The Hoya: April 22, 2022

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Georgetown University Pep Band Celebrates 100-Year Anniversary

COURTESY LAUREN D’AMICO

The Georgetown University Pep Band celebrated its 100th anniversary April 9 with a ceremony featuring a performance in Copley Formal Lounge.

Bridget Sippel Special to The Hoya

For the last 100 years, the Georgetown University Pep Band, decked out in blue and gray, has always been present at home football games and is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year.

The Georgetown Pep Band celebrated its centennial year April 9, with nearly 100 current band members, graduates, athletic team representatives and members of the department of performing arts attending the formal ceremony in the Copley Formal Lounge. The centennial celebration featured speeches, performances, dinner and dancing, as well as a slideshow of photos from former members over the years.

Planning committee member Kevin Ogeka (MSB ’24) said the team made an effort to ensure that the centennial celebration included everyone — past and present — affiliated with the pep band.

“The responsibilities of the planning committee was to make sure everyone new and previous felt included in the celebration of the event,” Ogeka wrote to The Hoya. “This included the decision to have a zoom option for alumni who didn’t have the opportunity to make it to still be able to witness the event and celebrate along with everyone.”

Current pep band members honored Band Administrative Advisor Ron Lignelli, who is retiring after 37 years at See PEP, A6

JESSICA LIN/THE HOYA

Hoyadle, a Georgetown-themed rendition of the hit game Wordle created by a student, has quickly gained popularity on campus since its April 5 release. Previous answers include “Snaxa,” “Yates” and “Healy.”

Hoyadle Puts GU Spin on Wordle Adora Zheng

Student Life News Desk Editor

T

he Wordle, Dordle, Quordle, Duotrigordle…

Hoyadle? Georgetown University-themed word game Hoyadle is the latest rendition of hit game Wordle, and it’s taking campus by storm.

The game, which was created by Chris Delaney (MSB ’25), launched April 5. Hoyadle

is a spoof of Wordle, the daily game where players have six tries to guess a five letter word. It features campus-related words like Snaxa, after the student-run store Hoya Snaxa, and Yates, the on-campus recreation center. On its first day, the game had 2,000 players, and it has averaged an engagement of around 1,000 players every day since, according to Delaney.

Delaney said he was not expecting the game to become so popular.

“I didn’t really go into this with any expectations but as soon as we released it on the first day and started spreading the word, it really took off,” Delaney said in an interview with The Hoya. “The amount of usage that we got right away and the amount of players that we have consistently

Rabbi Rachel Gartner Steps Down as Director of Jewish Life Adora Zheng

Student Life News Desk Editor

Rabbi Rachel Gartner is stepping down after serving as Director of Jewish Life at Georgetown for 11 years, a role in which she was cherished by students, community members and the campus ministry team.

Gartner will begin her new position as the rabbi of congregation Shirat HaNefesh in Chevy Chase, Md., at the end of the spring 2022 semester. She will simulta-

neously serve as the Senior Advisor for Spiritual Care at Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies.

Gartner said she has cherished her time working with students and will miss spending time getting to know them.

“The thing I’m going to miss the most is working with students and just being in it with them, being in their lives, being in the classroom, enjoying their humor, relishing their wit and their intelligence,” Gartner told The Hoya.

“I adore laughing with the students, I adore community building with the students and I adore accompanying students through everything that it means to be an emerging adult.”

Father Mark Bosco, vice president for mission and ministry, informed Georgetown students of Gartner’s changing positions in an April 5 email. Gartner sent a more detailed email to students in Jewish Life, the group within Georgetown’s Campus Ministry that fos-

CENTER FOR JEWISH CIVILIZATION

At the end of the spring 2022 semester, Rabbi Rachel Gartner will take on a new position as the rabbi of congregation Shirat HaNefesh in Chevy Chase, Md.

ters a Jewish community on campus, later that day.

Gartner said that she is pursuing her new role as the rabbi of congregation Shirat HaNefesh because she feels a calling, but will miss the students and community at Georgetown immensely.

“It’s not bigger, it’s not better, it’s just different. It’s just there’s a time for change in life, and that’s the time it is for me,” Gartner said. “So that’s really how I feel about this. I’m being very called into some new angles on the rabbinate.”

While serving as director, Gartner energized Jewish Life by hosting her monthly “Makóm Midrash” bagel brunch series and initiating the GUish community organizing internship and Bayit living-learning community designed to celebrate and engage in Jewish culture.

Alex Cywes (SFS ’23), a Jewish Life intern, met Gartner his first week on campus and said she consistently ensured that Jewish Life at Georgetown was inclusive and open to people from all backgrounds, which he hopes her successor will continue.

“That was something that I was really proud of and was one reason why I wanted to be a Jewish intern coming from not the most intense Jewish background,” Cywes said. “I really hope they’re able to replicate that because there are a

is very surprising.”

There have been many spoofs of Wordle including Letterle, a one letter guessing game; Taylordle, a Taylor Swift themed Wordle; and Wordlerry, a Harry Styles inspired Wordle.

Inspired by the countless variations of Wordle, Delaney said he decided on a whim to See HOYADLE, A6

Photo of the Week

ANNA YUAN/THE HOYA

Photo of the Week: Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as Supreme Court Justice on April 7.

See RABBI, A6

NEWS

OPINION

GUIDE

SPORTS

Easter Dining Hall Closures

Reform Course Registration

‘The Lost City’ Bores

Reigning Victors

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No. 2 men’s lacrosse dominated Loyola University Maryland 14-7 on April 19, winning their seventh game in a row.

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The university’s decision to close dining locations over Easter break prompted student concerns over food insecurity.

The Editorial Board urges the university to consider student input and increase the number of courses offered.

Sandra Bullock stuns in rom-com adventure film “The Lost City,” adding charm to an otherwise formulaic plot.

Vicious COVID-19 Variant

Advocate for Trans Women

Freedom from Fairy Tales

Battle of the Georges

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The District has seen a 51% increase in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks as a result of the omicron subvariant.

Deconstructing harmful myths about transgender athletes must be a central component of the feminist movement.

The romance genre is shifting from fantastical descriptions of fairy-tale romance to an exploration of heavier themes.

Published Fridays

Women’s rowing emerged victorious at a regatta between Georgetown, George Mason and George Washington.

Send story ideas and tips to news@thehoya.com

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OPINION EDITORIAL

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

Enhance GU Course Offerings In recent weeks, students once again faced the onerous process of course registration, as they vie for spots that seemingly fill up instantaneously. For students like Nadia Sadanandan (NHS ’24), the stress of registration and the inability to find spots in her first-choice classes are causes of distress and anxiety.

“I am definitely upset and discouraged when I am unable to get into a class. I also get stressed and anxious because oftentimes when I don’t get a certain class I have to move other classes around to fit in my second choice,” Sadanandan wrote to The Hoya.

Given student concerns about the difficulties of registering for classes, the Editorial Board urges Georgetown University to increase the quantity and widen the available time frame of course offerings that fulfill core and major requirements, as well as proactively incorporate student input into its course decision-making process.

Georgetown abruptly switched to the current system of live course registration in the beginning of 2019, despite 83% of undergraduate students preferring the preregistration system, which allowed a two-week window for students to submit their preferred course schedules. Academic deans would then register students based on course availability. Under the current system, however, students are assigned time slots according to the first letter of their last name, and priority is given to upperclassmen over first-year and sophomore students.

Extensive course requirements, on top of the live registration system, force students to compete with one another for limited spots. Students across all four undergraduate colleges are required to take at least 10 core curriculum classes. On top of these courses, students must also fulfill school-specific core requirements, as well as major and minor classes.

For example, students majoring in economics, one of Georgetown College’s popular majors, are required to take both “Principles of Macroeconomics” and “Principles of Microeconomics” as foundational courses.

However, for the fall 2022 semester, there are only two options for each of these introductory courses, both of which are only offered between 11:00 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. While there may be enough seats in these classes for all students who want to take them, this limited time period makes it difficult for students to add their required core classes to their schedules, which are often held during similar class times.

Similarly, STEM students in the School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) like Sadanandan, who are required to take nearly three hour-long labs, face difficulty creating course schedules that provide them with a viable academic path to graduation because of the rigid timing of core classes.

“It is definitely difficult to find core classes to fit my schedule. Since I am a STEM major, I have a lot of lab classes, which take up a lot of time. It is hard to find core classes that fit around this because a lot of them occur at around the same time/days. I did not register for a core class this semester, but during the last registration, I had very limited options for philosophy classes,”

Sadanandan wrote.

According to a university spokesperson, the university considers a variety of factors when creating the timing and quantity of courses each semester, including faculty input, student course evaluations, room size, technological requirements and past trends in student registration.

Despite this claim, students continue to face difficulty finding spots in the classes they need to graduate.

For example, the “Science for All” core, a general category of science courses that all undergraduate students are required to take, offers relatively few classes tailored to students who are not majoring in STEM-related fields. For the fall 2022 semester, almost every one of the introductory science classes has been filled, leaving few options for non-STEM students who have yet to complete the requirement.

In order to ensure that class offerings align with student demand, the university must increase the number of classes offered by considering and incorporating student input into its decision-making process.

Under the current system, one student on the College Academic Council consults with administrators and faculty on the course schedule and classes offered to students in Georgetown College, according to Georgetown College’s website. While this current protocol is certainly helpful, the university should ensure that this committee includes more than one student’s voice and should work to integrate a larger group of students who represent a diverse array of majors, minors and concentrations.

The university does make an effort to take feedback from the general student body into account for the next semester during and after classes end each semester.

“Deans and academic advisors welcome feedback and engagement with students in their schools throughout the academic year, and the provost’s office and deans’ offices closely analyze and consider feedback given in course evaluations,” a university spokesperson wrote to The Hoya.

Though student feedback is valuable information after the fact, the university severely lacks direct input from students before the class schedule is finalized. By creating a working group of student representatives who collaborate directly with the administration and professors responsible for creating the schedule of courses, the university can ensure that all students are able to fulfill their requirements in a timely manner.

Students should not have to create excessive numbers of alternative schedules for fear that their required classes will run out of seats, or that the timing of these classes will conflict with one another. It is vital that the university offer more courses that are both representative of student interests and accommodating to different schedules by including student voices and perspectives in its decision-making process.

“

If Georgetown is committed to creating a safe and healthy classroom environment during a pandemic – an environment where sick students are comfortable recovering without infecting other students – then their attendence policies should be more flexible for recovering students.”

Ryan Thurz (COL ’25)

“Restructure Attendance Policies for Illness” thehoya.com

DEEP DIVE

Legacies of Transgender Athletes This week, we are diving into Grace Rivers’ (COL ’24) column on the participation of transgender women in women’s sports. The article emphasizes the dangers of excluding transgender women from women’s sports based on claims that they have an unfair advanatage. This exclusion contributes to other forms of anti-trans discrimination and perpetuates the stereotype that female athletes are inherently inferior to male athletes.

One of the first and most monumental moments for LGBTQ+ sports history involved famous tennis player Renée Richards. An accomplished tennis player, Richards played in the men’s U.S. Open tournament a handful of times in the 1950s. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) banned Richards in 1976 from participating in the tournament when she tried to compete in the female tournament instead of the male one when she came out as transgender.

Opponents of her participation as a female ath-

lete argued that any man could have gender reassignment surgery or take hormones to compete and win in a women’s tournament.

Richards sued the USTA in 1977 on the basis of discrimination and was victorious in her lawsuit, thereby securing her right to play. Nevertheless, she did not have any extraordinary wins in subsequent tournaments, even though all of Richards’ critics pointed to an “unfair advantage” as the reason why she should not be able to play in women’s tournaments. She made it to the finals of the competition in 1977, but she lost against Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve.

Richards leaves behind a legacy as an advocate for transforming transgender individuals’ rights in sports. Despite her many critics, Richards opened new opportunities for LGBTQ+ athletes to assert and advocate for their rights to participate in athletics.

EDITORIAL CARTOON by Alan Chen

The Hoya’s editorial board is composed of six students and is chaired by the opinion editors.

Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.

HOYA HISTORY

Year-Old Alcohol Policies Praised April 26, 2005 Some students and administrators said they were pleased with the effects of revisions to the university’s alcohol policy made in April 2004, although the effectiveness of those changes remains uncertain.

“Responses to the policy changes have been generally very positive,” said Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs.

“That reflects the thoughtful process that led to the changes.”

The most recent changes to the policy eliminate provisions of the older one that held underage students accountable for being in the presence of alcohol or possessing empty alcohol containers.

By eliminating these elements of the policy, administrators said last year that they hoped to lessen pressure on responsible nondrinkers to leave locations where alcohol was being consumed and to eliminate the nuisance of adjudicating such violations.

Last year’s policy changes also altered requirements for party registration. Prior to the revisions, the majority of students in an apartment had to register parties of 20 or more people. Currently, only one student who is over 21 must register gatherings of 12 or more people.

The push to modify the former policy was led by the FRIENDS Initiative, a group of students, faculty and administrators devoted to improving the Georgetown experience.

Slade Smith (MSB ’06), GUSA’s secretary of student life, worked with the FRIENDS Initiative in formulating the policy recommendations.

Smith said that the recommendations were designed to make students drink more responsibly and safely, rather than to stop students from drinking altogether.

“Eighty percent of college students do drink, and by punishing

LETTER TO THE EDITOR AND VIEWPOINT POLICIES The Hoya welcomes letters and viewpoints from our readers and will print as many as possible. To be eligible for publication, letters should specifically address a recent campus issue or Hoya story. Letters should not exceed 300 words.

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people you are not going to just change that,” he said. “[Drinking] still takes place and if they don’t do it [on campus] then they are taking it off campus . and [in] places where the atmosphere is more dangerous.”

Judy Johnson, director of student conduct and a member of the Disciplinary Review Committee, said that it is difficult to gauge the success of such changes because alcohol violations usually go hand-in-hand with other types of infractions. She cited an example of underage students receiving noise violations but not being charged with alcohol consumption.

Johnson said that it is difficult to see the effects of the policy changes in the post-semester violation tallies released by her office because violations are not broken down by type.

Thomas Bennet Hoya Staff Writer

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OPINION VIEWPOINT • MCGRAW

Integrate Happiness Into Everyday Life

T

here is a clear shortage of joy in our modern life.

And that’s understandable. With a rapid increase in globalization and the prevalence of bad news from around the world, we now have access to every part of the earth whenever we want to see it. But we aren’t always finding very joy-inducing things.

Moreover, as rates of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed worldwide with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more difficult for many people to experience joy because of serious mental health issues they have no control over.

Nevertheless, recognizing joy in our lives is essential for our physical and psychological wellbeing. One could call this article many things: a naive paean in a world gone wrong, an empty encomium ringing uselessly in a weekly student newspaper, a waste of ink. But, in the tradition of Beethoven, I’ll call it an ode to joy. It may be naive, empty and a waste. But I also think it’s important, no matter how simple it may seem.

Let’s first consider laughter, one of our most potent and palpable expressions of joy. As Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, two renowned lecturers at Stanford Business School, put it in their brilliant Ted Talk on the importance of humor, “As far as our brains are concerned, laughing is like exercising, meditating and having sex at the same time.” Laughter not only brings joy — it’s actually good for us. When we laugh, we feel happier, calmer and more bonded with those around us.

The same is true for smiling.

Smiling releases endorphins, relieves stress and, according to some studies, can even make you live longer. In fact, research has found that the mere act of smiling can improve your mood. Adopting a cheerful facial expression can, in a way, deceive your brain into boosting your mood and making you feel happier.

So, for your own enjoyment, and possibly for your longevity as well, find things that make you smile and laugh. In fact, prioritize them. Despite how overwhelming the state of the world can be, a good life requires finding and prioritizing the things that bring you joy.

To be clear, this isn’t to say we should adopt a mindset of complete hedonism. A myopic

focus on happiness at the expense of everything else is just as pernicious as neglecting happiness altogether. We must instead work to find balance in our lives.

But we are slowly losing this balance as people find less and less joy in their lives. The Ted Talk mentions another essential study for our purposes: the humor cliff.

A million people were asked, “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?”

When people are under 25 and over 80, a majority answer yes.

In the middle, though, there’s a sharp decrease in how many respond affirmatively. Thus, there is a humor cliff — a distinct drop in how much joy we feel, and more importantly, find in our day-today lives. Given that most of us at Georgetown University are still in the time before this precipitous drop, we must begin to look for joy in our lives now, and build these habits so they persist through the years afflicted by the cliff.

Happinessdoesn’tpresentitself neatly on a silver platter. Often, unfortunately, it can be difficult to find.Thisiswhywemustprioritize it, even if that means occasionally pushing some more traditional priorities, such as school or work, to the wayside. Joy isn’t the only important component of life, but for our own well-being, it must at least be treated as an essential aspect of a successful life.

For this reason, we must be active seekers of joy at Georgetown and beyond. That could mean going for a walk on a beautiful day, finding someone you love to spend time with, going to bed a little earlier so you wake up feeling refreshed or even putting down this paper or closing your laptop to give your mind a break.

Joy must be a central pursuit in our lives. Whatever it takes, and it will undoubtedly be different for everyone, ensure that when you’re asked, “Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?”, you can proudly and promptly say yes.

Life isn’t about being happy all the time. But to make life worthwhile, you must find moments of joy. It isn’t simply something we can luck into.

Every day, we must wake up and make the conscious choice to prioritize our search. On campus and throughout life, we must look for joy.

ILLUSTRATION BY: NATASHA LEONG/THE HOYA

VIEWPOINT • THURZ

Restructure Attendance Policies for Illness

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eleasing a sigh of relief is not a normal reaction after testing positive for COVID-19.

A few weeks ago, though, this was my reaction as I tested to determine the cause of my insufferable symptoms.

Despite an intimidating schedule of several midterms and papers due in the week ahead, all I could focus on was my ceaseless exhaustion, coughing and sore throat.

For me, COVID-19 was an acceptable excuse to miss class and focus on my recuperation.

But I did not know what I would have done if my test had come back negative and I was not sent to isolation. Despite my symptoms, it would have been much more questionable if I had chosen to miss classes.

Though this situation may be personal, there is a struggle that many students face: Georgetown University’s current policies and lack of flexibility make it impossible for students to be sick on campus. It is time for the university to restructure some of its policies, such as through the standardization of attendance protocols, to better accommodate for unwell students.

There is no denying that the student culture of preprofessionalism is rigorous and intense at Georgetown.

Students are constantly on the go, doing their best Liam McGraw is a first-year to balance their highly demanding academic life in the College.

THE FEMINIST INTERSECTION

with extracurricular activities, internships and jobs.

This busy lifestyle is disrupted entirely when a student is sick — an inevitable reality — and is unable to meet the demands of such a packed schedule.

Unfortunately, though, when a student is sick, life goes on, including classes.

Georgetown’s class attendance policies encourage students to contact professors of any planned absences throughout the course of the semester all the way before the add/drop period ends.

As delinanted on their website in their academic standards, the university advises students with unanticipated absences to “review the attendance policies in their syllabi and consult with instructors about the effect of absences.” In other words, policies regarding class attendance are left to the jurisdiction of individual professors.

In my experience, I have found that these policies collectively tend to be very strict.

The aforementioned “effect of absences” in Georgetown’s policy tends to be a regulation that gives students a limited number of excused absences, which can be as low as two classes, before a professor lowers a student’s grade substantially, sometimes by a whole letter grade for one additional missed class.

Attendance policies tend to be highly specific and formulaic and are outlined in

their course syllabus. Beyond the strictness of these policies, I have also found that the lack of commonality in these very specific rules has been difficult to account for. Some professors tend to have more lenient policies than others, while almost all of my classes had very different consequences for exceeding a certain number of absences.

Faced with this situation, many students choose the alternative route when it comes to recovering from a midsemester illness: “powering through.” This consists of doing the bare minimum to assess and combat the sickness, going about one’s normal and very long daily schedule, and continuing to sacrifice sleep for the sake of a grade. Nonetheless, this strategy of not giving the illness the necessary attention it requires can only prolong an illness or create long-term problems.

The work-centric student culture is not necessarily something that Georgetown can fix directly or easily, given the makeup of the student body and their high-achieving personality types. What the university can more directly affect, however, are some of their rigid and unrealistic policies that create a situation where sick students choose to just “power through.”

While attendance policies are designed to keep students accountable for their learning and participation, there

must also be a point where the university recognizes the commitment of their students.

Georgetown is one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions, hosting some of the most academically driven students from around the world. Unsurprisingly, most Georgetown students who miss a class will not treat it as a free day, but will instead take proactive steps to not fall behind, such as by conferring with their professor in office hours.

If Georgetown is committed to creating a safe and healthy classroom environment during a pandemic — an environment where sick students are comfortable recovering without infecting other students — then their attendance policies should be more flexible for recovering students.

The Georgetown administration must limit professors’ ability to craft their own policies for course attendance.

They must institute a university-wide procedure for how to factor attendance into student grades, taking into consideration the unpredictability of illness and the importance of taking time to rest and recover. By doing these things, and more, Georgetown will take tangible steps to better accommodate sick students.

Ryan Thurz is a first-year in the College.

VIEWPOINT • JONES

Protect Transgender Athletes Fight Shackles of Stereotypes Grace Rivers

Columnist

L

ia Thomas, a swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, made history as the first transgender swimmer to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association championship While her victory marked a momentous occasion, it also brought to light the ongoing prejudice against transgender women in women’s sports.

Opponents of transgender women’s participation in sports often claim these athletes have an unfair advantage and erroneously frame them as male athletes.

Opposing transgender women’s participation in women’s sports on the basis of harmful myths oppresses all women and defines femininity and sex in a rigid and binary way. Discrimination of transgender women in women’s sports also suggests that cisgender women are inferior and require protectionintheirsports.Therefore, inclusivity of transgender activism is crucial to modern feminist movements, as deconstruting these harmful myths surrounding transgender athletes is central in combatting harmful stereotypes about all women.

At the core of the blacklash is the assumption that transgender athletes have a physiological advantage over cisgender athletes, especially transgender women competing in women’s sports leagues. Those opposed to transgender women’s participation in women’s sports attempt to define femininity on the basis of testosterone levels and conclude that a transgender woman’s higher testosterone levels translate into an athletic

advantage. Not only does this myth discriminate against transgender individuals in sports, but it transmits the idea that sex is binary.

In 2021, roughly 35 bills were introduced in state legislatures across the country that limited or prohibited transgender women from competing in women’s sports. One such bill, the Mississippi Fairness Act, cites “inherent differences between men and women” as the basis for prohibiting transgender women from participating in sports.

While science has established ranges of testosterone that are typically considered standard for non-transgender men and women, approximately 6 to 10% of people assigned female at birth have a condition which raises their testosterone levels above this range. Additionally, it is estimated that around 4% of the world’s population receives an intersex diagnosis, which means an individual possesses characteristics that don’t fit medical and social norms for either female or male bodies.

Defining femininity rigidly on the basis of testosterone or physiological traits opens the door for discrimination of not only transgender women, but numerous other women who fall out of the sex binary.

This binary definition also invites gender policing that could potentially subject any woman, including cisgender women, to invasive testing or accusations of being too successful at their sport or too masculine to be a “real woman.” Attempts to diminish women’s successes and achievements rest on the harmful stereotype that women are inherently inferior athletes and need protection.

Additionally, it is important to acknowledge that athletes of all gender identities have certain

T

he Oscars are known for esteem and grandeur, as actors, actresses and filmmakers are awarded Hollywood’s highest honors. Yet this year’s ceremony was tarnished by the unbecoming actions of renowned actor Will Smith.

While presenting an award, Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife, and her lack of hair, exclaiming he couldn’t wait to see her star in “G.I. Jane 2.” He was referencing her alopecia, a condition that causes severe hair loss.

Will Smith initially laughed, but it quickly became clear that he was offended by the joke when he got up and slapped Rock in the face.

This single act risks justifying violence and insult in the entertainment industry, but its implications will likely be much greater. Smith’s actions are detrimental to the Black community because they reinforce negative stereotypes that Black people are violent and ill-tempered — beliefs that Black people in this country have tirelessly fought to overcome.

The backlash was swift: Smith was banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years. He has faced widespread condemnation for his irrationality, violence and toxic masculinity.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a Hall of Fame basketball player, was one of many celebrities to vehemently speak out against Smith’s actions. In a blog post titled “Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing,” Abdul-Jabbar talks about how damaging Will Smith’s slap was to the Black community, as he says, “One of the main talking points Grace Rivers is a sophomore from those supporting the in the College. The Feminist systemic racism in America is Intersection is published characterizing Blacks as more prone to violence and less able every other week. advantages over one another according to a whole host of indicators, including level of training or height, and there is no research that supports the claim that transgender athletes retain a competitive advantage over cisgender athletes. However, only transgender individuals face discriminationandscrutinywhen it comes to claimed advantages.

Andraya Yearwood, a transgender student at Cromwell High School in Connecticut, suffered similar backlash as Thomas when she finished second in the 55-meter dash at the state open indoor track championships. She rightfully stated, “One high jumper could be taller and have longer legs than another, but the other could have perfect form, and then do better.

One sprinter could have parents who spend so much money on personal training for their child, which in turn, could cause that child to run faster.”

To attribute disadvantages to solely transgender individuals is not only anti-transgender, but also ignores advantages other cisgender individuals possess over each other, such as height or level of and access to training. The claims that transgender women athletes possess an advantage over cisgender women is simply a means of excluding them from affirming spaces and continuing to perpetuate the stereotype that cisgender women need to be protected from such advantages in their sports.

Deconstructing the sex binary and stereotypes that women are inferior in sports promotes equality in sports for all women and deconstructs anti-trans discrimination.

to control their emotions.” In Abdul-Jabbar’s view, “Smith just gave comfort to the enemy by providing them with the perfect optics they were dreaming of.”

Those who defend and continue to promote systemic racism in the United States often characterize Black people as more predisposed to using violence and experiencing greater emotional instability than white peoplet. By assaulting someone, Smith has given comfort to the enemy, reaffirming their preconceived notions about Black people.

This incident will prompt many to continue to marginalize and suppress Black people as well as grant people misplaced authority to continue perpetuating racism.

As a Black male student at a predominately white institution, this incident and the debate surrounding it have been particularly poignant for me. I am constantly fighting against the shackles of stereotypes that are inherently linked to my race.

People look at me and assume I will have a volatile reaction to a negative situation.

I regularly endure classmates’ confused expressions that implicitly question my qualifications for being a Georgetown University student.

I walk into stores on M Street in Georgetown, and store employees automatically follow me. By slapping Chris Rock, Smith played into those stereotypes.

These harmful stereotypes have potentially lifethreatening implications. A study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 71% of Black Americans say they have experienced some form of racial discrimination or mistreatment during their lifetimes, and 48% say that at

one point they felt their life was in danger because of their race.

Many of these instances stem from implicit biases, which characterize Black people as more dangerous and violent simply because of the color of their skin. These biases have been perpetuated by the media, hate groups and those with racist ideologies.

Although this incident occurred March 27, the impact of the slap is just as palpable today as it was on the day of the event.

What makes this incident especially disappointing is Smith’s stature in the Black community. He is an esteemed figure not only in the Black community but also in the United States. He is an example of excellence, and he is evidence that you can be successful and overcome meritocracy as a Black man in this country.

His actions on a night that should have been celebrated — Smith won the award for “Best Actor” shortly after the slap — instead helped to perpetuate the stereotypes that Black people in this country face. By resorting to violence, Smith also set a poor example for Black men and women who look up to him.

What makes the whole situation worse was that Smith tried to justify his actions by claiming to be a superhero-like protector. Now, young Black girls and especially Black boys are much more likely to follow in his footsteps. Instead of being an inspiration, with that slap, Smith became an embarrassment and his actions contributed to the perpetuation of racist stereyoptyes that continue to plague Black people to this day.

Noah Jones is a sophomore in the College.

A4 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022

FEATURES

Greener and Greater: GU Earth Week Promotes Sustainability

ILLUSTRATION BY: SOPHIE LIU/THE HOYA

Environmental student leaders launched GU Earth Week to expand sustainability to all corners of campus, from local restaurants to social justice clubs to business students.

Rather than just commemorate Earth Week among environmental clubs, student organizers wanted to highlight the intersectionality of environmental justice by including a wide variety of groups.

Elyza Bruce

Hoya Staff Writer

B

y noon it was sunny, and Red Square was predictably bustling with students excited about the weekly Georgetown University Farmers Market, where several local vendors come to sell food — including empanadas, pizza and popsicles — to the Georgetown community.

But the April 20 farmers market was different because it found itself in the middle of the first GU Earth Week, a student-led, weeklong compilation of sustainability-focused events culminating with Earth Day on April 22.

Chaia, a vegetarian and vegan taco restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood, made a guest appearance at the farmers market, giving out free tacos in honor of Earth Week. Chaia started as a vendor at the GU Farmers Market in 2013, before opening its Georgetown restaurant in 2015.

The popular restaurant had returned to campus for GU Earth Week in celebration of sustainability, which is central to Chaia’s mission, according to Chaia co-founder Suzanne Simon.

“Earth Day has really turned into a push for being outside and enjoying your surroundings. But those surroundings are enjoyed and beautiful because we take care of the planet,” Simon told The Hoya. “We need to be mindful about our choices.”

Also joining Chaia at the farmers market was environmental activism club GREEN, the Georgetown Renewable Energy and Environmental Network, whose leaders helped plan GU Earth Week.

Lin Henke (COL ’23), former vice president and current official liaison for GREEN, said she and other environmental student leaders organized the initiative, which ran from April 19 to 22. GU Earth Week expanded celebrations of sustainability from just Georgetown’s environmental clubs to a wider variety of student groups, university departments and outside organizations, according to Henke.

“We wanted to give anyone on this campus the space to organize their own event and have it all under one heading,” Henke said. “The goal of the Earth Week Collaborative was to basically put us all on the same page to organize a bunch of amazing events for Earth Week and make sure that anyone who wanted to could be involved.”

The latest farmers market — composed of several local vendors — was emblematic of the collaborative spirit of GU Earth Week. Throughout GU Earth Week, many student clubs came together to sup-

port programming centered abled people of color who around sustainability, both at have been navigating the cliand beyond Georgetown. mate disaster,” Stirrup wrote in an email to The Hoya. “DurCross-Campus Activism ing the Sins Invalid event, GU Earth Week consisted specifically, we wanted to of over 20 separate events, hold space for our communiranging from clothing swaps, ties to learn, mourn, and heal panels and protests to for- together in the midst of the est bathing, a river clean up climate crisis.” and a farmers market. The Both GDA and GREEN sponevents focused on sustainabil- sored the speaker panel, “Disity through multiple different ability Wisdom for Climate lenses, including food, con- Crisis: A Conversation with Sins Invalid,” which featured the disability justice-based performance group Sins Invalid and focused on the intersectionality of disability rights and environmental action.

The student-run business The Corp also hosted several GU Earth Week events, such as the Business and Environmental Accountability Panel at Hilltoss, a clothing swap on Leavey Esplanade and a conversation with Georgetown philosophy professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò about enviBROOKE HODGE (SFS ’24) ronmental philosophy.

GREEN CO-PRESIDENT GREEN has also collaborated with The Corp to promote sustainable initiatives sumerism, the environment and increase the organizaand clothing. tion’s use of reusable dishEvents also emphasized ware, according to Jaden how sustainability is connect- Kielty (SFS ’22), co-chair of ed to more complex issues, Corp Green, a Corp sustainsuch as holding big corpora- ability and waste-reduction tions accountable for their interest group for employees. environmental impact and “There has been a lot of refighting for Indigenous land newed energy around making rights.

The Corp greener, reducing Brooke Hodge (SFS ’24), co- waste and creating partnerpresident of GREEN, said that ship with other university orGU Earth Week hopes to high- ganizations to help tackle rislight and continue the efforts ing waste and sustainability of GREEN and expand these issues,” Kielty said in an interefforts outside of the organi- view with The Hoya. zation to influence other camMallory Hybl (NHS ’22), pus groups. who is involved in the wilder“We ultimately hope to ness immersion program GU show that sustainability does Outdoor Education, worked not and should not just ex- alongside the other GU Earth ist within GREEN and other Week chairs to ensure that environmentally oriented several student organizations groups,” Hodge told The Hoya. across campus united in their “The climate and the envi- efforts to celebrate Earth Day. ronment impacts every stu“It really is a grassroots coldent, faculty member, every laborative between different academic subject and club on students, departments, procampus.” fessors and tons of different GU Earth Week aimed to groups on campus as a way include social justice and af- to celebrate and bring awarefinity groups by covering the ness to the issues facing our intersectionality of environ- Earth right now,” Hybl told mental issues, with speaker The Hoya. events such as a “Gender and Students in the Mcthe Environment” coffee chat. Donough School of Business Other events focused on the (MSB) in particular have genintersection of Indigenous is- erally been less involved in sues and sustainability, like sustainability issues on cam“Indigenous Philosophy and pus, according to Hodge, who Sustainability” and “What said she and fellow GREEN Does it Mean to Acknowledge? co-president Stephane GranaThe Philosophy and Practice to (SFS ’24) wanted to create of Land Acknowledgement.” an event for GU Earth Week Joanne Stirrup (COL ’23), that was tailored to business president of the Georgetown students.

Disability Alliance (GDA), said GREEN, along with other it is crucial to discuss how the clubs, sponsored a new Busiclimate crisis intersects with ness and Environmental Acsystemic social injustice. countability Panel event for “For GDA in particular, our Earth Week, which discussed involvement in GU Earth how to incorporate sustainWeek is an important oppor- ability within business modtunity to spotlight the voices els, according to Hodge. and lived experiences of disBraden Padberg (MSB ’24)

“The climate and the environment impacts every student, faculty member, every academic subject and club on campus.”

said he was interested in learning more about how businesses will address climate change and be held accountable for their environmental impacts at the panel.

“Since environmental issues are becoming more prominent, I know that the ways big businesses address these concerns will be a vital part of business operations in the years to come,” Padberg wrote to The Hoya.

The leaders of GU Earth Week also hope to spur positive change and take tangible action beyond the Georgetown bubble.

Throughout the week, GU Earth Week collected donations to fundraise for the Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN), a local organization dedicated to the protection of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

As part of the fundraising efforts, The Corp sold a new promotional Earth Day drink: green tea with mango syrup. Attendees of the Sports Sustainability Field Day and Shoe Drive at Healy Lawn can buy $2 falafel from Falafel Inc., with all proceeds going to PRKN. Amid all of the events, fundraising for PRKN was a major driving force behind GU Earth Week, Henke said.

“I think any Georgetown University student who has seen the Potomac understands why cleaning it up is a really important thing that needs to happen,” Henke said.

A Greener Hilltop

Environmental activism at Georgetown has often been student led, and GU Earth Week was no different.

For several months, Hybl, Henke and Ursula Gateley (COL ’23), who ran GREEN’s environmental team, met every Wednesday in The Corp’s Uncommon Grounds coffee shop to plan a more collaborative, intersectional and inclusive

Earth Week for spring 2022.

“Honestly I’m amazed that we ended up with so many cool events under the umbrella of the Earth Week collaborative, which at the end of the day isn’t even a club or organization. It has always been just a few students in a coffee shop trying to facilitate a fun, educational, and meaningful week on this campus,” Henke wrote to The Hoya.

In past years, Earth Week often consisted of separate and overlapping events organized by different clubs due to a lack of unity and communication, according to Hodge.

In an effort to improve Earth Week, Hodge said she worked with Granato and other student leaders to make this year’s GU Earth Week a unified, crosscampus effort.

“Stephane and I wanted to collaborate with as many clubs as possible on campus, and particularly reach out to clubs that are not necessarily sustainably focused,” Hodge said in an interview with The Hoya.

Although there is still much work to be done to promote sustainability on campus and in the world at large, Henke said an important goal of GU Earth Week is to celebrate the progress that students have made so far.

“This has been a huge couple years for environmentalism at Georgetown with the founding of the Earth Commons and GU Fossil Free,” Henke said. “I am hoping that during this week, everyone can take the space to congratulate themselves and congratulate the student leaders who have worked tirelessly to hold the university accountable.”

The Earth Commons (ECo), launched Feb. 15, is a Georgetown institute centered around environmental sustainability research, education and action.

GU Fossil Free (GUFF), founded in 2013, was a student-run campaign that advocated for university divestment from fossil fuels for several years.

In February 2020, the University announced that it would divest from all fossil fuels within a 10 year period, due in large part to GUFF’s years of advocacy. The university also hired Meghan Chapple to be the first vice president of sustainability in September 2021.

GREEN has pursued several advocacy projects throughout this year, including campaigning for reusable utensils at Leo’s and launching Uncommon Threads, a thrift store at The Corp’s Uncommon Grounds that raises money for studentrun financial assistance fund Georgetown Mutual Aid. GREEN has also hosted clothing swaps to promote upcycling and sustainable fashion.

GREEN members and other Georgetown students will also be taking to the streets of downtown Washington, D.C., to attend the “Fridays for Future” strike April 22, a global climate strike movement started in 2018 by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. GU Earth Week organized a “Strike Postermaking and Plant Potting” event in Red Square on April 21 to prepare for the Earth Day protest.

It’s important to remember that sustainability and environmental protection falls on everyone, according to Simon.

Since its founding, Chaia has prioritized sustainability by maintaining a seasonal, meatless menu and working with local farmers.

But while businesses have a responsibility to champion sustainability, consumers also play a big role, she said.

“We do have a responsibility to understand where things come from, how much of something we are consuming and how much are we throwing away. These things all matter today,” Simon said.

“Everyone has the responsibility to take a look around, take a step back and start to make these connections again with the planet and what we’re do-

@GUEARTHWEEK/INSTAGRAM

This year’s Earth Week saw an unprecedented amount of cross-club involvement, allowing both environmental and non-environmental groups to collaborate on events.

THE HOYA | A5

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS IN FOCUS

PAGE FIVE

Inside Look at Public Policy Challenge

Your news — from every corner of The Hoya

VERBATIM

INSIDE THE ISSUE

Justice Jackson reminded me to stay composed.”

MCCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

Georetown University medical students on the team “Within Reach: Ending Opiod Related Deaths in the District,” won the 2022 Georgetown Public Policy Challenge with their proposal.

Odunayo Durojaye (COL ’19, LAW ’22), Aaron Epstein (SFS ’12, MED on Jackson’s confirmation ’18) received Citizens Honors hearings. Story on A9 Award for Service. Story on A8.

MSB Financial Policy Center Students Express Concerns After Receives $11 Million Donation Dining Halls Close During Break Mira Patel

Hoya Staff Writer

An $11 million gift from Michael (GSB ’89) and Robin Psaros will energize the newly renamed Psaros Center on Financial Markets and Policy.

The Psaros Center, founded following the 2008 financial crisis by Georgetown University finance professor Reena Aggarwal, facilitates objective, databacked dialogue that can inform government and economic decision making about critical issues related to financial policy. Psaros, who studied under Aggarwal in the 1980s, supported this vision with an initial gift of $500,000 to establish the center.

Finance is the most popular major at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business (MSB), and this most recent gift will enable the Psaros Center to engage students at a deeper level, Aggarwal said.

“We are going to expand what we are doing with students in terms of having student fellows at the center, research assistants, and these student fellows and research assistants will have the ability to work not only with the faculty associates of the Psaros Center but also with really distinguished board members and visiting distinguished fellows,” Aggarwal said in an interview with The Hoya.

The Psaros Center’s Board of Advisors consists of 15 professionals, ranging from Robert Steers, who leads Georgetown’s Steers Center for Real Estate, to Stacey Cunningham, former president of the New York Stock Exchange. They help shape the Psaros Center’s practice and policy by providing leadership and expertise to students.

Psaros hopes that the gift will benefit the students and school that led to his own success.

“My family is humbled and

excited to invest in George- will directly improve the student town, and in doing so, give back experience at the Psaros Center to a country that has provided through the hiring of a new executive director and a student programming facilitator.

“The Center is focused on increasing events for students, including pulling new faculty leaders for different speaker events,” Krause said in an interview with The Hoya. “There has been a lot of great work and programming in the decade or so the center has already existed. We can expect to see an acceleration of all of the positive contributions. For students, there will be many ways to participate and find support.”

Anthony DeGrado (MSB ’23), SAMANTHA KRAUSE MSB DIRECTOR OF MARKETING a research assistant at the PsaAND COMMUNICATIONS ros Center who analyzes trends of growth within emerging markets, focusing on the blendus with so many opportuni- ed finance evident in publicties,” Psaros said in the univer- private partnerships, said there sity’s April 11 news release. are many existing and upcomAggarwal said that a lot ing opportunities for students has changed in the field of to get involved with research at finance within the last 10 the Psaros Center. years, and the Psaros Center “The gift is just going to accelneeds to explore all of it. erate much of what has already “There are so many issues been going on. The faculty have that policymakers and the mar- lectures on their research and kets have to deal with right now have many presentations open that didn’t even exist 10 years to all students,” DeGrado said. ago, like digital assets,” Aggarw- “In the future, the center is lookal said. “It’s a whole new emerg- ing to have a broader range of ing area, and both policymakers opportunities for students to and the private sector are trying get involved with, from research to figure it out. What is the fu- positions to special events.” ture of digital assets? What is Aggarwal said that the resourcblockchain technology? What is es present at the Psaros Center the future of crypto assets?” are crucial to understanding the The donation from Psaros current financial market. will fund investments in stu“COVID has made financial dent programming and serve inclusion and inequity an even as a resource and asset for the bigger issue, so the Center is really Georgetown community. New uniquely positioned to address opportunities will include the these new emerging issues that chance for student fellows both policymakers and the broadand research assistants to er practitioner community is facwork on conducting their own ing,” Aggarwal said. “This is a pivresearch with faculty. otal moment, as there is so much Samantha Krause, director of going on in the world of finance marketing and communications and policy that Georgetown must at the MSB, said the Psaros gift step up and take on this role.”

“This is a pivotal moment, as there is so much going on in the world of finance and policythatGeorgetown must step up.”

Michael Santos Hoya Staff Writer

The closing of all dining halls accepting meal swipes on campus over Easter break prompted student concerns about food security on campus.

During the April 13 to April 18 break, Georgetown University closed all dining locations, including Leo J. O’Donovan dining hall, the only dining hall on campus.

Only Epicurean and Company, a restaurant that requires the use of Flex dollars or other methods of personal payment, remained open for the duration of the break. Students expressed concerns about food options over the break due to the closure of Leo’s and other campus dining locations.

The university’s decision to close dining hall locations without providing alternative food sources exacerbated existing food insecurity problems, according to Ace Frazier (MSB ’24), who remained on campus over break.

“As an independent student I often wonder where I’m going to get my next necessity,” Frazier wrote to The Hoya. “I’m already worried about being homeless this summer and every break I often have to ration meals. They should be available to anyone.”

Concern over food insecurity extends back semesters, with students expressing concerns over Thanksgiving break last fall. Over 50 students approached the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) about food options during the break after the university closed Leo’s.

Many students chose to remain on campus due to the brevity of the break, so the university’s decision affected more

students than during other breaks, according to GUSA President Kole Wolfe (SFS ’24).

“The university’s decision to close all meal plan dining locations was ill advised, especially because a majority of the student body is obligated to purchase the meal plan, and many students on campus during the break rely on Leo’s, RJ, and Crop Chop for their meals and can’t afford to double pay for food,” Wolfe wrote to The Hoya.

Royal Jacket, a sandwich shop, and Crop Chop, a salad bar, both accept meal swipes and were closed during the break.

Emma Barbazette (NHS ’25), who remained on campus for the break, was not surprised by the university’s decision to close dining locations.

“The lack of food options over break was very frustrating for those remaining on campus, but unsurprising given issues that many students have had with food security in the past. There was only one food option available on campus – Epicurean – and it was one for which we had to pay,” Barbazette wrote to The Hoya.

The current meal plan policy requires all students living on campus to enroll in a meal plan. First-years and sophomores are limited to the most expensive All Access 7 Plan, which includes unlimited meal swipes at Leo’s and costs $3,260.

The university’s decision to close dining locations was made after an assessment of student needs, according to a university spokesperson.

“Demand for on-campus dining typically declines significantly over break periods and Epicurean continues to be able to easily support the volume of demand during these times,” the spokesper-

son wrote to The Hoya.

Students can use Flex dollars, which are part of meal plans, at Epicurean or visit the Hoya Hub, a campus food pantry that remained open during the break, according to the spokesperson.

The Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), which provides support for first-generation low-income students, grants grocery stipends over breaks when campus dining locations have reduced hours, according to the spokesperson.

Serena Barish (COL ’25), who remained on campus over the break, said the lack of support from the university was frustrating given that many students chose to remain on campus for financial reasons.

“I feel as though many people made the plans to stay on campus over break with the intention of saving money.

“As an independent student I often wonder where I’m going to get my next necessity.”

ACE FRAZIER MSB ’24

Therefore, the University forcing these students to pay for food appears counterproductive,” Barish wrote to The Hoya.

The lack of support for students over breaks reflects a larger problem on campus, Barish said.

“It reflects the larger culture on campus of a lack of awareness of the varying financial situations of students,” Barish wrote.

Georgetown Grad School Awards 5 Students Healy Fellowships Ingrid Matteini Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences awarded five students with the Patrick Healy Graduate Fellowship, which provides five years of financial support and other resources to select Ph.D. candidates in any field.

The annual award is named after Patrick Healy, Georgetown University’s 28th president. Healy was the first Black person to earn a doctoral degree from a university in the United States and the first Black president of Georgetown. The fellowship aims to carry on Healy’s legacy of training diverse future faculty, researchers and leaders to advance knowledge across disciplines.

This year’s fellows include George Chochos (GRD ’25), the first formerly incarcerated fellow, as well as Daniel Stewart (GRD ’26), Sarah Hayes (GRD ’26), Mariana Gomez (GRD ’27) and Christopher Gurley (GRD ’26).

While incarcerated Chocos earned a bachelor’s and master’s from Bard College. In 2013, he became a licensed Baptist preacher.

After his release from prison, he became the first formerly incarcerated person to attend Yale’s Divinity School, where he earned two more master’s degrees.

Chochos, who is studying philosophy, said receiving the fellowship has prompted him to think about education opportunities for other formerly incarcerated people.

“I think of all the people who could have been in my position but aren’t because they didn’t have access to the education opportunities I had,” Chochos said in an interview with The Hoya. “This is huge for me and my family.”

Chochos hopes to use his personal experience with the criminal justice system to shape the discussion of issues surrounding incarceration with his fellowship.

“I kind of want to use my scholarship to add that voice in that lens to the great conversation that’s already going on,” Chochos said. “I want to kind of use that as a theological lens to talk about why we need to expand higher education in prison for people who are in that marginalized state, on the fringes of society, and I also want to run a college recruit-

ing program someday.”

This year’s Healy fellows are a diverse group of scholars in multiple fields including theology, linguistics, government and philosophy.

This wide range of backgrounds among Healy fellows helps to cultivate a space for community learning, according to Stewart, a new fellow studying chemistry.

“There is an extra comfort in knowing that I have the community of other fellows here on campus that I can reach out to, and connect with and learn about what they’re doing and seeing,” Stewart told The Hoya.

The combination of the community alongside financial support makes the fellowship especially meaningful, according to Gurley, one of this year’s fellows who is studying U.S. history.

“It’s really allowed me to dedicate my time to my work without worrying about the external things. It’s also given me a good solid community,” Gurley said in an interview with The Hoya.

Alexander Sens, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said the diverse backgrounds of fellows, like this year’s class, will help

to strengthen academia.

“The fellows’ diversity of background, experience and worldview enriches our community and strengthens our ability to create and transit knowledge. Diversifying the Ph.D. population is also a crucial step to diversifying the corps of professors across academia,” Alexander Sens wrote to The Hoya.

Sens said the university is proud of the diversity of Ph.D. students represented through the Healy fellowship.

“We’re proud that Patrick Healy Graduate Fellows display a wide range of backgrounds and experiences every year. We believe that having diverse Ph.D. populations, in terms of both background and experience, is of crucial benefit and importance to our teaching, scholarly and service missions,” Sens wrote.

Georgetown hopes to continue the Healy Fellows program and to support the graduate student community, Sens said.

“We hope to continue to build an increasingly strong community of Healy Fellows and to provide our entire graduate community with a robust support system both

during and after their years at Georgetown,” Sens wrote.

Chochos said he hopes he won’t be the last formerly incarcerated fellow.

“At the same time, it

makes me think of all the people that if they had maybe had the opportunities, could have done more than I could. I hope that while I’m the first, I won’t be the last.”

JESSICA LIN/THE HOYA

Five Georgetown grduate students received the Patrick Healy Graduate Fellowship for 2022.

A6 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022

NEWS

Georgetown Pep Band Honors Director of Jewish Life Set To Leave Centennial Year With Ceremony Role, Will Still Serve in the SCS RABBI, from A1 lot of fracture lines along what it means to be Jewish, whether it’s questions of Israel or questions of spiritual practice, and Rabbi did an amazing job of making sure that everyone had a place in the Jewish community at Georgetown.”

The university is currently working to ensure that there is a smooth transition of leadership within Jewish Life, according to a university spokesperson.

“The Office of Mission and Ministry is working to arrange interim leadership for Jewish Life while it prepares to undertake a formal search process for Rabbi Gartner’s successor,” the spokesperson wrote. “This search will include input and participation from the Georgetown Community, including faculty, staff and students. The Office will share updates when they are available.”

Rev. Ebony Grisom, Interim Director of Protestant Christian Ministry at Georgetown, said Gartner exemplifies faith in action.

“I’ve appreciated the way that Rabbi articulates her COURTESY LAUREN D’AMICO sense of justice as one rooted The Georgetown University Pep Band celebrated its 100th anniversary with a in her faith,” Grisom wrote to The Hoya. “She models for stuformal dinner, speeches, performances and a slideshow April 9. dents and colleagues a way to

PEP, from A1 Georgetown and gave an impromptu speech about his time working with the band at the ceremony.

“I shared with them that I’m a band person at heart, and I was actually the director of this organization my first three or four years at Georgetown — this group is very close to my heart,” Lignelli told The Hoya.

Jenna Thomas (COL ’24), who also served on the planning committee, said the team held weekly meetings where current members volunteered to search through university archives for documents, artifacts and memorabilia related to pep band.

“We scanned interesting and relevant docs and photos to put in the slideshow and found some amazing things such as: plans for a 1960s tour of South Asia to entertain US troops, Hoya articles from the 20s about the band’s formation and progress, and Bill Clinton’s student government ticket which listed him as a member of the Georgetown band,” Thomas wrote to The Hoya.

At the anniversary celebration, the pep band’s own drum line led the group in singing the Georgetown fight song, while the low brass section performed student arrangements of “Hallelujah” and “Pirates of the Ca-

ribbean,” according to Alumni Relations Coordinator and Planning Committee co-Chair Domenic De Santes (COL ’23).

De Santes said that the centennial celebration drew recognition to the pep band’s hard work and dedication in bringing school spirit to athletic games.

“I hope that this Centennial Celebration has inspired the current members of the band to appreciate what we do as a band and how it is connected to decades of Georgetown history and sport,” De Santes wrote to The Hoya. “I also hope to build off the momentum of the event to create a stronger alumni network to keep generations of band Hoyas connected to the band and to each other.”

Thomas hopes to see the pep band continue to expand and instill more school spirit in the next century.

“I hope that the band continues to provide an oncampus family for all those who decide to join, no matter how committed or casual they want to make their experience,” Thomas wrote.

“Numbers are already on the rise, but I hope that the pep band can grow even more so we can continue carrying the spirit of Georgetown through music and pride at sports games and other events!”

The pep band has grown in

integrate one’s faith commitments into daily life. She embodies a faith that does justice, and how contemplation can lead to action.”

Chloe Schneider (COL ’24), Social Justice Chair of the Jewish Student Association (JSA) board and president of the Campus Ministry student forum, has known Gartner since her being a first-year and found her to be someone who was easy to build a connection with from the beginning.

“She’s definitely been a big part of my Georgetown experience — I probably see her at least once a week,” Schneider said in an interview with The Hoya. “She’s so personal, and you really don’t feel that staff barrier that you feel with a lot of people at Georgetown.”

Schneider also took one of Gartner’s courses, titled “Death, Sex and Tattoos: Jewish Perspectives on Taboo Subjects,” which had students look at real world issues through a rabbinical lens.

“It was my favorite class I’ve taken at Georgetown — it was so interesting,” Schneider said. “What I took away from that class is that Judaism addresses people, not problems.”

Hannah Kosc (SFS ’23), Jewish Life intern and JSA co-president, said that Gartner played a role in her decision to commit to Georgetown after initially meeting her during her senior year of high school at the GAAP admitted students weekend.

[Kosc previously served on The Hoya’s Editorial Board.]

Kosc said Gartner has been a major part of her support system on campus and will be missed by many students.

“Rabbi has always just been like a Georgetown mom,” Kosc told The Hoya. “I know a lot of people in Jewish life feel that way about Rabbi. She’s a very loving person, and before her professional identity comes that love, and I think that’s really special. We’re all going to miss her a lot.”

Gartner said that she looks forward to serving the larger Jewish community in her new role.

“I feel very called to serve Jewish communities at this moment in time,” Gartner said.

“I’m really excited about just being in a very vibrant Jewish community at this moment in history and focusing in a depthfull way in Jewish life in the broader community.”

influence over the course of the last 100 years. While the band originally only played at Georgetown football and basketball games, they now also perform at Georgetown soccer and lacrosse games, according to Ogeka.

Clay Volino (SFS ’22), outgoing president and planning committee co-chair alongside De Santes, said the celebration strengthened the pep band community’s bond.

“Pep Band is about more than the numbers on the scoreboard or in the stands. It’s about the people. Our community more than anything else gives us reason to celebrate,” Volino wrote to The Hoya. “We celebrated the community that the band has built over the last century, and the ways the band has evolved and persisted during that time. I hope the band will do the same for the century to come.”

Lignelli said his time as a member of his own undergraduate school’s band was some of the best years of his life and that the ceremony allowed alumni to reflect on the lasting relationships they made through the band.

“That’s the great thing about the performing arts — making art is secondary to making friendships,” Lignelli said.

THE HOYA “Those are the things that I alAfter 11 years as the Director of Jewish Life at Georgetown University, Rabbi Rachel Gartner ways remember and I think the students here will treasure.” will step down to pursue a role at congregation Shirat HaNefesh in Chevy Chase, Md.

Georgetown Student Develops Hilltop-Themed Spoof of Viral Wordle Game HOYADLE, from A1 code a Georgetown-themed Wordle in his free time earlier this month.

Meredith Lou (COL ’24) heard about the game when her friends sent it to her, and said Hoyadle is only the latest variation of Wordle she has played.

“Just Wordle is not enough for me, I’m fiending for more,” Lou told The Hoya. “It’s the fourth variation of Wordle that I’ve done, and I think it’s really fun.”

Delaney created a Wordle simulator earlier this semester as a side project because he thought it would be interesting to figure out what the back end of the game would entail.

Delaney said this previous experience prepared him to create Hoyadle in just a few hours.

“I really already had the logic down of how to make the game so I essentially just had to make it look nice,” Delaney said.

Delaney said he had to alter the programming of the game after creating a longer word bonus feature.

“I recently added a bonus feature where the word is a little bit longer and it’s a little bit tougher. So I had to completely refigure the original program to be able to handle that. So there have been a lot of little challenges like that,” Delaney said.

It has been fun coming up with Georgetown-themed words to use in the game, Delaney said.

“One of the fun parts was brainstorming with my friends about five-letter, Georgetown-

related words that we could use in the game, and we ended up coming up with a lot more than I initially thought there were,” Delaney said.

Even graduates and parents of Georgetown students have begun to play the game, which came as a shock to Delaney.

“I mostly expected students because the game is catered toward students,” Delaney said. “A lot of the words are kind of slang or lingo used around on campus, so I was really surprised that non-current students were playing the game.”

Brendan Foody (MSB ’25), a friend of Delaney’s, helped Delaney buy a domain for the game and publish the Hoyadle website.

Foody said he has enjoyed working to create Hoyadle.

“It’s pretty cool to have a product that’s specific to the Georgetown community,” Foody told The Hoya. “It’s something so simple, but it still gained a lot of traction and has a lot of people playing. I think it’s awesome and fun to be a part of.”

Delaney said Foody has assisted him with advertising the game on Instagram, which has shown success so far. The Hoyadle Instagram, which has over 400 followers, posts hints and daily world reveals.

Lou also said the daily hints keep the community engaged.

“It’s a really active thing … that’s something that’s nice in the community,” Lou said.

Sophie Hermelin (COL ’24) said she decided to play the game because the Instagram

account requested to follow her.

“I liked the original Wordle so I thought I would give it a chance,” Hermelin wrote to The Hoya. “I think it’s cute because it’s Georgetown themed.”

Delaney said he is working on advertisement deals with local businesses, including Saxby’s, a coffee shop located a couple blocks from campus

that is owned by a Georgetown graduate.

Delaney has also received offers from student groups, including the Georgetown Program Board, which plans various campus-wide events, with word suggestions to use for the Hoyadle.

“The Georgetown Program Board offered us to make the

word GUDAY for Georgetown Day in exchange for a shout out on their stories,” Delaney said. “Things like that will make me have to go in and change it, but the upkeep really isn’t too much.”

The game could benefit from adding more features that Wordle offers, according to Lou, such as showing play-

ers the distribution of their scores as they play each day.

Delaney said it has been rewarding watching the reception to Hoyadle.

“It was really cool to see the game that I just thought of on a whim come to life within one night,” Delaney said. “I just find it really cool that it took off as much as it did.”

TARA PETRONIO/THE HOYA

Hoyadle, a student-made, Georgetown-themed rendition of the hit game Wordle, has quickly gained popularity among students on campus since its release April 5, averaging 1,000 users a day.

THE HOYA | A7

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

PJI Annual Report Highlights Program Achievements, Goals Mia Dugan

Special to The Hoya

The Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) released its annual report summarizing the program’s goals for the future and its achievements in the past year including the launch of a new bachelor’s degree program.

The report, which was released April 11, explored the work of the PJI in the past year, focusing on the launch of the first bachelor of liberal arts program for incarcerated people last April, the initiative’s programs for returning citizens, and PJI’s advocacy for wrongfully convicted people.

PJI Director of Communications Evelyn Rupert said the report allows PJI to reflect on its work and find ways to better serve individuals affected by the criminal justice system in the future.

“Creating an annual report allows us to stop and take stock of how far we have come and where we hope to go in the future,” Rupert wrote to The Hoya. “What I hope people take away from it is the scope of what Georgetown and PJI are doing to create oppor-

tunities for incarcerated people and returning citizens and how those opportunities have an impact on individual lives and the community at large.”

Since the launch of the new degree, which is offered to students at the Patuxent Institution, a prison in Jessup, Md., the initiative has received over 300 applicants for 25 available spots, according to the report.

Founded in 2016, PJI aims to combat the high incarceration rates in the United States by providing education opportunities to individuals in prison.

The program also advocates for wrongfully convicted people and for reforms to support imprisoned individuals.

Despite facing COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges, PJI hopes people will understand the impact the program has on incarcerated individuals, Rupert said.

Many of PJI’s programs were revised and reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Prison Scholars Program, which enlists Georgetown faculty to teach noncredit and credit-bearing classes

in the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility and Central Detention Facility, completely canceled non-credit courses and switched all credit courses to online instruction due to the pandemic.

In 2021, 26 students completed at least one of the nine courses offered through the Prison Scholars program, according to the report.

Professor and PJI Director Marc Howard said the program is thankful for the support it receives that makes supporting those affected by the criminal justice system possible.

“The Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative is proud to publish our 2021 annual report, which provides an overview of our programs and celebrates our students, staff, and faculty,” Howard wrote in a statement to The Hoya.

The report, which was primarily written by Rupert and designed by Georgetown Art Director John LaRue, included the help of undergraduate students Amy Li (SFS ’22) and Jack Pedigo (SFS ’24).

Pedigo said although the report

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

The Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) released its annual report, documenting project progress and describing the program’s hope for expansion. involved many moving parts PJI is proud of the way it turned out.

“Although it was quite a daunting project, we’re super happy with how this report turned out, and we hope it has played at least a small role in shining a light on the importance of second chance hiring.”

The report contains news about PJI programs featuring multiple students and graduates of the Pivot Program, which provides formerly incarcerated individuals with professional development opportunities; the Mayor’s Office

on Returning Citizen AffairsGeorgetown Paralegal Program, which trains formerly incarcerated individuals for a legal career; and the Prison Scholars Program, according to Rupert.

Pivot Assistant Director of Program Management Crystal Francis said fellows leave the program prepared to contribute to the workforce.

“Whether or not they decide to open and run a business that they end up pitching, that’s part of our program, they’re walking away with leadership skills, hard and soft skills that make

them more marketable in the workforce, and we’ve seen significant progress in those who actually do launch a business,” Francis said in an interview with The Hoya.

The Pivot Program, which welcomed its fourth cohort of fellows in 2021, hopes to expand upon its programming and alumni network, according to Francis. The program is currently developing a graduate ambassadors program in an attempt to engage graduates with the fellow selection process for the next cohort, Francis said.

COVID-19 Cases Rise Annual John Carroll Throughout DC Due Weekend Features MSB To BA.2 Subvariant Panel Discussions Minoli Ediriweera Student Life Desk

COVID-19 cases in Washington, D.C. have spiked as a part of a recent surge caused by the highly transmissible BA.2 omicron subvariant.

In the past two weeks the District has seen a 51% increase in COVID-19 cases, with a 14-day average of 216 new COVID-19 cases reported each day. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the District have also increased 6%, but deaths have not increased.

The rise in cases due to the rapid spread of the BA.2 subvariant, which is now responsible for over 90% of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Although caseloads remain lower than the spike of cases seen in the District by the omicron variant in December and January — when the District reached an average of 2,123 daily cases — public health officials have expressed concern that the new subvariant will continue to cause an increase in cases.

“The BA.2 variant is even more infectious than the original Omicron strain. At the same time, many public health measures have been relaxed.”

RANIT MISHORI Chief Public Health Officer

Georgetown Nursing and Health Studies Professor Rosemary Sokas said a primary reason for the spike in cases is because of the subvariant’s ability to infect those who are fully vaccinated.

While most of omicron and BA.2 infections are in healthy young adults, increasingly relaxed public health guidelines may put vulnerable populations at higher risk of infection, according to Sokas.

“The CDC has set a terrible precedent with its current system that aims just to prevent a total meltdown of the healthcare system - as long as the ICU’s aren’t full, they are telling the vulnerable it’s everyone for themselves, just mask up if you are vulnerable,” Sokas wrote to The Hoya.

On April 18, following a ruling from a federal judge striking down the Center for Disease Control’s reinstatement of a mask mandate on all transportation services, WMATA announced that Metro riders would not be required to wear masks beginning that same day.

While the District’s indoor mask mandate expired Feb. 28, private establishments can choose whether to require

patrons to wear masks while inside their business.

Georgetown Chief Public Health Officer Ranit Mishori (MED ’02) said the combination of the transmissibility level of the BA.2 subvariant and the lifting of COVID-19 safety measures may have led to the COVID-19 spike in the District.

“The BA.2 variant is even more infectious than the original omicron strain,” Mishori wrote to The Hoya. “At the same time, many public health measures have been relaxed (particularly indoor masking) and vaccine protections have waned.”

Masks are critical to protecting the health of marginalized communities, according to Sokas.

Immunocompromised and disabled people have heightened health and safety concerns about the lifting of indoor mask mandates across the country.

Erin Davies (COL ’25), who is in a high-risk category for COVID-19 due to having asthma, said mask mandates ensure the safety of immunocompromised students.

“The lack of remote access also means that people with increased risk can’t opt to safely attend classes remotely during a spike in cases or if a mask mandate is removed,” Davies wrote to The Hoya.

“For that reason I think the mask mandate is helpful for classes even though I also do not enjoy it.”

Georgetown reinstated its mask mandate earlier this month after experiencing an uptick in cases following the university’s lifting of an indoor mask mandate in March.

Georgetown’s temporary decision to reinstate the mask mandate was driven by monitoring case levels at Georgetown and throughout the District, according to Mishori.

Davies said she continued to wear a mask when the university lifted its mask mandate.

The decision to wear a mask can ensure the health and safety of other District residents as some masks like KN95s are more effective than others, Sokas said.

KN95 and N95 masks have been shown to lower the odds of testing positive for COVID-19 by 83%, according to the CDC. Komal Samrow (SFS ’25), who has expressed concern about COVID-19 in the District, said listening to public health experts on guidance for protection is important to combat COVID-19 risks.

“What I do know is that there is a segment of the population that is genuinely threatened by COVID, and if all it takes to help protect those people is to wear a mask indoors,” Samrow told The Hoya.

Samrow said she will continue to adapt as the pandemic evolves.

“I look forward to things going back to the way they used to be, but right now, I’m happy learning to adjust and adapt, if it means I and the people around me are safe and healthy,” Samrow wrote.

Brooke DeLucia Hoya Staff Writer

John Carroll Weekend, an annual event where graduates, faculty and friends connect for tours, lectures and excursions, welcomed members of the Georgetown community in person for the first time in three years.

This year’s John Carroll Weekend was held in Nashville, Tenn., from March 31 to April 3. The conference featured museum tours, music, awards and panels over the course of four days. The McDonough School of Business (MSB) hosted two panels highlighting Jesuit values, prominent research and ongoing programs at Georgetown.

The first panel, titled “Creating Pathways for Returning Citizens,” discussed the Georgetown Pivot Program, which aims to provide formerly incarcerated individuals with access to education and employment opportunities.

Engaging in social impact enriches Georgetown’s education efforts, according to Pietra Rivoli, panelist, Georgetown professor and co-executive director of the Pivot Program.

“A Jesuit business school should be addressing social issues,” Rivoli wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We think that companies that are serious about DEI as well as racial justice need to engage

with the criminal justice system to both access and develop the tremendous talent of those returning home.

Creating employment pathways benefits both companies and communities and represents the potential for business to be a force for good.” Panelist Tyrone Walker, a Pivot Program graduate and director of re-entry services for the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative, said that the panel highlighted the program’s connection to Georgetown’s Jesuit values.

“The richness of speaking with so many alumni is an experience that I will forever hold dear,” Walker wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Our panel fit into the weekend nicely, so many alumni were engaged and surprised about some of the work Georgetown is doing for people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. The panel really highlighted the core values of the Georgetown community.”

Having been incarcerated himself, Walker said that the weekend’s discussions about issues of social justice and incarceration were valuable for graduates.

“This topic was chosen because people on the planet from all walks of life are being faced with family members who have been impacted by the legal system,” Walker wrote. “Most don’t

MAGGIE CHEN/THE HOYA

John Carroll weekend was hosted in person for the first time in three years in Nashville, Tennessee. know how to approach the subject and some are afraid to talk about it because of their social status so Georgetown is bringing this topic to the public and encouraging others to participate.”

The second panel at the John Carroll Weekend, titled “Sustainability in the Built Environment,” featured panelists Matthew Cypher, professor and director of the Steers Center for Global Real Estate, and Vishal Agrawal, professor and director of the Sustainable Business Initiative. The panel included a tour of the Music City Center along with a discussion about sustainability and interdisciplinary thinking at the MSB. According to Lauren Apicella, the MSB’s associate director of alumni relations, the MSB chose to highlight sustainability initiatives in one of the weekend’s panels because many centers within

the school focus on the environment, like the Business of Sustainability Initiative, which prepares future leaders to find business solutions that positively impact the earth.

The MSB showcased their commitment to the programs that are important to the school and Jesuit values at the various panels, according to Apicella.

“Several of the JCW themes this year fit in with our work and research at McDonough, including Jesuit/Catholic Identity and Environmental Challenges and Sustainability,” Apicella wrote to The Hoya. “Georgetown’s Jesuit Values are imbued in everything we do at Georgetown McDonough, including the Georgetown Pivot Program, which provides formerly incarcerated individuals with leadership and professional development through business and entrepreneurship.”

GU Observes 160th Emancipation Anniversary Laetitia Haddad

Academics Desk Editors

Georgetown University commemorated the 160th anniversary of the Compensated Emancipation Act through multiple campus events. The act abolished slavery in Washington, D.C. Passed by Congress in 1862, the act abolished slavery in the District, freeing 3,000 individuals from enslavement. From April 12 to 27, Georgetown is hosting a variety of events to reflect on the injustices of slavery and recognize the university’s own active role in the history of enslavement.

In 1838 the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, which ran Georgetown at the time, sold 314 enslaved people — now known as the GU272 — to financially sustain the university.

Events included an Emancipation Exhibit on April 12, which explored documents significant to Georgetown’s history with enslavement, such as documents recording the works of Jesuits in the Maryland community. An April 16 name-reading event honored the people enslaved by the Maryland Jesuits who ran the university in the 19th century. On April 19, the university also hosted a talk titled

“Facing Georgetown’s History,” launching the new book “Facing Georgetown’s History: A Reader on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.”

The book was edited by Georgetown history professor Adam Rothman and Middlebury College assistant professor of history Elsa Barraza Mendoza.

On April 27, the university will hold a virtual transcription event, hosted by the Georgetown Slavery Archive, which holds materials related to the Maryland Jesuits and the university’s deep ties to enslavement. At the event attendees can transcribe historical documents for digitalization.

Mary Beth Corrigan, curator of the Georgetown Collections on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, said the Emancipation Act achieved the emancipation movement’s goal to abolish slavery in the District.

“The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 has tremendous local significance: it ended slavery at Georgetown,” Corrigan wrote to The Hoya. “It also represented the fulfillment of one of the major goals of the abolitionist movement: to secure legislation abolishing slavery in the only jursidiction directly controlled by the U.S. Congress.”

When Congress emancipated enslaved people, the politicians chose to compensate slaveholders rather than enslaved people, Corrigan said.

The Booth Family Center for Special Collections, an archive located in Georgetown’s Lauinger Library, contributes to the commemoration of District Emancipation every year, according to Corrigan.

The special collection is home to many documents exploring the significance of emancipation in the District, including records related to the last enslaved man at Georgetown University, Aaron Edmonson, and pamphlets on Congressional debates over emancipation in the District, according to Corrigan.

“Facing Georgetown’s History: A Reader on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation,” analyzes Georgetown’s history with slavery and its larger connection to the history of slavery in the United States, according to Rothman.

“The book shows Georgetown’s manifold connections to slavery; in fact, Georgetown’s history is a microcosm of the whole history of American slavery, including the history of emancipation,” Rothman wrote to The Hoya.

This book can force the

Georgetown community to confront the university’s legacy of slavery, according to Keith Gorman, director of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.

“The book helps support the GU community’s efforts of coming to terms with how slavery is so deeply intertwined in the history of this nation,” Gorman wrote to The Hoya. “It also creates a space for community members to better understand the continuing legacy of the enslavement of individuals and communities. In a sense, the book brings the archive to the individual reader.”

Many of the documents included in this book were drawn from the university’s own historical records, according to Gorman. The first section of the work looks at the history of slavery in the broad context of American Catholicism and the second portion focuses more specifically on Georgetown’s history of slavery, Gorman said.

Rothman said it is crucial to understand the history of emancipation.

“Understanding how chattel slavery ended in Washington, D.C., is an important lesson in the possibility of fundamental and even revolutionary change in American history, as well as the limits of change,” Rothman wrote.

A8 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022

NEWS

Georgetown Grad Receives Citizens Kusama Exhibit Debuts at Hirshhorn Award From Medal of Honor Society Museum Following COVID-19 Delays Priyasha Chakravarti Hoya Staff Writer

A Georgetown University graduate received the 2022 Citizens Honors Award for Service by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for providing medical relief and training in global conflict zones.

Aaron Epstein (SFS ’12, MED ’18) received the prestigious award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which was chartered by Congress in 1958. The medal is the highest military award for valor in the United States. Each year, the society presents awards to five citizens and one organization.

Award categories include youth service, young heroes and single acts of heroism. Epstein received the citizen service award.

Epstein will be presented with the award during a ceremony on July 20, 2022.

The Citizens Honors Award recognises Americans who have dedicated their lives to serving others, according to John Falkenbury, executive vice president of the Medal of Honor Society.

“The Congressional Medal of Honor Society instituted the Citizen Honors Awards 15 years ago as a tangible way to express the view of its members — the living Medal of Honor recipients — that the principles of service and sacrifice are relevant to all Americans and not limited to those who wear a uniform,” Falkenbury wrote to The Hoya.

Epstein completed a masters in security studies at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service (SFS) in 2012 and graduated from the Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUMC)

in 2018. At the GUMC, Epstein founded the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG), an organization dedicated to providing medical support in war-torn regions.

Epstein credited his SFS education for helping him understand the world from a political and security standpoint.

“It allowed me to create a medical network and use the real political understanding I had obtained to navigate conflict zones in a more effective way than more idealistic aid organizations,” Epstein said in an interview with The Hoya.

SFS Dean Joel Hellman said Epstein has used his education from the SFS and GUMC to improve the world.

“It is so interesting how Aaron combined a medical and security studies education — he brought those two things together and thought about how he can apply his skills in conflict zones,” Hellman said in an interview with The Hoya. “Not a lot of doctors understand working in volatile zones. SFS encourages people to cross boundaries that you don’t see elsewhere.”

The GSMSG trains civilians and soldiers on emergency medical response in danger zones, according to Epstein.

As part of GSMSG, Epstein said that he previously provided medical care to people injured by ISIS fighters in Iraq and is now training civilians in Ukraine to deliver first aid to those injured in war.

“We train our partners rather than dumping supplies and leaving,” Epstein said. “Our approach from the get go has always been to do training. We aimed to broadly train the popu-

lation in combat casualty care so that everyone could handle on some level basic battle trauma.”

Epstein said his understanding of politics and the medical network have allowed him to navigate conflict zones in a way unlike other aid organizations.

“There are avenues to do good in this world in an effective manner,” Epstein said. “A lot of people are disheartened by seeing international aid organizations that are not efficient where only a tiny fraction of donations make it to those in need. I want people to know though that there are groups out there that are still trying to do the most good.”

Epstein has not only used his medical education to help others in conflict zones, but also to train his colleagues to do the same, according to Princy Kumar, GUMC senior associate dean of students.

“I think highly of Aaron Epstein as he is one of the most altruistic students I have encountered. He also wanted to teach others around him and would often take students for a 2-4 week period to a crisis zone so they could experience the role of physicians in conflict situations,” Kumar wrote to The Hoya.

Awards like this help to inspire other SFS students to do extraordinary things, according to Hellman.

“The award makes all of us at Georgetown proud and contributes to the mission of the school — the more students who are recognised for the kinds of exciting contributions they are making to the wellbeing of others, it just brings great honour and inspiration to other students,” Hellman wrote.”

Chaia Tacos Returns to GU Farmers’ Market, Celebrates Sustainability

@CHAIATACOS/INSTAGRAM

Chaia Tacos, a plant-based taco restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood, returned to the GU Farmers’ Market on April 20 to celebrate Earth Day. Eli Kales

City Desk Editor

Chaia Tacos, a popular vegetarian and vegan taco restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood, returned to the Georgetown University Farmers’ Market in honor of Earth Day. Chaia originated as a stand at the GU Farmers’ Market in 2013, workshopping ideas with students before opening its flagship store in Georgetown in 2015.

Chaia’s mission aligns with sustainability, composting and reducing the consumption of red meat to protect the environment.

At Chaia’s pop-up stand at the GU Farmers’ Market on April 20, the restaurant offered free tacos to Georgetown students and a giveaway raffle featuring T-shirts, gift cards and a free taco experience for six guests.

Chaia co-founder Suzanne Simon said the farmers market stand honors the role Georgetown students play in supporting the restaurant.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity to do a giveaway of tacos to acknowledge and appreciate all of the students who often come to us,” Simon told The Hoya. “I think you all are a group of mindful consumers.

Students are such an important part of a lot of the small businesses in Georgetown.”

In addition to Georgetown, Chaia has locations in Chinatown and Bethesda, MD. The return to the GU Farmers’ Market is a full-circle moment for Chaia in terms of the restaurant’s pursuit of sustainable food options, according to Simon.

“We started at the farmers market, and that’s how we tested our concept,” Simon said. “So coming back here feels

like going back to our roots and kind of making that connection again, of the importance of not only knowing where your food comes from, but also the variety in what you’re eating.”

Chaia was a pioneer in offering sustainable food options in the District and hopes to continue this through the help of Georgetown students, according to Juan Dromgoole, Chaia’s director of operations.

“I do believe we were trendsetters before this was a thing in D.C.,” Dromgoole told The Hoya.

“We want to be here for visibility, about trying to get the new generation of Hoyas to come to our restaurant and let them know that we are a cool, sustainable restaurant in Georgetown they can easily walk to.”

Chaia partners with local farmers to ensure customers’ food comes directly from organic, homegrown sources, according to the restaurant’s website.

Furthermore, all of the business packaging is compostable and the restaurant is dedicated to creating little to no food waste, according to Dromgoole.

“All of our vegetables are locally sourced, our packaging is compostable, everything we give to the customer is compostable. We really do think about using every single part of the vegetable so we create little to no waste.”

According to Simon, the Georgetown neighborhood community allows local residents and tourists to visit and provide support for many small businesses, including Chaia.

“Having that mix of different types of businesses within this community is really important,” Simon said. “The small businesses are often the ones

that really give back the most to the community.”

Chaia hopes to make customers think about their meat consumption and the possibilities for sustainable eating, according to Simon.

“You don’t always have to go to a place that has meat,” Simon said. “You can enjoy a meal that’s meatless. If everyone started to think a little bit more consciously about eating just a little less meat, then that’s a big impact we can have for the planet.”

Beef production accounts for between 7% and 18% of global methane emissions, with plant-based options providing an environmentally conscious alternative, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Carolina Oxenstierna (SFS ’25), who got a taco at the give away at the GU Farmers’ Market, said Chaia is one of the best restaurants in Georgetown to get a healthy and sustainable meal.

“Chaia is vegan and vegetarian — very healthy, organic products,” Oxenstierna told The Hoya. “They’re one of my favorite places to go because it’s really healthy, and their products are sustainable, which is really important as well.”

According to Dromgoole, Earth Day is an important time for Chaia to recognize the role it can play in promoting sustainability.

“We really do care about sustainability,” Dromgoole said.

“Hopefully, people know the value of those little things that we do that actually take a lot of time on our end, but we do care about those things. It’s important to us to show that Earth Day is something to be celebrated, and we want to be a part of that.”

SMITHSONIAN/FACEBOOK

Yayoi Kusama’s “One With Eternity” exhibit opened at the Hirshhorn Museum this month, featuring two of the artist’s signature Infinity Mirror rooms.

Andrew Mazzola Special to The Hoya

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s exhibit “One with Eternity” debuted at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., following a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exhibit contains five artworks, including two of Kusama’s Infinity Mirror rooms, Kusama’s signature immersive multimedia installations. A major attraction of the exhibit is Kusama’s “My Heart is Dancing into the Universe” mirrored room, which contains giant polkadotted balls in vibrant colors.

Kusama — who has worked in the art world for nearly 70 years — is known for her use of vibrant colors and symbolic imagery of unity. The Hirshhorn has collected work from Kusama since 1996.

Daisy O’Brien (COL ’24), who visited the exhibit soon after it opened, said that the aesthetic of the art draws in all viewers, even those who are not typically excited about museums.

“I would say this isn’t the stereotypical museum exhibit that opens up all around D.C. This one stands out from the rest,” O’Brien said.

“I’m not really into artwork myself, but this exhibit really was fun to go to. It almost seemed like it was made to be posted on Instagram.”

In addition to the Infinity Mirror rooms, the exhibit features paintings, sculptures and photographs from Kusama.

The exhibit, which opened April 1, will be on display at the Hirshhorn through Nov. 27.

Hirshhorn Director Me-

lissa Chiu said the exhibit will feature new artworks of Kusama’s that the museum just acquired in January.

“This highly anticipated exhibition allows us to show the impact of Kusama’s radical practice and welcome three significant works into the permanent collection,” Chiu said in a press release. “‘One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection’ demonstrates that Kusama’s legacy extends far beyond a single body of work.”

Riya Dave, a student at George Washington University who also visited the exhibit, said Kusama’s artwork has a calming effect for viewers.

“I really didn’t know what to expect coming in and tried to keep my expectations low,” Dave told The Hoya. “When I walked in, it kinda mesmerized me and almost slowed my thoughts if that makes sense. I feel like in college you get so wrapped up in searching for a job or focusing on the next assignment, but the repetition of dots just helped calm those thoughts in the back of my head.”

The exhibit follows a 2017 exhibit at the Hirshhorn, “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors.” This collection drew in 475,000 visitors, and marked the museum’s highest spring viewership in its history. The Hirshhorn’s 2017 Kusama exhibit rose to popularity after it blew up on social media with the exhibition hashtag #InfiniteKusama reaching over 172 million users on Twitter and Instagram. During the 2017 Kusama exhibit at the Hirshhorn, the museum received

almost 58,000 pre-reserved ticket requests in the first minute of registration.

Because of the popularity of Kusama’s previous exhibition in 2017, the Smithsonian expects similar record-breaking attendance numbers at the museum over the next several months.

To purchase tickets, visitors must wait in line beginning at 9:30 a.m. to receive same-day passes, which are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

O’Brien said the popularity of this year’s exhibit makes it difficult to fully enjoy the artwork.

“It was something I would definitely recommend,” O’Brien told The Hoya. “However, the line was sort of long, and I felt as if the museum could have had a better system because most people can’t dedicate the majority of their day to one exhibit.”

O’Brien said that the aesthetic of the exhibit draws in all viewers, even those who are not usually into art museums.

“I would say this isn’t the stereotypical museum exhibit that opens up all around D.C, this one stands out from the rest,” O’Brien said. “I’m not really into artwork myself but this exhibit really was fun to go to. It almost seemed like it was made to be posted on Instagram.”

Dave said that Kusama’s artistic style overall provided a distinct and enjoyable aesthetic experience for visitors.

“I thought it was cool how she incorporated polka dots throughout most of her work, and how you were immersed in the work rather than just staring at the typical painting on the wall,” Dave said.

Student Leadership Creates Statistical Agency for Advocacy Samuel Yoo

Student Life Desk

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) senate unanimously passed a resolution to create a working group for a statistical agency to conduct surveys and a semesterly census on the student population to gauge student opinion on the issues.

During the April 10 meeting, the GUSA senate voted to create the Student Advocacy Statistical Agency, which would be funded by GUSA. The agency would conduct surveys to determine student opinions on different issues.

The agency would also have representatives from GUSA members, undergraduate academic councils and media board organizations.

One of the purposes of creating the statistical agency was to allow people in GUSA to gain a better understanding of the needs of the student body, according to GUSA Senator Joshua Bernard-Pearl (SFS ’25), who was one of two senators to introduce the resolution.

“Occasionally people will reach out to us, but we don’t have a really good way of knowing scientifically, kind of what percentage of students care about this issue or that issue,” Bernard-Pearl said in an interview with The Hoya.

“So in that sense, it’ll help us to know what the student body cares about.”

The agency will provide GUSA and other advocacy groups with the necessary information to bargain with the administration, according to GUSA Senate Speaker Leo Rassieur (COL ’22).

“For a long time, student leaders have struggled with communicating credible information about student wants and needs to the administration,” Rassieur wrote to The Hoya. “I believe this new agency will help GUSA and other advocate groups at Georgetown come to the negotiating table better equipped to make change.”

The creation of the agency will help a number of different student organizations, according to Bernard-Pearl.

“It’s something that’s meant to help a number of different agencies,” BernardPearl said. “We recognize that there’s a need for data and statistics on students’ opinions, not just within GUSA, but also within other advocacy and information organizations.”

The statistical agency is in the process of launching next semester, according to GUSA Senator Dominic Gordon (SFS ’23), who worked with Bernard-Pearl to introduce the resolution.

“Obviously, we kind of are going through a trial run this year,” Gordon said in an interview with The Hoya. “So we’re going to get money from GUSA. The hope is that this would be a permanent thing added to the bylaws in the future, but preferably before the next budget summit.”

The new agency will also help students engage with GUSA, according to Rassieur.

“This new agency will help students express their views on a wide range of subjects far more frequently than they can right now, helping to bridge the disconnect that some feel exists between GUSA and the student body,” Rassieur wrote.

The agency will also act as a tool for different organizations to interact with the broader student body, according to Gordon.

“My hope is that it could broaden outreach amongst all the different student advocacy groups and give us better data,” Gordon said. “So when people decide to implement projects, they know which projects are going to be ones that students want and which ones the students don’t really care that much.”

While the agency was created by GUSA, its long-term goals involve becoming an independent entity, according to Bernard-Pearl.

“It was created kind of within the GUSA framework, but with the idea that it would branch out from GUSA,” Bernard-Pearl said.

“The goal of the agency was not to be under necessarily the senate or the executive or to be a GUSA agency, but become more of an adjacent entity. The framework was used because forming an agency that way allows it to work in close partnership with GUSA and also have access to funds and resources and the kind of relationships that GUSA has with the administration.”

Although the agency is in its early stages, its proponents are confident that it will become a permanent fixture of student government, according to Gordon.

“I just think it’s a good idea.

It’s a long time coming, and it’s not easiest to get things going. But, you know, it’s going to happen. We’re like the rock band that starts in the garage, but for stats,” Gordon said.

THE HOYA | A9

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

NEWS

Georgetown to Construct New Henle Village, Increase Housing Caitlin McLean Senior News Editor

Georgetown University plans to construct a new undergraduate residential hall that will replace Henle Village — a series of apartment-style residential buildings — and increase housing capacity on campus by over 270 beds, according to a university announcement. Construction on the new dorm is set to finish July 2025.

The new hall will house 746 students; Henle Village currently houses 468 students. The new structure will be split between an east and west building, featuring 15,000 square feet of student lounges, wellness spaces and study rooms. The construction will also include green spaces between the two buildings.

The new construction will continue to be named Henle, with construction expected to begin in May 2023.

Jeanne Lord, interim vice president of student affairs and dean of students, said the new Henle will be a testament to Georgetown’s commitment to sustainability.

“These new projects rein-

force Georgetown’s commitment to sustainability and accessibility, to interdisciplinary collaboration, and to a vibrant living and learning experience on campus,” Lord said in the announcement. “We’re looking forward to working closely with students to envision spaces that best fit their needs.”

The announcement does not include details about how the new Henle will be more sustainable.

Students will have the opportunity to be involved with the design of the building, according to David Green, Georgetown’s chief financial officer and interim chief operating officer.

“Henle will be a significant investment in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future,” Green said in the announcement. “Student engagement and involvement in its design will be critical to the process.”

During the construction of the new residence hall, students will be housed in the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, according to the announcement.

“Given the university’s con-

tinued need for flexible housing and isolation space for students during public health challenges and additional residential space for undergraduate students, the hotel will be converted into a residence hall for the next several years,” the spokesperson wrote.

The Georgetown University Hotel is currently used as an isolation space to house students who have tested positive for COVID-19 Beginning July 1, the hotel’s guest room tower space will be renovated to accommodate a more traditional residential living space, according to the announcement. The renovated space will include student lounges, laundry facilities and new amenities.

The new Henle meets demands outlined in the university’s 20-year campus plan, a detailed plan that was approved by the Washington, D.C. Zoning Commission in 2016 reflecting the university’s academic and housing goals.

In addition to the new Henle, the university plans to open a new residential hall for undergraduate and graduate

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown University announced plans to construct a new Henle Village, with construction of the residential bulidings set to be completed by 2025. students. The building, which has been under construction for two years, will be located in downtown Washington, D.C., near the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall.

The building, which will feature 158 furnished apartmentstyle units, will offer graduate students the opportunity to experience a living and learning community, according to Alexander Sens, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

“55 H St. offers our graduate students an ideal opportunity to live, study and work together in a setting that will facili-

tate peer connections while providing easy access to both downtown Washington and to our Hilltop campus,” Sens said in the announcement.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer graduate students this living and learning community option downtown.”

The university does not currently offer graduate student housing.

The building, located at 55 H St., will include many sustainable features including solar panels, an outdoor classroom, a bioretention garden and a dedicated green space, according to

the announcement. Additionally the building will include a theater, fitness center, contemplation space, office and meeting rooms, bike storage and an outdoor courtyard.

The building is set to be LEED Platinum certified, the highest green certification a building can receive under the LEED system, a globally used green certification program, according to the announcement.

Construction on the building will be completed by midAugust. Students can begin to move into the residence hall for the fall 2022 semester.

Students Attend Justice Jackson’s Confirmation Software Start-Up Wins GU Entrepreneurship Student Competition Samantha Sinutko Graduate Desk Editor

When Odunayo Durojaye (COL ’19, LAW ’22) took her seat at Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings, she recalled a feeling of excitement and inspiration.

“To sit behind Justice Jackson and close enough to see the parting in her sister locks still amazes me,” Durojaye wrote to The Hoya.

Durojaye attended these hearings alongside 10 other Black women enrolled at the Georgetown University Law Center (GULC). These students received invitations to attend from Jade Baker (LAW ’22), president of the Student Bar Association, based on their leadership roles in various organizations across GULC. On April 7, Jackson became the first Black woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court following a 53-47 confirmation from the U.S. Senate.

Achieving the highest appointed judicial spot in the country sets an example for Black women that they can do the same, according to Baker.

“We’ve made it to the vice presidency, we made it to the Senate.

We made it to be elected judges and appointed judges, and we’ve earned our way there. We’ve earned it through the people, through democracy, through election. But we never quite could get that elusive appointment, which isn’t necessarily always by merit, or by the people or by democracy,” Baker said in a phone interview with The Hoya.

The field of law has been historically dominated by white men, with Black women serving as fewer than 2% of federal judges in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center.

Katy Button (SFS ’94), Georgetown’s associate vice president for federal government relations, helped to coordinate student tickets for the hearing, which were provided by the offices of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) (LAW ’64), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (SFS ’66, LAW ’69).

During the confirmation hearing Jackson was faced with baseless attacks from Republican lawmakers, including from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), that she had given lighter sentences to people convicted of child pornography and had attempted to let dangerous criminals out of prison.

Additionally during the hearings Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) misconstrued Jackson’s role on the Board of Trustees for Georgetown Day School, a private school located in Washington, D.C., which is known for promoting inclusivity. On the board, Jackson has promoted inclusivity and anti-racism.

Cruz attempted to misconstrue Jackson’s work on the board as evidence that she has supported the implementation of Critical Race Theory in the curricula of the school. Board members, however, are not involved with curriculum decisions of Georgetown Day School. Furthermore, at the hearings Jackson said Critical Race Theory is unrelated to her qualifications as a judge.

Durojaye said Jackson’s composed response to these attacks was powerful and inspiring.

“When confronted with those situations, Justice Jackson reminded me to stay composed. It is at those times where people wait for the ‘angry Black woman’ to show her face, but it is at those times where the ‘calm, collected, and eloquent Black woman’ must

Laetitia Haddad

Academics Desk Editor

GEORGETOWN LAW

Durojaye, Freely and Baker were three of eleven GULC students to attend Justice Jackson’s Senate confirmation. thrive,” Durojaye wrote.

Cheyenne Freely (LAW ’22), another student who Baker selected to attend the historic confirmation, said that the excitement and joy of other observers was infectious.

“It really means everything for black women attending Georgetown Law and across the country to be able to witness such a historical moment,” Freely wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Treanor said the moment showed the importance of representation and hopes her appointment will inspire a greater number of diverse students, particularly Black women, to pursue careers and degrees in law.

The opportunity to attend the hearings was inspirational, according to Lauren Short (LAW ’23).

“The glass ceiling applies differently to black women and her confirmation almost gave permission to black women law students to pursue every opportunity whole-

heartedly,” Short wrote to TheHoya.

Conservatives and Republican lawmakers claimed that Jackson benefited from affirmative action because President Joe Biden promised to nominate a Black woman. Jackson is considered one of the most qualified Supreme Court picks in history serving as a Supreme Court clerk, a public defender, a district court judge, a federal appeals judge, and as a member of the US Sentencing Commission.

Durojaye said Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court is a testament to the work of Black women everywhere.

“For so long, institutional racism and the glass ceiling have prevented the success of Black women. But with Justice Jackson being confirmed to the bench, Black women can dream bigger and accomplish anything they want with hard work, faith, and dedication to service,” Durojaye wrote.

History Professor Named Guggenheim Fellow Akashdiya Chakraborty said in the press release.

Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown University professor of Japanese history Jordan Sand was named a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, which will provide for the opportunity to have the time and money to finish a book about Japanese history.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awards grants to around 175 recipients each year and provides funds to support each Fellow’s individual work. The 180 Guggenheim Fellows chosen for 2022, including Sand, who teaches courses like “History of Modern Japan” and “Modern Cities and Urbanism,” received news of their acceptance April 7 and are part of the Guggenheim Foundation’s 97th annual fellowship cohort.

Being named a Guggenheim Fellow gives scholars the opportunity to expand their research, ultimately enriching scholarship as a whole, according to Edward Hirsch, president of the Guggenheim Foundation, in an April 7 press release.

“The work supported by the Foundation will aid in our collective effort to better understand the new world we’re in, where we’ve come from, and where we’re going. It is an honor for the Foundation to help the Fellows carry out their visionary work,” Hirsch

This award will give Sand the necessary time to continue with his scholarship and writing related to Japanese history.

“I applied for the grant to have some time to finish writing a book about Ise, site of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines, historically connected to Japan’s imperial family,” Sand wrote to The Hoya. “I have been working on the project for a while and am getting close to completing the manuscript. I plan to publish a book in Japanese and another in English.”

Sand’s previous book, published in 2013 and titled “Tokyo Vernacular: Common Spaces, Local Histories, Found Objects,” explores the intersection of history and modernity in Tokyo’s urbanization process, highlighting the research that occurred in the 1970s and the unconventional historical landmarks that emerged as a result.

His new work, which he now has more time and funds to pursue because of the Guggenheim Foundation, will be about how Japanese history and infrastructure intersect, according to Sand.

“One theme I have focused on is how societies have coped historically with the impermanence of the material world, particularly buildings and monuments,” Sand wrote. “This proj-

ect relates to that issue because the Ise shrines are torn down and rebuilt from scratch every twenty years. They have been doing it for about 1,300 years. My project examines why they do that and how they have kept it going for so long.”

The Guggenheim Foundation chose the 180 recipients from almost 2,500 applicants made up of scientists, scholars, writers and artists from 51 different fields of study.

Bryan McCann, chair of the history department, said that Sand brings a valuable perspective to East Asian culture and is deserving of being a Guggenheim Fellow.

“Professor Sand is a leading scholar of the cultural history of Japan, and it is wonderful to see his accomplishments recognized and his ongoing research supported,” McCann wrote in an email to The Hoya. “His work is a reminder of the richness of cultural history and its implications for broader understanding.”

Sand’s research focuses on the history of architecture, material culture and everyday life. The scope of Sand’s research extends from the urban experience in Tokyo to the rise of metropolises globally. Sand often highlights how individuals and their communities adapt to these new

physical spaces.

As urbanization continues to grow across East Asia, Philip Kafalas, professor in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, said that Sand’s research in the area will become more significant for scholarship.

“Professor Sand’s work helps us understand the world we feel emerging around us, so I can well understand why the Guggenheim selectors would reward its potential,” Kafalas wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“I notice that he is the only awardee under the category of ‘East Asian Studies’ this year, and I am not aware that anyone else in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures has been a Guggenheim Fellow since I have been here, so it is quite an achievement.”

Being named a Guggenheim Fellow will allow for financial flexibility to pursue academic projects while temporarily pausing his work as a professor, Sand said.

“The grant is intended to keep me afloat while I take leave from teaching,” Sand said. “Funds are not targeted, unlike people in the sciences, most of us in the humanities don’t need special equipment. We just need time in the archive or the library and at our desks writing.”

A team of students from Georgetown University and Harvard University won first place at the 2022 Georgetown Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Challenge for their software company Mercor.

Brendan Foody (MSB ’25), Surya Midha (SFS ’25) and Adarsh Hiremath, a first-year at Harvard, co-founded Mercor in January 2022. The company pairs teams of skilled engineers with start-ups to meet their development needs.

The trio, all of whom attended the same high school in San Jose, Calif., were awarded a $10,000 prize for being chosen out of 60 teams to win the April 7 Entrepreneurship Challenge, Georgetown’s largest annual pitch competition.

Mercor is the first business to combine software contracting and software recruiting, which is attractive to small start-ups that want to simultaneously grow their product and their team, Foody said.

“The reason that’s really uniquely strategic in the startup market is because start-ups need their team in-house as they’re iterating their product, growing, and raising venture cash,” Foody said in an interview with The Hoya. “We’re the only software contractor that allows them the predictability and efficiency associated with contracting but also gives them the option to have their team in-house as they grow.”

Undergraduate and graduate students at Georgetown were able to pitch their ideas in the Entrepreneurship Challenge, with competitors giving a five-minute pitch followed by a three-minute question-and-answer session from a panel of judges. The Entrepreneurship Challenge awards separate winners for the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Hiremath said that as a dual recruiting and contracting agency, Mercor works to source tech talent through top Indian Institutes of Technology and then applies their skill sets to specific start-up projects.

“Say they want to build an application or website, or they even want a minor tweak to their existing codebase. They would come to Mercor, and Mercor would use that talent to do high quality work at an affordable price,” Hiremath told The Hoya.

“One of the things that Mercor is currently focused on doing is building out our platform where entrepreneurs can go on the platform and then be matched with an engineering team of the appropriate skill set.”

Mercor plans to sponsor a hackathon at IIT Kharagpur, a top computer science college in India on April 27.

The coding club at IIT Kharagpur invited students from a variety of Indian Institutes of Technology to compete in the hackathon for the opportunity to work at Mercor, Hiremath said.

“There are 500 participants in the competition, and they’re all competing for an opportunity to work at Mercor and work on the software products that we have for clients,” Hiremath said. “We believe that sourcing talent early is one of the best ways possible to get that talent, and we’re doing that by partnering with IITs.” Mercor has seen success with clients at Georgetown University and beyond, like Pentada, a platform for finance and commerce apps. Additionally, the company built the dashboard and QR code for Attend, an app that allows professors to create a QR code that a student can scan to log their class attendance.

Recently, Mercor partnered with Chris Delaney (MSB ’25) on his project, Hoyadle, a spin-off of the popular online game Wordle.

Delaney said that Foody’s work at Mercor helped to turn his code for Hoyadle into a reality.

“As soon as I told him about it, he was able to access the domain for me to get access and upload the code to the website and run it within a few hours,” Delaney said

“For us, as cofounders, the thing we want to improve on is making sure we have a very rigorous, scalable process to manage a ton of projects concurrently.”

Adarsh Hiremath Co-Founder of Mercor

in an interview with The Hoya.

“Most of what he developed was making the website actually real and putting the website to the domain, and he also helped with marketing by advertising it on Instagram and reaching out to some other Georgetown related accounts to advertise for us.”

In the future, Mercor hopes to partner with venture capital firms to receive referrals for early stage investments. By working with venture capital firms, Mercor can ensure that their business endeavors involve companies with sufficient levels of capital to be successful, Foody said.

To meet increased demand for software contracting and development, Mercor must continue to develop its new platforms to scale.

“For us, as co-founders, the thing we want to improve on is making sure we have a very rigorous, scalable process to manage a ton of projects concurrently,” Hiremath said. “Because, ultimately, the way we take Mercor to the next level is by efficiently managing all of those components. That’s one of our biggest priorities.”

A10 | THE HOYA

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022

SPORTS

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

MEN’S LACROSSE

Georgetown Defeats Loyola Behind Watson’s 5 Goals

Hoyas Fall to Denver Pioneers Despite Gritty Comeback

Caden Koontz

Julia Cannamela

The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team wasted little time against Loyola University Maryland on April 19, taking an early 3-0 lead and finishing on top with a dominant 14-7 victory. Senior attacker Dylan Watson led the way for the Hoyas, netting an outstanding 5 goals to bring his Big East-leading season total to 46.

No. 2 Georgetown (11-1, 3-0 Big East) came into the matchup redhot, having won six games in a row, two of which were against ranked opponents. Loyola (5-7) had faced a rough schedule but came in on a run, winning two out of its last three.

Less than a minute into the game, the Hoyas jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Watson. With 10:06 to play in the quarter, sophomore midfielder Dylan Hess scored another goal to put the Hoyas ahead 2-0. Not to be outdone, Watson added his second goal of the period with 5:59 remaining and Georgetown led 3-0.

On the other end, the Greyhounds were unable to put together any sort of attack against the smothering Hoya defense and gave the ball away three different times on shot clock violations. They finished the quarter without scoring a goal.

In the second period, Loyola came out with newfound aggression. The Greyhounds used two ground ball pickups and a faceoff win to surge back into the game with 3 straight goals, tying the Hoyas at 3 with only three minutes gone in the second quarter.

The answer, as it was all game and has been all season, was Watson, who scored another goal at the 4:55 mark to kick off a Georgetown run. 30 seconds later, senior midfielder Declan McDermott converted again and the Hoyas were back on top by a score of 5-3.

Hoping to secure another Big East win, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team showed it would not go down easy at home against the favored University of Denver Pioneers. However, the Hoyas (7-7, 2-1 Big East) ultimately fell 12-14 to the No. 9 Pioneers (13-1, 3-0 Big East) in the April 15 contest, marking their first conference loss of the season.

Amid an incredibly competitive fourth quarter, senior captain and defender Olivia Buckman intercepted a clear from the Denver goalkeeper and raced the ball all the way to the goal. Buckman scored her first career goal to bring the score to 13-12, proving that the Hoyas would battle the Pioneers until the last second.

Despite Georgetown’s comeback in the fourth, the matchup was not quite as competitive in the first half. Denver started the game with immediate offensive intensity, scoring 2 goals in the first five minutes and netting another with a minute left in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Hoyas could not find an offensive rhythm and struggled to get the ball out of their defensive end, ending the first quarter with a 3-0 deficit.

Although Georgetown’s defense did an impressive job trying to contain the relentless Denver offense in the second quarter, the Pioneers widened their lead to 5-0 as the Hoyas

Hoya Staff Writer

Hoya Staff Writer

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

After grabbing an early lead, the Hoyas held strong through all four quarters to take out Loyola 14-7.

With 3:24 to play in the second quarter, Watson gathered a pass from graduate attacker Alex Trippi and niftily flicked the ball behind his back and past the Loyola keeper to put the Hoyas ahead 6-3. This highlight reel effort was soon posted on the official Inside Lacrosse Instagram page for all of its 158,000 followers to admire.

Junior midfielder Graham Bundy Jr. followed with a goal of his own to extend the Hoya advantage to 7-3, a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

Georgetown continued to dominate with another run in the third quarter as senior midfielder Zachary Geddes scored his fourth goal of the season, Bundy Jr. added another, and sophomore attacker T.J. Haley netted a third to give the Hoyas a commanding 10-3 lead. Loyola responded with 2 goals of its own and the game went to the fourth quarter with Georgetown ahead 10-5.

Georgetown and Loyola exchanged goals to start the fourth quarter, with Watson putting away his remarkable fifth score of the game only 57 seconds into the period. McDermott powered the Hoyas to another 3-goal run beginning with 7:17 to play, extending the Hoya advantage to 14-6. Loyola managed one last successful attack and scored a

final goal at the 4:03 mark to end the game on a positive note, but Georgetown came away with a 14-7 victory.

This marks another strong performance from the nationally-ranked Hoyas to conclude non-conference play, as they earned their first win over the rival Greyhounds since 2015. It is especially significant given that the Greyhounds are one of college lacrosse’s premier programs, winning the national championship in 2012 and making the 8thmost Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship tournament appearances of all time.

It seemed like every Hoya found a way to leave their mark on the game. Watson shone in the victory with 5 goals, Bundy Jr. provided 3 goals and 2 assists, and McDermott added a hat trick of his own. Georgetown continues to impress under the guidance of Head Coach Kevin Warne, winner of the F. Morris Touchstone Award as the 2021 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Coach of the Year.

Georgetown will look to keep their momentum going when they take on the St. John’s Red Storm (2-10, 0-3 Big East) on April 23 at 12 p.m. EST. fans can head to Cooper Field for the regularseason home finale or catch the game on FloLive.

remained scoreless. Finally, with about nine minutes left in the half, Georgetown made its mark on the scoreboard as senior attacker Ali Diamond scored a goal off of a free position penalty.

Following Diamond’s goal, the Hoyas began to chip away at Denver’s lead but still trailed 7-2 at halftime.

A much more lively and cohesive Georgetown team emerged in the second half, finding more offensive opportunities through good passing and communication in spite of the aggressive Denver defense.

In the third quarter, the Hoyas began to close the score gap, and they answered each Denver goal with some of their own, outscoring the Pioneers 5-3 in those 15 minutes.

After a Denver goal left Georgetown down 10-5 with three minutes left in the quarter, sophomore midfielder Tatum Geist and graduate midfielder Erin Bakes helped bring the Hoyas into contention by each adding a goal.

That last shot from Bakes, who found the back of the net with only 15 seconds left of play, ended the quarter with the Hoyas only down by only three, 10-7.

The fourth quarter was perhaps the most evenly matched 15 minutes of play. Even though the Pioneers opened with a goal to put them at an 11-7 lead, Georgetown remained determined, going on a 3-0 scoring run in the next two minutes with goals from Geist,

Bakes and first-year attacker Emma Gebhardt.

With the Hoyas right back in the game at 10-11, the teams continued to trade goals as the time wound down. Buckman made her incredible play to bring the team back to a 1-goal deficit after the Pioneers had gone up 13-11, but Georgetown, with only three minutes left, was unable to tie or win the game.

Denver added one more goal in the final minute, bringing the final score to 14-12. Despite the losing outcome, the Hoyas walked away from the game having mounted an impressive comeback against a skilled, top-ranked Denver and outscoring their opponent 10-7 in the second half. In addition, Georgetown shared the ball well, with seven different players scoring.

This match also marks the third straight game where the Hoyas have found the back of the net at least 10 times. After back-to-back losses where they struggled to score goals, they’ve been strong offensively in three straight Big East contests.

This game also highlighted the Hoyas’ resilience; coming back from a 0-5 deficit was not an issue, and the Hoyas seemed unfazed by the challenge.

Georgetown will next face off at Marquette (7-8, 2-1 Big East) on April 24 at noon. This is its second-to-last Big East game before the regular season comes to a close.

ROUNDING THE DIAMOND

Breaking Down Early Season Stats: What’s Luck Got to Do With It? Eli Blumenfeld Columnist

In this very early baseball season, any player can have some legitimate Hall of Fame numbers. Take, for example, Cleveland Guardians’ rookie left fielder Steven Kwan, who reached base safely 15 times in his first four games, an MLB record.

Or Nolan Arenado, who boasts a ridiculous 1.337 onbase plus slugging (OPS) as of Thursday, April 21.

While these wild stats are enjoyable, small sample sizes — where luck and randomness come into play — are, of course, the culprit. It often seems as though you must either dismiss advanced stats as bogus or praise them as the only way to evaluate a sport, but there ought to be a happy medium where we can appreciate the ridiculous early-season returns without taking them as gospel.

Let’s take a look at how we can measure luck in baseball and see if any players are due for regression to the mean.

Baseball is different from many other sports because of its finite set of outcomes.

When a batter steps to the plate, they can walk, strikeout, get hit by a pitch, or hit a single, double, triple or home run. Because of this — and a large sample size — baseball can measure “luck” more accurately than other sports.

Let’s kick off this discussion with one key statistic in measuring a batter’s ability: weighted on-base average (wOBA). Former MLB data scientist Sam Sharpe nicely described this unique stat.

“In short, wOBA measures offensive value of players by weighting outcomes (HR, BB,

1B etc.) by their run value. Compared to BA and SLG, wOBA more accurately represents a hitter’s contributions to run scoring and thus his overall offensive value,” Sharpe said.

Not all hits are valued the same, and wOBA helps to measure a player’s general offensive contribution per atbat by recognizing the value variation between the different ways one can reach base.

However, a player’s wOBA depends on factors they cannot control — like large gusts of wind, lucky bounces off of third base or weird hops off the infield dirt.

“In this very early baseball season, any player can have some legitimate Hall of Fame numbers.”

ELI BLUMENFELD Columnist

Here is where expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) comes into play.

Unlike wOBA, xwOBA is completely context neutral and tries to guess which outcomes are most likely given the exit velocity and launch angle of the contact and the speed of the player. It’s a debate as to how much control a batter has over where the ball goes beyond these metrics, such as the aforementioned game conditions or luck.

In other words, wOBA demonstrates how well a player is hitting, whereas xwOBA predicts how well a player should be hitting.

One player whom luck has certainly not favored in the

early parts of the season is Joey Gallo. The polarizing Bronx bomber is still largely considered an above-average player despite his high strikeout totals (led the MLB in strikeouts with 21 in 2021).

As of April 21, Gallo has batted a pathetic 0.200 wOBA. However, he has also produced a rather impressive 0.364 xwOBA. Gallo thus possesses a large discrepancy between xwOBA and wOBA at a whopping 0.164.

That’s odd, isn’t it? What’s the deal? Is something wrong, or is he just unlucky?

The shift has certainly impacted Gallo’s results, as he is one of the most shifted-against players in the league. However, something else is at play: luck ... or lack of luck, in this case.

MLB.com researcher and reporter David Adler found this nugget of a stat to highlight Gallo’s unlucky start to the season: “Joey Gallo had this lineout last night [April 10th] with a 112.5 mph exit velocity and a 22° launch angle. Since Statcast started tracking, there have been 132 balls hit between 112-113 mph and 2123°. 121 of the other 131 were home runs. Gallo’s is the first one ever to be an out.”

That’s the appropriate way to view these stats. With more at-bats and games, they will carry more weight, but for now, it’s best to just enjoy them for what they are. Baseball does have 162 games in its season, and I’m sure all of these beyond abnormal stats will revert to the mean. However, it’s still fun to see luck’s profound influence just two weeks in.

Eli Blumenfeld is a firstyear in the College.

Rounding the Diamond appears online and in print every other week.

KIRK ZIESER/THE HOYA

In one of the most intense contests of the season, Georgetown attempted to mount a fourth-quarter comeback against Denver, but ultimately fell 12-14.

TRACK AND FIELD

GU Finds Success in California at Bryan Clay Invitational Abbey Schiller Special to The Hoya

Georgetown’s impressive track and field seasons continued with several Hoyas posting strong times in the Bryan Clay Invitational, which took place at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California.

At the April 13-15 invitational, the Hoyas made their mark most prominently in the men’s 1500m run, which featured junior Matthew Payamps and graduate student Jack Salisbury. Competing in the first of a 12-heat race, Payamps posted a time of 3:37.60, good for seventh in his heat. The Hoyas stuck together in this one, as Salisbury was eighth in the heat with a time of 3:37.70.

Payamps has been one of the most dependable Hoyas all season long, leading the team to success in one of their recent races at the recent Joe Walker Invitational as well. In that event, he was part of an excellent finish in the men’s 800m. In Azusa, he found little issue adjusting to a much longer event.

Salisbury has also been one of Georgetown’s best athletes of the year. He earned a Big East Track Athlete of the Week title in early April for his times in the Florida Relays, and he followed it up with a good finish in Azusa.

There was less Georgetown representation on the women’s side, but Sami Corman — the lone Hoya from her team — repped her squad

well. Corman ran in the 1500m with a time of 4:15.57, finishing fourth in her heat. A senior who has competed for Georgetown for all four years, her career as a Hoya is likely winding to a close.

Mitchell Baker, an assistant coach, commented on how Corman has adapted to taking a new approach to her training.

“Corman has done a fantastic job embracing the bigger picture as we have built into the spring in a different way,” he said to GUHoyas. “This was our first race to test some of that tweaked approach, and she did a great job focusing on the pieces of the day that were in her control showing poise and assertiveness in a stellar field, the fastest seeded heat at Bryan Clay.”

In addition to posting nationally competitive times in this Invitational, Corman and Payamps brought home hardware from the Big East as well. Corman was named the Big East Women’s Track Athlete of the Week on April 19, as her time was the best among Big East competitors and No. 14 in the country.

Payamps was similarly successful, also ranking first among Big East athletes and seventh in the country for his 1500m performance.

Georgetown’s men’s team has been dominant in the conference since April. After winning Big East honors in February for indoor track and field, the Hoyas have kept the momentum going.

Between Salisbury winning

Track Athlete of the Week in early April and Payamps replicating the feat two weeks later, this has been an excellent month for the Hoyas.

On the women’s side, Corman’s award marks the first weekly award since early February, when the Hoyas swept track athlete of the week awards. Then, firstyear Melissa Riggins won for indoor track alongside Payamps. The Hoyas have not received Big East recognition since then, but with Corman’s performance, they may return to being one of the premier teams in the conference.

Even though only a few Hoyas competed in these events, their dominance is a promising indicator for success in the postseason. The Hoyas have several opportunities for similar success before the season comes to a close, perhaps most notably in the Penn Relays. Before the Relays, however, the Hoyas will take part in the Virginia Challenge, the largest track and field meet on the East Coast.

The challenge takes place from April 21 to April 23 at the University of Virginia. It will be one of Georgetown’s best opportunities remaining before the Big East Championships begin May 13. The men’s team is seeking a title after finishing second in the championships last year; the women’s squad is looking to build on a 7th place finish in 2021.

THE HOYA | A11

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 | THEHOYA.COM

SPORTS WOMEN’S ROWING

CAUSING A RACQUET

Zverev Allegations Embarrass the ATP WERDIGER, from A12

can stretch on indefinitely. For example, in May 2020 former world No. 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia was arrested on charges of domestic abuse. Due to the ongoing nature of the court case, the ATP has taken no action. In 2021, Basilashvili won two titles.

The structure of professional tennis makes uniform policies difficult. Not only does competition occur across different countries with varying laws, but seven independent organizations run the sport. Still, professional tennis has no excuse for its almost nonexistent domestic abuse policy, particularly when considering the resources and influence associated with the sport.

Now seven months into ATP’s so-called investigation, we have as much information as when we started. Other players and tournament bosses have mostly GUHOYAS kept quiet about the controversy After winning the Knecht Cup in early April, the and in doing so are further damHoyas followed up with another victory in the annual aging the sport’s reputation. During the 2021 Laver Cup, two years George’s Cup in Virginia. after Sharypova’s suicide attempt in Geneva during the same event in 2019, the exhibition event’s account blocked Twitter users who mentioned the allegations against Zverev.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic expressed sympathy for Zverev in a concerning Tweet, placing the importance of Zverev’s tennis prowess at the forefront of the

Georgetown Grabs Second Straight Race At George’s Cup

GEORGE’S, from A12

ATPTOUR

Columnist Robbie Werdiger argues that the ATP’s incompetence in handling domestic abuse allegations against Alexander Zverev harms abuse survivors and blights tennis. conversation and blatantly ignoring the severity of the allegations.

“Best wishes in what awaits you on and off the court,” Djokovic wrote in the Nov. 20, 2020 Tweet. “Stay strong.”

As reported by tennis journalist George Bellshaw, the locker room environment hasn’t changed for Zverev since the allegations.

“Other players? They’ve been fine to me,” Zverev told Bellshaw.

“That won’t change, they know what’s going on.”

ATP players are brushing off the issue in a troubling onesided consensus, treating Zverev

as a victim. From the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), only former world No. 20 Daria Gavrilova expressed her support for Sharypova, while two other WTA players defended Zverev’s character. Ironically, this character didn’t come across as too charming when Zverev was suspended a few weeks ago in Acapulco for repeatedly smashing his racket against the chair umpire’s ladder.

At the risk of losing all respect, the sport perhaps most in need of reinvention is angering its viewers who will no longer tolerate dis-

crimination and injustice. Much worse, tennis’ inaction actively harms survivors of abuse by dismissing their experiences in favor of upholding a false image of the sport’s glamor. The media, fans and players must demand the ATP conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations against Zverev and make a commitment to holding abusers accountable.

Robbie Werdiger is a sophomore in the College. Causing a Racquet appears online and in print every other week.

SOFTBALL

16 University of Pennsylvania.

Edling spoke to her excitement at facing these accomplished teams and noted how her team’s development this season will propel the Hoyas towards future victories down the stretch.

“I think the team has really grown a lot and it’s going to show in our results later in the season,” Edling said.

“We’re eager to compete against this competitive field, especially with this last win under our belt.”

The women’s openweight rowing team will look to continue their recent success by pressing for potential upsets this weekend. This should also provide the Hoyas with a better understanding of their form heading into the Patriot League Rowing Championship, facing nationally-ranked competition after a few competitions against unranked opponents.

The Hoyas will compete in GUHOYAS the Lake Wheeler Invite this Thursday through Saturday, Despite two double-digit scoring performances, the Hoyas gave up too many runs and ultimately only took with events starting April 21 one win in a three-game series against the Seton Hall Pirates. The Hoyas will next face DePaul April 22. at 11:00 a.m. lead in the bottom of the second and senior infielder Mae their lead. In the bottom of the SETON HALL, from A12 on an RBI single from Kondo. Forshey, as well as a two-run seventh, Chavez hit a solo shot The third game of the series The Pirates immediately re- double to center by Chavez. — but it wasn’t enough. Georgewas the only one of the three sponded with a sac fly in the top Seton Hall responded again, town fell to Seton Hall 13-10. games to go the full seven of the third to tie the game. belting a 3-run home run in Although the two losses innings. Georgetown’s bats Smith smashed a two-run the top of the fifth to give the were disappointing, the Hoyas stayed hot as they scored 10 home run in the bottom of the Pirates a 10-8 lead. proved their offensive ability runs, but Seton Hall exploded third, but the Pirates scored After a quiet bottom of the with double-digit outings in offensively with 13 runs on 15 five runs in the top of the fifth and top of the sixth, the the second and third games.

5 8 hits in an exhilarating, back- fourth, making it a 7-4 game.

Hoyas clawed back with a Looking ahead, Georgetown and-forth affair.

The Hoyas retook the lead solo blast from Forsey. will face DePaul (20-19, 9-6 1 2 Both teams plated a run in in the bottom of the fourth In the top of the inning, Seton Big East) in another Big East the first, but the Hoyas took a 2-1 with RBI singles from Jones Hall scored three, cushioning matchup April 22 at 3:00 p.m.

Hoyas Can’t Handle Pirates’ Hot Bats

determination is paying off as the team has demonstrated a significant increase in speed. The George’s Cup win is another example of the whole team working together to push the program to a new level.”

The Hoyas will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Raleigh, N.C., this week to participate in the Lake Wheeler Invite. The team will face a substantially larger and more acclaimed field that includes teams from Boston College, Boston University, Bucknell University, Clemson University, Duke University, Syracuse University, University of Central Florida, University of Kansas, University of Louisville, University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and the US Naval Academy.

There will be steep competition waiting for the Hoyas in North Carolina.

Three top-20 teams from the Pocock CRCA Poll form the favorites in the field: No. 12 Duke, No. 14 Syracuse and No.

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BASEBALL

GU Bounces Back at Butler, Wins 2 of 3 BUTLER, from A12

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worked a bases-loaded walk.

Graduate third baseman Cam Meyer’s sacrifice fly and a pinch-hit double from graduate Evan Blum capped off the electric scoring outburst.

A combination of strong relief pitching from senior reliever Anthony Redfern and eight runs scored across the top of the seventh and eighth, including five of Stern’s career-high six RBIs, gave Georgetown a 14-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

With the game seemingly complete, Georgetown struggled to contain Butler’s final rally. The Bulldogs tacked on six runs in the bottom of the ninth, but senior reliever Miller Freeman was ultimately able to force the final groundout, securing the 14-8 victory for Georgetown.

Coming off of that initial win, Georgetown looked

poised to secure back-to-back victories early during the next day’s game. The Hoyas’ offense shelled Butler’s starting pitcher Aaron Barokas in the first inning, jumping out to a 4-0 lead capped by Carapellotti’s double to left field, which drove in 2 runs.

Sophomore right fielder Jake Hyde hit his team-high 14th home run of the season in the top of the second inning, a solo shot to give Georgetown a dominant 5-0 lead.

Just when it looked like Georgetown was running away with the game, the Bulldog offense responded with a monstrous third inning. Senior starting pitcher Carter Bosch allowed a lead-off walk, followed by a double to set up back-to-back RBI singles.

Butler’s Scott Jones then hit a three-run home run to left field, evening the score at 5-5.

Another RBI single capped off the six run inning for Butler, giving the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.

Graduate designated hitter Ubaldo Lopez hit a twoout single to even the score at 6-6 in the top of the fourth inning. But Butler responded, scoring in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings to take an 8-6 lead.

Blum’s solo home run to right field brought Georgetown to within one run. However, it would be the Hoyas’ last run as their bats went cold and Butler’s Lukas Galdoni pitched two shutout innings, securing the Bulldogs’ 8-7 victory and setting up Saturday’s rubber match.

Both teams faced a quick turnaround with Saturday’s early opening pitch for the third game of the series.

Georgetown once again relied on strong opening pitching, with first-year Matthew Sapienza allowing just two earned runs over 6 and twothirds innings pitched.

Georgetown’s offense backed up Sapienza’s stellar outing,

scoring two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to give the Hoyas a 4-1 lead.

Although Butler scored one run in both the seventh and eighth innings, Ficca delivered a clutch two-run double down the left field line in the top of the ninth inning, opening up a 7-3 lead.

Ficca was also named to the Big East Honor Roll for his performances against Butler.

Senior catcher Tony Barreca hit a sacrifice fly, driving Ficca home and giving Georgetown its eighth run of the game. The Bulldogs could only muster one run in the bottom of the ninth, giving Georgetown the 8-4 victory.

After the series victory, Georgetown dropped a contest to the University of Virginia (28-10, 10-8 ACC) 4-6 on April 20. The Hoyas will look to regain winning form for their Big East weekend series against Xavier University (1919, 3-3 Big East) April 22-24.

Sports

MTENNIS

Georgetown (7-11) @ Big East Championship Friday, 12:45 p.m.

Cayce, S.C.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022

TALKING POINTS

MEN’S LACROSSE Behind another superb outing from senior attacker Dylan Watson, Georgetown trounced Loyola 14-7.

See A10

NUMBERS GAME

I think the team has really grown a lot and it’s going to show in our results later in the season.”

Women’s Rowing Junior Katie Edling

7

Junior men’s track athlete Matthew Payamps ran a 3:37.60 in the 1500m, placing seventh in the country.

BASEBALL

Hoyas Win Two, Lose One in Butler Series Brendan Quill Hoya Staff Writer

Coming off a disappointing three-game sweep at the hands of Creighton, the Georgetown University baseball team bounced back, winning two games of a three-game series at Butler in Indianapolis, Ind. After decisively winning the first game 14-8 on April 14, the Hoyas (22-15, 4-5 Big East) dropped a nail-biter 8-7 the next day before defeating the Bulldogs (18-20, 2-4 Big East) 8-4 in the rubber match on April 16.

With the series win, Georgetown positions itself in 4th place of the eight-team Big East approximately halfway through the regular season.

The Hoyas led with strong starting pitching in the opening game of the series. After allowing a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning, graduate starting pitcher Nolan McCarthy settled into a groove, striking out 11 batters and not allowing any walks over six innings pitched.

McCarthy was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for his outstanding start, securing his fourth win of the season in his ninth appearance.

Although McCarthy pitched well for Georgetown, the Hoyas’ offense struggled to provide adequate run support until the top of the fifth inning. With the game tied 2-2, Georgetown’s offense exploded for four runs, putting the Hoyas up 6-2.

The rally started when sophomore first baseman Christian Ficca hit a long double to right center field, driving in graduate second baseman Ethan Stern.

Ficca later scored when firstyear catcher Owen Carapellotti See BUTLER, A11

GUHOYAS

In the George’s Cup, featuring Georgetown, George Washington University and George Mason University, the Hoyas won three of its four races, giving reason for optimism moving toward the Patriot League Rowing Championship next month.

WOMEN’S ROWING

Georgetown Champions George’s Cup Jeremy Fang Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University women’s crew team rowed to victory in the annual DMV George’s Cup on April 17 at Sandy Run Regional Park in Virginia. The Hoyas won their second straight competition after also taking home the hardware their last time out at the Knecht Cup April 9-10.

George’s Cup is an annual regatta consisting of teams

from Georgetown, George Washington and George Mason. This regatta was an openweight only event, so the Hoyas’ lightweight women’s rowing team did not get the opportunity to race. The lightweights will be out of action until May 1 at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass.

The Hoyas had a strong showing overall, winning three of their four races.

The Varsity 4s, Varsity 8s

and Third Varsity 8s all won their races, while the Second Varsity 8s claimed second place. Overall, it was a comfortable claim to the top crew at this year’s regatta.

The Third Varsity 8s won their race by an impressive -1:15.7 split over George Washington. George Mason did not field a Third Varsity 8s boat.

The Varsity 4s won their race with a -0:18.5 second gap over George Washington,

SOFTBALL

while the Varsity 8s held a -0:8.6 second lead over the Colonials. The Second Varsity 8s finished 16.7 seconds behind George Washington, claiming second place.

Junior Katie Edling, who is currently the stroke seat of the Varsity 4s, expressed appreciation for her team’s performance and an eagerness to see what the rest of the season has in store.

“All four boats did an amazing job. It’s exciting to

move forward in the season towards the championship and eventually Patriot Leagues” Edling told The Hoya. “It’s also great to see our hard work come to fruition in wins like this.”

Head Coach Kendall Mulligan offered similar sentiments praising the team’s cohesion and work ethic.

“The past few weekends have proven that their See GEORGE’S, A11

CAUSING A RACQUET

Seton Hall Shakes GU in Season Series ATP Botching Zverev Abuse Investigation Sam Wirth

Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown could not quell Seton Hall’s offensive onslaught in the first or third game of its series, but it was able to slug its way to victory in the second.

The Hoyas came into the series scuffling, looking to turn their season around after getting swept handily in their last series against the Villanova Wildcats (22-19, 10-4 Big East).

In the first game, Seton Hall (17-17, 6-9 Big East) blew out Georgetown (13-22, 3-10 Big East) by a score of 11-1 in just five innings. The Hoyas were unable to muster anything on offense, scratching across just three hits the entire game.

Pirates pitcher Shelby Smith dominated, allowing zero earned runs and walks and striking out two in five innings.

Georgetown’s lone run came in the bottom of the third. Hoyas junior infielder Lorena Vasquez-Inzunza doubled, then scored on an error by Pirates first-base Olivia Gilbert. Georgetown threatened to score again in the fourth and fifth innings — each time having two runners on base with only one out — but Smith escaped unscathed each time.

The Hoyas changed the narrative in the second game of See SETON HALL, A11

the series, though, as their bats finally came alive.

Georgetown started strongly in the bottom of the first.

Graduate outfielder Cameron Kondo reached on a hit by pitch and eventually scored on graduate infielder Abbey Smith’s RBI single to center.

Georgetown added to their lead in the bottom of the second, notching three runs in the inning. Hoyas graduate infielder Savannah Jones hit an RBI double to center and then scored two runs off a fielding error by Pirates second-base Ashley Colonnetta, making it a 4-0 ballgame.

After an uneventful third inning, Seton Hall surged back in the top of the fourth. They worked the bases loaded, and Gilbert smacked a two-run double to left field with one out. Pirates outfielder Marisa Pla followed with a sacrifice fly to left, bringing the Hoyas’ lead down to just one.

Georgetown immediately responded in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Kondo worked a walk and Jones followed by slugging a home run over the center field fence. Going into the fifth, the Hoyas led 6-3.

Seton Hall scored one in the top of the fifth on an RBI double from infielder Taylor Hill, but Georgetown’s offense exploded in the bottom of the inning, scoring six runs and run-ruling the Pirates. The Hoyas graduate outfielder

Robbie Werdiger Columnist

CW: This article discusses domestic abuse. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources. Please refer to thehoya.com for on- and-off-campus resources.

GUHOYAS

It was an up-and-down series for the Hoyas: after getting walloped 1-11 in game one, they recovered with a 12-4 win before dropping a tight game three.

Alyssa Chavez started the scoring by hitting a two-run home run to left.

Georgetown then worked the bases loaded, which Kondo proceeded to clear by slicing a three-run triple down the left field line. Jones, the next batter, walked it off by scoring Kondo on a single-to-

right center.

Georgetown’s starter — firstyear Kayla Dunn — pitched well enough to propel the Hoyas to victory. She threw all five innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

After the win, her record improved to 7-5 on the season.

Visit us online at thehoya.com/sports

Despite facing an unresolved domestic abuse investigation, which has been all but forgotten by sports media outlets, current world No. 3 Alexander Zverev is dialed in on catching up to Novak Djokovic in the FedEx ATP rankings.

Zverev’s continued presence on the ATP Tour makes it clear that the organization and professional tennis in general are apathetic towards abuse allegations against pros. The sport’s governing bodies need to align disciplinary policies with one another in order to show a commitment to denouncing abuse.

The ATP Tour has yet to identify a course of action in handling the allegations of emotional and physical abuse levied against Zverev. The tennis world is growing impatient with the stagnation of the ongoing investigation, as it has been more than a year and a half since Olga Sharypova, Zverev’s former girl-

friend, shared her story.

In a two-hour November 2020 interview with Ben Rothenberg, Sharypova opened up about the emotional and physical abuse she experienced in her second relationship with Zverev, which lasted 13 months.

“I was always blamed as the reason he competed badly, it was because of me,” Sharypova told Racquet. “I was the reason for all his losses.”

Before the 2021 U.S. Open, Zverev denied all of the accusations and filed a preliminary injunction in a German court against Rothenberg and Slate Magazine under the pretense of defamation and spreading false information. The court concluded that there was not enough substantial evidence to declare Zverev guilty.

The ATP acknowledged the severity of the allegations in a public statement and agreed to create a more structured domestic abuse policy. Its current policy simply mandates that ATP players avoid behaving in ways that could be perceived as unbecoming, which could include criminal charges or simply behaving in “a manner severely damaging to the reputation of the sport.”

The ATP has a history of getting involved after the conclusion of criminal proceedings, which See WERDIGER, A11