justice, a socially conscious clothing company on campus, attended the event Monday. He said he is eager to join the movement and work with student-athletes rallying behind the cause of anti-sweatshop labor.

“I believe that our Jesuit and Catholic identity should be the driving factor for everything we do,” Maxmin said. “I think students are really looking to make a statement, and they want to raise awareness on campus about Nike’s labor practices. This lines up perfectly with Wearable Justice’s mission.”

The Georgetown University Bookstore committed to the anti-sweatshop movement when it began to sell apparel from Alta Gracia, a clothing factory that pro-

vides fair wages to workers, in 2014.

Keady said the eagerness he has seen from students is unprecedented.

“The swift and excited response I got from student-athletes on Monday night at Georgetown is very unique,” Keady said. “They are potentially putting their spots on the team or their scholarships in jeopardy. … It takes a tremendous amount of courage, and I am going to support them every step of the way.”

Keady was a graduate assistant soccer coach at St. John’s University in the late 1990s. After Nike approached the team to negotiate a flagship endorsement deal, Keady expressed opposition upon learning about low wages and abuse at Nike factories. The university forced him to resign, and since then, he has worked as an advocate for workers.

In the summer of 2000, Keady lived on workers’ wages with Nike employees at a slum in Indonesia.

“In the time I was there, I met all of these mostly young women workers who made the stuff that as a college athlete and as a coach that I had worn for years,” Keady said. “I had never thought about who they were or what their lives were like. I promised them I would go home, tell their stories and advocate for them.”

Theology professor Kerry Danner-McDonald asked a number of her students to attend Keady’s talk. She emphasized the degree to which the movement against sweatshop labor aligns with the university’s Jesuit mission.

“The Catholic Church has had a consistently strong statement about the economy needing to work for the dignity of the person.” Danner-McDonald said.

“We want students to be men and women for others. We talk about faith and justice, and even more so we about ‘ad maiorem Dei gloriam’ or ‘for the greater glory of God.’” Keady urged students who wish to become involved to educate both themselves and the campus. He said the Jesuit community has a moral responsibility to rally behind students who choose to protest the contract Georgetown has with Nike.

“They should put those coaches in line and let them know that the Jesuit mission and the commitment to developing women and men for others supersedes any contract that Georgetown has with an athletic company.” Keady said.

“If young women and men are willing to stand up and be a voice for the voiceless … the full weight of the Jesuit community should be behind those student athletes.”

wordpress

Jim Keady, an anti-sweatshop activist, spoke at an event Monday, which inspired student-athletes to boycott Nike for its unethical practices.

News

FRIDAY, november 13, 2015

THE HOYA

A7

Dupont Panel Discusses Religion, Climate Change Owners Fined Christian Paz Hoya Staff Writer

Ian Scoville Hoya Staff Writer

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs fined Len Salas and Max E. Salas, the owners of the Dupont Circle house where Georgetown graduate Nina Brekelmans (GRD ’15) died in a fire June 3, $6,000.

The men received three infraction notices of $2,000, charging that the house was not properly licensed.

Both owners have the opportunity to respond to the infractions. If they deny them, DCRA will hold an administrative hearing.

Resident Michael Patrick McLoughlin, 24 years old, a University of Maryland graduate, also died in the fire.

The families of both victims have also filed $10 million unlawful-death lawsuits against the property owners.

The families alleged that the Salases failed to properly maintain the property; they claim that faulty smoke detectors, windows that were sealed shut and missing fire escapes made it impossible for Brekelmans and McLoughlin to escape the fire, which was caused by an electrical short.

The suit also claims that the building had faulty wiring, which authorities said caused the fire.

Brekelmans graduated May 2015 with a Master of Arts in Arab Studies. While at Georgetown, Brekelmans ran with the Georgetown Running Club, was treasurer of Georgetown Women in International Affairs and interned at the Muslim Chaplaincy.

Five representatives from faithbased nongovernmental organizations stressed the implications of climate change on poverty and justice around the world at a gathering in the Healey Family Student Center on Nov. 9 The second part of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs’ Symposium on Religion and Climate Change brought together American Jewish World Service President Ruth Messinger, Vice President for Government Relations at the National Association of Evangelicals Galen Carey, Lead for the Faith-Based Initiative at the World Bank Adam Taylor and associate professor of politics at the Catholic University of America Maryann Cusimano Love.

Panelists discussed the efforts each has made in his organization to raise awareness about climate change and aid marginalized groups in the context of their faith traditions.

Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at the Berkley Center, moderated the discussion. Marshall stressed a strong common interest between social justice, fighting poverty and climate action before segueing into a conversation on the role of religious social justice organizations.

“The world of international development and the world of climate change have many synergies … which include an emphasis on sustainability, and … the challenges of inequality in the world, as well as the challenges of poor governance,” Marshall said. “The anger and grievances are sparking a third pillar, conflict resolution and peace building.”

Carey also emphasized the importance of recognizing the disproportionate effects of climate change.

“Climate change is already impacting the poorest people among us, and we know that climate change will affect all of us,” Carey said. “The poorest suffer most in disasters, which will be intensifying in years to come.”

Carey said since the poor live in the most vulnerable places and have the fewest resources, they are less able to adapt to changing climates and are more prone to displacement by the growth of deserts or the rise of sea levels. Such displacement contributes to

DAN GANNON/THE HOYA

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs hosted five representatives from national faith-based organizations in a panel discussion on climate change at the Healey Family Student Center on Monday. the increase of violent conflicts.

Messinger also spoke about her organization’s work in Mexico to secure land and water rights for indigenous populations, who are often exploited by mining and agriculture corporations intent on resource extraction.

“We are supporting groups that are advocating for their land against the incursions of outside interests, helping them become parts of larger social movements that are advocating across countries and continents for the right to food sovereignty,” Messinger said.

Messinger also explained the link between deforestation and health, citing last year’s Ebola virus epidemic as proof that climate change can intensify the spread of deadly disease.

Love then spoke about the obligations Catholics have, as laid out in Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si.” “Francis really talks about the connections between … people, poverty, the planet and peace,” Love said. “He says that it cannot be emphasized enough that these are interconnected and that if we seek only a technical remedy to

each, then we are masking the true and deepest problems of the global system.”

After speaking about how financial help through U.S. Agency for Internatinoal Development has helped to provide technical fixes through funding for new farming techniques, Love described the work she has done with Catholic Relief Services in Ghana to determine the detrimental effects climate change has on the poor, particularly in regards to malnutrition as a result of extensive drought and the disenfranchisement of women.

Taylor shared the efforts of the Faith Initiative at the World Bank to revitalize its ties with religious groups around the world to provide funding and research so that nongovernmental organizations can more effectively help disadvantaged groups.

“Climate change poses one of the most quintessential and paradoxical challenges the world faces around the commons itself,” Taylor said.

“We wouldn’t be in this conundrum if the crisis of the commons was at the heart of this issue.”

Taylor emphasized the World

Bank’s most recent research findings on climate change and poverty, which report that unless concerted effort focuses on resolving humans’ impact on the environment, 100 million more people around the world will be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030. The number of people exposed to severe drought is also predicted to increase from 9 to 17 percent by 2030 and from 50 to 90 percent by 2080. Additionally, a 2-degree rise in temperature could increase the number of people at risk from malaria by 150 million.

Taylor stressed the role of religious leaders in educating their congregations on the responsibility religious individuals have to act on climate change.

“We see peaks in awareness and concerns when major disasters strike, but that concern dissipates far too quickly,” Taylor said. “Religious leaders can help sustain it by putting that in the context of their entire Bible study or engaging churches, mosques and synagogues in a long-term fashion.”

Gelardin Center Offers New Petition Pushes Statehood Virtual Reality Headsets Melina Delkic

Special to The Hoya

Cheryl Liu

Special to The Hoya

The Gelardin New Media Center in Lauinger Library began offering the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality software, to students Wednesday.

The Rift, a software developed by technology company Oculus VR, allows users to fully immerse in a virtual reality through its headmounted display.

Students can sign up on the library website for a 15-minute session with the Rift until Dec. 18. As of press time, the next available slots are on Dec. 2.

Gelardin purchased two Rift headsets for $350 in May using funds donated by the Caroon family. One headset will remain in the library, while the other will be available for checkout by faculty and students.

Gelardin Department Head Beth Marhanka said she advocated for the Rift at Georgetown after trying the program firsthand at the University of Virginia.

“I was blown away,” Marhanka said. “This is something that I want Georgetown students and faculty to experience, to see what they might come up with [and] to see what ideas they might develop.”

There are a variety of programs available on the virtual reality headset, each offering a different experience. Two of these programs, GE Neuro and Titans of Space, have a scientific focus, while the others, such as Doors of Silence, No Limits and Project Cars, are more recreational.

GE Neuro, the world’s first-ever animated virtual reality neuro experience, takes the user on a tour of the human brain. Viewers can explore the mind’s thoughts, ideas, fears and memories.

Titans of Space is a guided informational tour of planets and stars shrunk down to one millionth of their actual size.

Doors of Silence is a horror experience in which users attempt to escape a shadowy series of haunted rooms. No Limits takes the viewer on a wild

roller-coaster ride, and Project Cars is a popular automobile racing title.

Marhanka said purchasing the Rift is in line with Gelardin’s mission to expose students to different media and inspire experimentation with new technology.

“You might think of some application in your discipline that could change everything, but you have to have those tools available in order to come up with that idea,” Marhanka said.

The ability to realistically mimic reality may prove useful in education. Marhanka said she hopes faculty and students will be inspired by their experiences with the Rift.

“What I hope is that someone comes in and experiences it and says, ‘Wow, I’ve been looking for a way to teach people,’” Marhanka said.

According to Marhanka, other proposed applications for the Rift include making a virtual classroom to train educators and a virtual audience to practice public speaking. There are currently no plans to use it with university courses, although Marhanka said she is open to the possibility.

Moving forward, Marhanka said Gelardin’s next endeavor is to create a “makers’ space,” where faculty and students will be encouraged to make projects with tools that they might not normally have, like 3-D printers and sewing machines. Gelardin installed a 3-D printer in 2014.

Jane Doyle (COL ’18), a student who engaged in a session with the Rift, said her experience with Titans of Space offered an enlightening perspective on the solar system.

“You get a sense of how big things are and the scale of things that you wouldn’t normally get,” Doyle said.

Deja Lindsey (COL ’18), who also participated in a session, said although the software has some flaws, she enjoyed her overall experience with the Rift.

“I think it has a long way to go. ... Just in general, it does [need] some work,” Lindsey said. “But for the first round, it was really, really good.”

ROBERT CORTES FOR THE HOYA

Students and faculty can sign up for 15-minute sessions at the Gelardin New Media Center to use the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset from this Wednesday to Dec. 18.

Washington, D.C., Councilmember Vincent Orange’s (D-At Large, LAW ’88) yearlong petition in support of District of Columbia statehood launched July, with policymakers discussing the merits of the petition’s demands during a public hearing in the council’s Committee of the Whole on Oct. 27.

Orange’s petition, “Statehood or Else,” aims to garner one million signatures in support of statehood.

Orange will deliver the petition to President Barack Obama and Congress at the Democratic and Republican conventions in July 2016.

The current number of signatures is undisclosed.

Orange declined to comment on the petition.

According to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, any piece of legislation passed by the D.C. Council must undergo a 30-day Congressional review, during which time Congress can prevent the legislation from becoming law. However, Congress has only used this power three times in the past 40 years.

Additionally, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the District’s nonvoting member of the House of Representatives, is D.C.’s only representation in Congress.

Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) has vocally supported the petition and said the rest of the country is unaware of D.C.’s lack of representation.

“Many residents around the country don’t realize that the 660,000 residents of the District don’t have control over their own budget, that Congress can come in and decide which laws they like and don’t like, and that’s something that no other state has to face,” Nadeau said.

Nadeau is asking all visitors to her office to sign the petition and aims to generate enough awareness and activism around the issue to get legislation regarding statehood passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“The most important part of statehood is that we will be able to fully realize our autonomy, that we will

have full representation in the House and Senate, that we will be able to enact our own laws without fear of how Congress will react, and we will be able to set policies that are best for the people of the District of Columbia,” Nadeau said.

Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At-Large) said that after years of failed attempts, the movement is gaining traction today because of a more mature government and increased social media engagement.

While registered District voters are most affected by the campaign, residents elsewhere can lobby their representatives to support the bill.

“If we wouldn’t accept this status for our own cities and states, we wouldn’t accept it for D.C.” SCOTT LOWDER (COL ’18) Board Member, College Democrats

According to Silverman, statehood would affect key issues in D.C. today, such as marijuana legalization, access to family planning resources and budget allocation.

“When you’re talking about family planning and abortion rights, we wouldn’t have disputes with Congress about whether we can use local dollars for that,” Silverman said. “I am fully, enthusiastically in favor of that.”

In November 2014, D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 71, which legalized limited possession and cultivation of marijuana for residents 21 and older. However, the legislation brought the issue of D.C.’s lack of autonomy to light.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) included a policy rider that said the city could not enact any law that legalizes marijuana in a December 2014

spending bill. Despite these efforts, legalization officially went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the end of a 30-day Congressional review period.

Silverman added that she believes college students would benefit from involvement in the statehood campaign and the implications it would have for registering to vote in D.C. “Georgetown has actually had a reputation for having undergrads who have gotten involved in local politics and have become [Advisory Neighborhood Commission] commissioners and been very influential in campus planning,” Silverman said. “I would say, as a college student, your vote is much more important on the local level than it would be on the federal level.”

According to the District’s Board of Elections’ October report on voter registration statistics, 431,746 of D.C.’s 660,000 residents are registered to vote.

Among all 18-24-year-olds in the nation, only 41.2 percent are registered to vote, representing the lowest participation rate among voting-eligible age groups, according to the Census Bureau.

Madeline Taub (COL ’18), who has lived in D.C. her entire life, said it is unfair that D.C. residents who are citizens cannot vote on laws that affect them.

“When I vote I want to be voting for a real representative who can vote on things I believe in, not a shadow representative who can only speak on my behalf,” Taub said. “D.C. citizens are citizens of the United States just like any other American, yet they cannot vote on laws that directly affect how they are run.”

GU College Democrats board member Scott Lowder (COL ’17) said he is surprised that statehood is not a particularly prominent issue in the campus community.

“Georgetown students are very politically engaged, but for a major university in D.C., it is surprising to me that there isn’t more activism around this issue,” Lowder said. “If we wouldn’t accept this status for our own cities and states, we wouldn’t accept it for D.C.”

A8

NEWS

THE HOYA

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015

BASKETBALL PREVIEW ON SELECT NEWSSTANDS TODAY

READ ABOUT The full story on D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera’s return to Georgetown The story on Georgetown’s crucial upcoming showdowns with Syracuse, Maryland and Wisconsin The adjustments that sophomore guard Dorothy Adomako has made to improve upon her Big East Freshman of the Year season

AND MORE!

NEWS

FRIDAY, november 13, 2015

THE HOYA

A9

Students Explore Entrepreneurship with Fellowship The point of the class, titled “Entrepreneurial Practicum,” is to reflect on what it is like to be part of a company Program, offered by the College.

Members of EFP take a series of three going through the startup phase.

In addition to the classes, Entrepreclasses sometime between spring of sophomore year and fall of senior year. neurship Fellows Program co-directors, The first class, “Foundations of Entre- Assistant Dean Daniela Brancaforte and preneurship,” is an introduction to Entrepreneurship Associate Director the “soft skills” of entrepreneurship, Alyssa Lovegrove, organize activities for introducing a philosophy to encour- the cohort of fellows. A few times per seage coming up with ideas, testing, it- mester, the EFP fellows will get together erating and making sure the market to meet some startup founders or go to is ready down the road. Students get a 1776, a startup incubator in downtown glimpse into the mentality behind be- D.C. Additionally, all fellows must participate in StartupHoyas’ annual Pitch ing successful as an entrepreneur.

The next class, titled “Launching Competition at least once during their time at Georgethe Venture,” is town. more tangible and “By definition, hands-on than entrepreneurship the first. It conis something you sists of exercises can learn, but it and projects deisn’t really somesigned to help the thing you can learn students develop out of a book,” some of the skills Lovegrove said. “It’s they need to take something you can a venture from only learn by practhe idea stage. For ticing. So a lot of example, there is Connor Bernstein (COL ’16) the activities in EFP Fellow, Entrepreneurship Fellows Program a module on ideare around getting ation and developpeople to try stuff ing a good idea.

“We were given a dollar and told, ‘go and evaluate what they’re learning.”

The coursework EFP requires is not make as much money as you can’ and that was one of the projects,” entrepre- as strenuous as a traditional minor and neur fellow Beatrice Fabris (COL ’16) said does not appear on a transcript, but Faof the class. “It was supposed to force us bris said it has other value.

“The biggest thing the program has to go out there and be resourceful.”

While the first two courses are given to me is the sheer exposure to considered electives and open to the different companies that I otherwise general student body, the third is re- would not have been exposed to. Anstricted to fellows and focuses on the other important part of the program is managerial challenges of startups. the speakers, and I find learning from Each student interns with a local them has been incredibly valuable, bestartup and for the class, they devel- cause they have real stories,” Fabris said.

For Bernstein, EFP has changed his op a case study on the strategic challenges facing that business model. perspective on what it means to be FELLOWS, from A10

“Every single class I’ve taken is not what you’d imagine entrepreneurship to be like.”

STEPHANIE YUAN FOR THE HOYA

The Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program accepted its fifth cohort of students, offering fellowships to 29 students from across the McDonough School of Business, the School of Foreign Service and the College. an entrepreneur.

“Every single class I’ve taken is not what you’d imagine entrepreneurship to be like,” Bernstein said. “It’s not writing a business plan. It’s more hearing young entrepreneurs talk and learning what made them successful. Also, one of my professors has said it’s so easy to start a company that we’re going to go

out and do customer interviews and make a website and get people to sign up, all in one class.”

While Bernstein joined EFP with prior business and startup experience, most students come with little entrepreneurship background.

“One of the things we wrestle with is how to explain the purpose of the

program and who it’s for,” Lovegrove said. “We certainly welcome people who do have an idea for a venture, but it’s not restricted to people like that.

We want people to leave the program with a real appreciation for entrepreneurship and how an entrepreneurial mindset could be useful to them throughout their careers.”

Ireland’s Administration of Heroin May Benefit Economy HOCHBERG, from A10

Australia and Switzerland, in implementing government-sponsored “injection centers” to administer heroin to addicts in a safe, controlled environment.

The goal, perhaps counterintuitively, is to fight addiction. If it works — which Irish officials seem to think it will — this type of policy could lead to direct and indirect economic changes on a global scale.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the chief of Ireland’s National Drugs Strategy is heading the injection center initiative.

Even more ambitiously, he has also remarked that Ireland is moving in the direction of decriminalizing small amounts of other drugs including marijuana and cocaine.

But decriminalization is not the same as complete legalization. Selling drugs would remain punishable but consuming them would not.

The logic behind Ríordáin’s policies is to reduce the stigma of drug use and addiction while encouraging troubled individuals to seek help. The implications of such a policy are impossible to predict with certainty, but the move aligns with a mentality many world leaders have endorsed. Not only have a number of other world powers, including Spain, adopted similar injection room and decriminalization measures, but a recently leaked report from the United Nations indicates the international organization plans to call for the worldwide decriminalization of all drugs as well.

That said, outlawing the sale but not the consumption of a particular good, for which the sale does not even occur in a formal market, will probably have some interesting economic effects. Assuming the policy works and addiction decreases, the sale of drugs will still exist as it does now because the penal-

SUDOKU

3 6 2 7

8 9 8

5

4 2

5 1 7

9 6 4 2

3 7 1

4 7

6

9 8

9 Last issue’s solutions

2 8 9 1

1 3 5 7 6 4 2 5

8 4 9 7 5 6 6 3 2 9 4 1 5 1 7 3 2 8 3 7 4 8 6 9 9 8 5 1 7 2 2 6 1 5 3 4

3 4 7 9

6 8

5 7 4 3 6 8

2 1 9 6 4 8 3 1 7 2 8 6 9 5 9 4 5 3 2 1 7

ties for distribution are not changing. On the other hand, absent of addiction, demand for drugs will presumably decrease, which, in turn, should reduce both price and amount consumed.

As countries experiment with legalizing drug consumption, there may be long-term economic benefits like reduced health care costs and better rehabilitation for addicts.

On a broader scale, Irish healthcare costs, a large burden of

which taxpayers bear, will likely increase and then decrease later.

If Ríordáin’s policies successfully reduce the stigma of addiction and encourage users to get help, initial hospital costs will likely increase in order to treat these individuals.

Hopefully, as overall drug use gets safer, fewer people will need to be hospitalized and the overall costs of Ireland’s semipublic health care system will decrease. Furthermore, the government will need to employ fewer police officers to enforce the demand side of drug use, which should also decrease the long-term tax burden of the population. This reduction in waste could be used to decrease taxes or to fund rehabilitation for former addicts, both of which would benefit society as a whole.

If injection centers and decriminalization continue to function well in individual countries, other nations will adopt similar measures, one by one. This is the best

possible scenario because a healthier worldwide population will boost international production per worker, in addition to the obviously positive humanitarian implications.

That said, all of the preceding assertions assume these programs will succeed, but such an outcome is not guaranteed. Just because this method has worked so far does not mean it will continue to do so in every setting. Maybe in a particular type of setting like a country or region, people will take advantage of relaxed laws to abuse drugs more.

But the only way to test this method is to try it. So, while individual nations should continue prudently, the move toward looser drug laws will likely do more good than harm for the world economy and society at large.

Gracie Hochberg is a sophomore in the College. By The Numbers appears every Friday.

Tavern Targets To-Go Convenience TAVERN, from A10

surprise me to see other food operations on campus offer this kind of service level in the future.”

Arnosh Keswani (SFS ’17) said Bulldog Tavern has to fix other problems like unsatisfactory service for the mobile ordering app to be properly implemented.

“I think the Bulldog Tavern, first of all … has a lot of problems that could be addressed,” Keswani said.

“And if they could address those problems — long wait times, poor service — if they address those and

have a great delivery system, it would be very beneficial for them, as well as the campus community.”

Scott Carpenter (COL ’17) said he sees Tapingo as a chance to allow more people to try out the Tavern’s food and potentially expand its customer base.

“I don’t really like the food very much, but I am sure the people maybe will try it and maybe if they like it they’ll start going there more or they will start ordering food from there more, but I don’t particularly like it,” Carpenter said.

Keswani added that the new app

would be even better if it included delivery orders rather than just pick-up orders. Though other campuses utilizing Tapingo’s interface deliver orders, Bulldog Tavern is currently only accepting pick-up orders. Ramsey did not comment on whether the restaurant will one day offer delivery services.

“Bulldog Tavern, for all of its bad service problems, does have some excellent food at times, and I think if they could do delivery service it would be really good for the campus to have a good food source,” Keswani said.

From the Battlefield to the Tech Field VETERANS, from A10

go through final training sessions and exercises to prepare them for future careers. All of the training services are offered free of charge thanks to TQ’s partner institutions.

For Lauren Burnell, a deployed veteran enrolled in the program, TQ’s greatest strength lies in the way the TQ teams treat every individual enrollee. “[The TQ team] is so invested in each and every TQ veteran and dedicated to our learning and success,” Burnell wrote in an email to The Hoya. “This is not just a placement and sourcing firm; they are mentoring and shaping candidates to have upward mobility in the high-tech sales industry for the long haul.”

At the completion of the program, a variety of different companies, from Hewlett Packard to IBM, approach the veterans for actual jobs in sales, meaning that they can find assurance and security in future careers.

“It’s really designed so that the veteran, who was deployed maybe only a few months ago, can be standing in front of any CEO and deliver a successful pitch,” Ossola said. “But we don’t consider ourselves a recruiting

company. Our focus always has been and will be on training and education.”

While the startup is in its first year, TQ’s biggest challenge has been changing the mindset of employers.

According to Ossola, veteran recruitment must become more creative.

“High-tech sales is a field that’s near impossible to break into without ... experience.”

Lauren Burnell Deployed veteran enrolled in Tech Qualled

“The biggest challenge is trying to convince people that their current options of where they hire talent is not good enough,” Ossola said. “There are norms that need to be overcome, so when we come in, it can be challenging to help them think differently.”

For veteran Brian Papke (GRD ’17), a company like TQ is another bridge for

transitioning veterans into greater private-sector roles.

“I am not someone thinking about sales myself, but I recognize the value of such a company immediately,” Papke said. “It seems more about the actual process of taking the time to help veterans find the careers they are looking for rather than mindlessly shifting their resumes from firm to firm.”

Going forward, Ossola believes that TQ’s future lies in its status as a niche program to serve transitioning veterans as best as possible.

“It’s a career path that was previously too narrow for veterans to move through,” Ossola said. “Right now, we’re small, we’re niche. ... We’re just focused on unlocking that career path for our veterans.”

Despite its limited scope, Burnell wrote in his email that TQ is producing tangible change in the veteran community.

“High tech sales is a field that’s near impossible to break into without onthe-job industry experience … which none of us have when we transition from active duty,” Burnell wrote.

“Tech Qualled is not only bridging that gap, they are genuinely passionate about helping veterans succeed.”

Business & Tech FRIDAY, november 13, 2015

business Fellows Program Welcomes Entrepreneurs bits Tara Subramaniam Special to The Hoya

Mcdonough Debuts New mba certificate The McDonough School of Business announced the launch of a new MBA certificate in nonmarket strategy Wednesday. The program is open to both full-time and evening MBA students and will be focused on connecting business, economics and public policy.

The certificate recipients will be skilled in business leadership and service.

Meeting discusses equity in the workplace More than 20 industry professionals and academics gathered at the McDonough School of Business to discuss gender equity in the workplace last week. Sponsored by the Georgetown University Women’s Leadership Institute, the meeting sought to explore the impact research can have on gender equity problems that are facing each individual’s organization. Faculty from top universities including Harvard, Columbia and Washington University presented their research, which paved the way for dialogue about current issues.

Research Detects flaws in airline safety Researchers from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business recently found that while United States commercial airlines are among some of the safest in the world, they can still do better. Robin L. Dillon and Catherine H. Tinsley said in their research that companies tend to treat “near misses” as instances of success, rather than the cautionary situation they should be viewed as. According to Tinsley and Dillon, these situations need to be categorized as mishaps more often and examined more thoroughly.

students win Deloitte cyber threat contest A team of Georgetown University students won the Deloitte Foundation Cyber Threat Competition on Thursday after presenting the best incident response approach to simulated cyber attacks. Each member of the Georgetown team received a $2,000 scholarship. The four Georgetown team members beat out Virginia Tech and Notre Dame for the winning title.

Georgetown Announces Real Estate Alliance The university announced the creation of the GU Real Estate Alliance on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

The alliance will work with the Wall Street Alliance, which brings together Georgetown alumni and parents in the business community. Organized through Georgetown’s Steers Center for Global Real Estate, the Real Estate Alliance will engage parents and alumni in the real estate industry while also helping students hoping to break into the real estate world.

The McDonough School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Fellows Program accepted 29 new fellows from the Class of 2018. This year’s admits include 16 students in the MSB, 11 students in the College and two students in the School of Foreign Service.

Entrepreneurship Fellows Program Co-Director Daniela Brancaforte declined to comment on how many students applied to the fellowship this year.

Applications for this year’s class of Entrepreneurship Fellows closed on Nov. 2, but for the first time, the program will also accept another round of applications in the spring. The Entrepreneurship Fellows Program, founded in 2010 with the Class of 2013, aims to give students interested in entrepreneurship access to events, internships and mentors.

Current entrepreneurship fellow Connor Bernstein (COL ’16) said the fellowship allows him to pursue something in which he has always been interested.

“I started a company in high school that I’ve been running while at Georgetown and I wanted to find a way to take advantage of the resources on campus to not only advance my own company, but learn about what other possibilities were out there,” Bernstein said. “I thought EFP would be a good way to combine a liberal Georgetown education with practical MSB.” Students are encouraged to apply to the fellowship as sophomores to complete the required coursework before graduation.

Other business fellowships offered for undergraduate students at Georgetown include the Global Business Fellows Program, offered by the MSB and SFS, and the Baker Scholars See FELLOWS, A9

STEHPANIE YUAN for The Hoya

The Entrepreneurship Fellows Program, run out of the McDonough School of Business, accepted 29 sophomores. The fellowship offers programming to students interested in entrepreneurship.

Startup Educates Vets for Jobs in Tech Syed Humza Moinuddin Hoya Staff Writer

After transitioning out of the U.S. Navy in 2012, Justin Ossola (GRD ’13) knew his next step. He dreamed of going into high-tech sales and working for technology giants such as Google, Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. Right out of the Navy, Ossola thought his experience and determination would be enough for him to find placement within the competitive industry.

“You build a pretty strong skill set in communications, relationship-building and teamwork [in the Navy], so I saw sales as a path for me to get into corporate leadership,” Ossola said.

Although he set his sights on the tech sales industry, Ossola encountered a reality he could not accept. Employers constantly told him that his lack of overall experience made him a less-than-ideal

candidate for work in sales. With sola to co-found the startup Tech such barriers to opportunity, Os- Qualled alongside several of his sola found himself confused and other academic and military colfrustrated with the way that tran- leagues.

TQ’s mission sitioning vetis to create a erans could pipeline to help not find jobs transitioning in this parveterans find ticular intheir way into dustry. the technol“I encounogy industry. tered a quesHowever, Ossola tion that I distinguishes believe our TQ from larger company recruiting comnow adpanies that, he dresses,” Ossaid, hardly do sola said. “Is Justin Ossola (GRD ’13) any good for the high-tech Founder, Tech Qualled sake of veterans. sales an in“It’s a really dustry that is completely blocked off from tran- watered-down business,” Ossola sitioning military veterans? The said. “[Other firms] operate on volume, trying to get as many people answer was a resounding ‘yes.’”

His struggles with finding em- hired a year, and they’re no value, ployment within the tech sales no training. They just take your industry as a veteran pushed Os- resume and throw it into a pool

“They just take your resume and throw it into a pool for poor quality jobs. ... That is the industry we are aiming to disrupt.”

Tavern Caters to Busy Students With App

for poor quality jobs. ... That is the industry we are aiming to disrupt.”

Ossola said what allows TQ to distinguish itself from other firms is its niche size and its ability to provide the attention and training veterans need to find their way into sales.

Because of TQ’s size, prospective veteran applicants go through three interviews before being approved by a special committee. The program only accepts about 15 to 20 candidates every three months, and is currently interviewing a total of 250 candidates for the first ever session.

The program lasts 10 weeks, during which veterans learn virtually for six weeks and in-person for four weeks. Active duty soldiers can also participate in the full program through video-calling software. The final weeks of the program take place in Texas, where the veterans See VETERANS, A9

BY THE NUMBERS

William Zhu

Special to the Hoya

Bulldog Tavern began usage of a new mobile ordering app in an attempt to make its to-go service more convenient for students Oct. 26.

The app, titled Tapingo, allows customers to order menu items for pickup at the restaurant’s special to-go window behind the first floor staircase in the Healey Family Student Center.

Tapingo is currently used by campus dining services at dozens of universities across the United States including the University of Southern California, New York University and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Although Bulldog Tavern Manager Warren Ramsey declined to release preliminary usage statistics of the app, the average Tapingo user orders 15 times a month, according to a December 2013 article in Forbes.

“We see a large percentage of students using the Tapingo app as well as faculty and staff,” Warren wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It’s a convenient option for people that are in a rush. We have seen an increase in our Tapingo sales after last week’s email [to the student body] that was sent out.”

The app was introduced in response to an increased student

Gracie Hochberg

the app’s convenience.

Based on the app’s success, Wiese said it may spread to other dining locations on campus such as Così and Elevation Burger.

“We are interested to see how the campus reacts to this new service and watching the industry trends,” Wiese wrote. “It wouldn’t

he competitive college debate world loves debating whether or not the United States should legalize all drugs. As radical as this concept sounds, it is a favorite among debate teams because not only is it possible to effectively argue for the legalization of all drugs, but it might even be easier to advocate blanket drug legalization than oppose it.

While Americans may not be quite so open to a complete reversal of drug laws, the international community seems to be creeping in that direction. On Nov. 2, Ireland vowed to join a number of other countries, including

See TAVERN, A9

See HOCHBERG, A9

Robert Cortes for The Hoya

Bulldog Tavern debuted a new mobile ordering platform at the end of October. The app, called Tapingo, is targeted at busy students and hopes to ease the process of ordering food to-go by cutting out wait times. desire to have fast and convenient food selections that fit into their hectic lives, according to Vice President for Auxiliary Services Joelle Wiese.

“The Bulldog Tavern team wanted to provide a convenient option for Hoyas to order and pick-up, as they recognize students want food ‘to go’ quite often given their busy schedules,”

Wiese wrote in an email to The Hoya. “So, if you are running late for your morning class, you can place an order for a breakfast sandwich and coffee while getting dressed, and pick it up on the way to your class.”

Ramsey said he believes the addition of mobile ordering will significantly increase revenue as more people take advantage of

Legalize The Use Of Drugs T