GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 97, No. 1, © 2015
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
STUNNING COMEBACK
Emily Infeld (MSB ’12) won a dramatic bronze medal at the World Championships.
EDITORIAL Georgetown must not continue to venerate propagators of slavery.
WHEN IN ROME The men’s basketball team earned three wins in its 10-day tour of Italy.
OPINION, A2
SPORTS, A8
SPORTS, A10
With Lofty Ideals, New Dorm Opens Jack Bennett Hoya Staff Writer
Earlier this week, the newly renovated Spirit of Georgetown Residential Acad-
The FJR consists of 18 apartments ranging from a nine-person suite to a double semi-suite. Fitted with modern furnishing, the residence is more spacious than typical on-campus living. “The idea was to make this very competitive to off-campus living,” Office of Design and Construction Senior Project Manager Brian Barger said. The building, composed of Ryan and Mulledy Halls, was extensively renovated over a yearlong period as part of the 2010 Campus Plan agreement to house 385 more students on campus by the fall 2015 semester. The plan also includes the temporary conversion of the second floor of the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center into student dorms this year. Although the interior construction of the FJR was completed during the summer, work on the exterior of the building has been delayed due to permit difficulties. Exterior construction will continue into early September. The courtyard is slated for completion
emy, commonly known as the Former Jesuit Residence, opened its doors to house 148 sophomores, juniors and seniors as a five-floor Living Learning Community based on Jesuit values.
ISABEL BINAMIRA/THE HOYA
The Spirit of Georgetown Residential Academy occupies the site of the Former Jesuit Residence and features unparalleled amenities and space.
New Institute Targets Youth Engagement
MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA
Students chalked Red Square on Aug. 7 in advance of a meeting with administrators on policy surrounding Title IX.
Account Pushes Policy Reform
See HOUSING, A6
HERE COMES NEW GEORGETOWN
Toby Hung
Hoya Staff Writer
A student movement advocating for better university management of sexual assault cases gained traction last week after the Georgetown University Student Association came to an understanding with administrators to increase awareness campaigns and expedite planned initiatives. Students and administrators made agreements to improve the marketing of campus resogreeurces for sexual assault survivors, further educate students about bystander intervention and continue plans to implement a campus climate survey. The movement began
Alicia CHE
Hoya Staff Writer
The McCourt School of Public Policy will launch the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service this fall, led by former Democratic National Committee Director of Communications Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94), to foster public service and civic engagement. McCourt School Dean Edward Montgomery said he believes that the Institute for Politics and Public Service builds on the historical strength of the McCourt School in policy analysis and management. “We are going to build a massive data institute and trying to think about how to use a new type of data that’s becoming available to think about public policy problems. That’s one pillar we stood on,” Montgomery said. “The twin to the new data institute is the new Institute of Politics and Public Service, where students and faculties will be engaged with the process of getting things implemented. These are the twin pillars on which the school will rest as we specialize in what to do and how to get it done.”
ISABEL BINAMIRA/THE HOYA
New Student Orientation Advisors welcome the Class of 2019 and transfer students in McDonough Arena on Saturday. A5
See ADVOCACY, A6
Passionate Scholar, Runner Dies at 25 Katherine Richardson Hoya Staff Writer
By all accounts, Nina Brekelmans (GRD ’15) was a brilliant student, an exceedingly proficient Arabic and Spanish speaker and an avid long-distance runner. She graduated with a near-perfect GPA in Georgetown’s Master of Arts in Arab Studies program and planned to study the experiences of female runners in Jordan with a Fulbright grant this fall. On June 3, Brekelmans, 25, died in an electrical fire in a townhouse on Riggs Place NW near Dupont Circle. The 2:30 a.m. blaze killed one other resident and injured three firefighters.
“People who were practicing politics are sort of losing sense about what it’s all about.” Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94) Director, Institute of Politics and Public Service
Drawn by the public service aspect of politics, Elleithee has served in senior positions in four presidential campaigns, including a role as senior spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, since graduating from Georgetown in 1994. Elleithee said he decided to transition to the academic world to explore different perspectives on politics. “People who were practicing politics are sort of losing sense about what it’s all about. Too often I think I got so caught up in the daily back-and-forth that it’s easy for me to lose sight about what it’s about,” Elleithee said. “Something that has been weighing on me for a while is, how can it be better, how can we connect better and particularly how can we connect better with young people?” Elleithee warned against further alienating the younger generation, who no longer necessarily considers politics a noble channel of service. He said it is vital that politicians explore new ways to reengage millennials and seize the learning opportunity to draw inspiration from the younger generation. “Too often in politics, we demand that people come to us. That’s not how young people communicate,” Elleithee said. “I rather go to them, bring politics to them, hear from them and have a real dialogue
July 21 after Zoe Dobkin (SFS ’16) and Willa Murphy coauthored an opinion piece in The Hoya (“I Stand With Willa, I Stand With Survivors,” thehoya.com, July 21, 2015) that detailed Murphy’s experience with campus administration following her rape. Murphy, claiming little university support, began to struggle in classes and was subsequently expelled. The piece ignited dialogue between students and administrators regarding the university’s responsibilities toward sexual assault survivors in the following month. Murphy’s story sent waves across the university community upon its publication.
A Talented Scholar After high school in Mexico
and Kentucky, Brekelmans began to build an impressive resume. She received her undergraduate degree in Arabic from Dartmouth College, where she graduated summa cum laude and ran on the NCAA Division I cross-country and track teams. She matriculated into the Master of Arts in Arab Studies program in 2012, spent a gap year studying in Jordan, ran with the Georgetown Running Club, interned at the Muslim Chaplaincy and served as treasurer of Georgetown Women in International Affairs. Brekelmans will be remembered in the academic communities of both Dartmouth and Georgetown as a passionate and endlessly talented student. Many See BREKELMANS, A6
Nina Brekelmans (GRD ’15) died in an electrical fire June 3. She was due to travel to Jordan on a Fulbright grant this fall.
FEATURED NEWS Pub-erty
Approaching its first anniversary, the Bulldog Tavern aims to fix troubles. A4
SPORTS Run of Dominance
Nevin Snow is the fifth Hoya in 10 years to win the College Sailor of the Year award. A10
NEWS Kickback Returns
COMMENTARY Miles to Go
Despite national strides, trans rights have yet to be fully addressed — even here. A3
COMMENTARY Nation of Immigrants
The Corp’s music and arts festival will see its second iteration this September. A6
NEW STUDENT GUIDE 2015
A glance at the line for naturalization shows not skin color but common purpose. A3
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See MCCOURT, A6 Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947
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