The Hoya: January 20, 2023

Dutch Prime Minister Discusses Foreign Policy, War in Ukraine

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte joined Georgetown University students for a conversation on Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and the importance of strengthening transatlantic partnerships.

Council, introduced Rutte at the event, which was moderated by Amy Mackinnon, a national security and intelligence reporter for Foreign Policy magazine.

Rutte said the Ukrainian cause is a top priority for the Netherlands because democracies should help protect other democracies across the world.

The Atlantic Council, a think tank focused on international relations and economic development, organized the Jan. 17 event in partnership with the School of Foreign Service (SFS). Rutte spoke on a few ongoing Dutch foreign policy initiatives in a discussion that explored the extent of the Netherlands’ support of Ukraine during the war, his collaboration with NATO, the legitimacy of government tribunals and hybrid warfare tactics. Jörn Fleck, a senior director with the Europe Center at the Atlantic

“What Putin is doing is running directly against our values of not colonizing another country, not force grabbing land of a country, not threatening freedom of speech and freedom of journalism. These are all sacrosanct in the Western world,” Rutte said at the event.

Much of the Netherlands’ current focus has been centered around directing financial and military resources toward assisting the Ukrainian fight for independence, according to Rutte.

Since the start of the war,

See NETHERLANDS, A6

Rushil Vashee and Saar Shah Former Senior Sports Editors

In April 2017, Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) announced that basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) would be the new head coach of Georgetown’s men’s basketball team.

“Patrick’s commitment to Georgetown and to further animating our legacy of excellence is inspiring,” DeGioia wrote in a press release. “His experience

as a coach over the last 15 years with some of the best basketball minds in the country has prepared him to lead our program.” But Georgetown leadership did not just hope he would bring his experience in the front office to the Hoyas. They were banking on his success as a player — both in college, as a member of Georgetown’s 1984 NCAA men’s basketball championship team, and the NBA — to translate into success as a coach. DeGioia, the Georgetown administration and fans of the Hoyas all hoped the most accomplished player in the

program’s history would usher in another era of dominance.

Ewing was aware that all eyes were set on him upon his return.

“As successful as I was as a player, that’s how successful I want to be as a coach,” Ewing said ahead of his debut season in 2017.

Six years after returning to the Hilltop, Ewing has fallen short of his lofty goals.

Georgetown has not won a regular-season Big East game since March 2, 2021, setting an all-time conference record for most consecutive losses (27). As of Jan. 20, they are 0-8 in conference

There Goes Old Georgetown Students

play, dragging Ewing’s conference record as a head coach to 26-71. Although the Hoyas won the Big East Tournament championship in 2021, their postseason run ended in a 73-96 thrashing by the University of Colorado in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2017, Georgetown pitched Ewing’s hiring as a means of reviving a failing program. However, the university hasn’t sparked a revival of any kind. Instead, it has remained unwaveringly tethered to its decades-old brand: Patrick

See BASKETBALL, A4

Georgetown Grad Becomes 2-Time ‘Jeopardy!’ Champion

A Georgetown graduate won $45,000 on the quiz show “Jeopardy!” on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.

Patrick Curran (COL ’14, GRD ’19) competed in three games of “Jeopardy!” during the show’s 39th season. Curran, a double Hoya and lifelong Jeopardy fan, qualified to appear on the game show after completing the show’s preliminary test. After a twogame winning streak, Cur-

ran lost by $11,399 despite correctly answering the final jeopardy question that asked about Jack Daniels, the largest employer in the dry county of Moore, Tennessee.

Curran said it was sentimental to appear on a show he loved watching as a child.

“I’ve been watching the show my whole life, just something that was always on growing up,” Curran told The Hoya. “My parents both love it, and my dad loved it. He died a few years ago. My mom still watches every sin-

gle night.”

Curran said he prepared to compete on the show after practicing with an unusual tool — kids’ reference books.

“This was a tip my mom gave me,” Curran said. “So I went down to the Georgetown branch of the D.C. Public Library and got out a bunch of simple books either explicitly directed to kids or just simple, basic reference books.”

Beyond these books, Curran trained using online trivia

published online in the last 15 years.

Following months of student advocacy, Georgetown University students, faculty and staff now have free access to The New York Times (NYT) and The Washington Post.

Lauinger Library staff and the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) collaborated to secure the free subscriptions, which began Jan. 1. The subscriptions provide access to all current stories on the NYT and Washington Post websites, as well as to five articles a day from the NYT archives and all The Washington Post stories

The announcement comes ahead of GUSA’s intended timeline, which aimed to start providing the subscriptions in Fall 2023. The initiative gained momentum last fall, as GUSA began working more closely with Lauinger staff to negotiate alleviating the costs of student subscriptions.

Amelia Frisbie (MSB ’26) said the new subscription will be helpful in her courses and outside of class.

“I’m excited by the news that Georgetown is granting students access to the NYT and Washington Post,” Frisbie wrote to The Hoya “These resources are helpful tools for students to employ

when researching for classes, staying informed on current events, and reading leisurely.”

GUSA President Camber Vincent (SFS ’24) said GUSA’s goal for the subscriptions was to give students the ability to read more articles, especially ones necessary for class assignments which would typically be inaccessible.

“Our rationale for the program was to increase student readership in general and provide access to articles relevant to classes or sometimes those assigned by professors that were locked behind paywalls,” Vincent wrote to The Hoya “This is a great program for See READERSHIP, A7

of Ukrainian Children

At a GU event, speakers discussed the conditions disabled Ukrainian children are facing because of the war.

Let’s Chat About ChatGPT

As technology continues to advance, the use of AI-powered writing tools such as ChatGPT have become increasingly prevalent in the academic world. While these tools may seem like a quick and easy solution for completing essays and other written assignments, they raise serious concerns about the integrity of the college education system.

That paragraph above wasn’t written by The Hoya. It was written by Chat GPT, a chatbot created by OpenAI, a company dedicated to AI research. It can participate in virtual conversations with its users, answer complex questions, edit computer code, write poetry and songs and complete a myriad of other impressive tasks, including writing “an introductory paragraph to an editorial about the dangers of ChatGPT for essay writing in college in the style of the Georgetown Hoya newspaper” as we asked it to do.

In 2021, researchers at Georgetown University determined that artificial intelligence (AI) can write “believable misinformation.” Now, as you can see, AI can write in a wide array of styles believably, often creating work that is indistinguishable from that of humans. Of particular interest to students and school administrators since ChatGPT’s release in November 2022 has been its ability to produce cogent, human-like writing in response to essay questions. As ChatGPT grows in popularity, the Editorial Board urges Georgetown University to consider adopting practical solutions to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty for its students.

Some Georgetown professors, including David Lipscomb, the interim director of the writing program and an associate teaching professor in the English department, have already started to recognize the increasingly prevalent role that ChatGPT can play in education, according to an email obtained by The Hoya sent to members of the university Writing Center by Lipscomb.

not been shared in many classes, according to numerous students interviewed by The Hoya.

Catalina Jaramillo (SFS ’25) said few professors have discussed ChatGPT in classes.

“Only one of my five professors mentioned ChatGPT when discussing their syllabi and the school’s honor policy. My classmates and friends have mentioned the same. Their professors have hardly addressed it, if at all,” Jaramillo said in an interview with The Hoya.

Georgetown University Honor Council member Christian Spadini (CAS ’26) said so far the honor council has not received guidance on ChatGPT.

“Despite the fact that rumors have been circulating of an email sent to professors over break, the Honor Council is yet to receive any official guidance. My expectation is that the office of the provost will soon put out a statement clarifying the University’s official stance on programs like chat gpt,” Spadini wrote to The Hoya.

The absence of a unified university response to the possibility of cheating via AI is alarming and opens the door for extreme academic dishonesty.

Navigating the introduction of AI to education in a way that both recognizes ChatGPT’s permanence and holds Georgetown students to the highest standards of academic honesty is no easy task. The Editorial Board believes that while education and assessments may need to change due to the presence of this AI software, professors should treat ChatGPT as an opportunity to revamp the styles of assessments they offer to students.

The Editorial Board does not suggest that all essays should be replaced by in-class exams. Rather, we see value in writing-based assignments, but with a revised structure.

We propose three ways of adjusting the approach to assignments in light of ChatGPT. First, professors can assign in-class essays, avoiding the risk of AI usage that is present for standard take-home essays.

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

I am beginning to realize that ‘tradition’ and ‘backwards’ are not synonymous. Identifying and preserving what was good in the past can be an admirable mission, too, and it can fortify, rather than contradict, social change. Revival and reform are not mutually exclusive.”

COMMUNITY OPINIONS

Who Would Be Your Ideal Guest Speaker at Georgetown?

This is Opinion’s first week publishing our new section, “Community Opinions,” where we ask Georgetown students to answer a new question every week. This week, we asked students who their ideal guest speaker at Georgetown would be. These are their responses.

“Either of the Obamas” — Amaan Mahadevan (CAS ’23)

“Taylor Swift” — Izzy McGhee (CAS ’26)

“Ocean Vuong” — Christina Gomes (CAS ’26)

“Michelle Obama” — Katie Koss (SFS ’26), Sofia Arrigo-Manrique (CAS ’25) and Liang Lin (SOH ’24)

“Somebody in the entertainment industry to diversify the speakers” — Clara Weller (SFS ’25)

“Kazuo Ishiguro” — Frances Ross (CAS ’26)

“Aaron Judge” — Eilat Herman (CAS ’26)

“A female athlete” — Emma Wendt (SFS ’25)

“A panel of economists, finance officials and others about the impact of the U.S exceeding its debt ceiling” — Anthony Chen (MSB ’26)

“Michelle Yeoh” — Teresa Truong (CAS ’23)

“Boris Johnson” — Allie Gaudion (CAS ’26)

“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” — Daisy Marquez (CAS ’26)

“Malcolm Gladwell” — Hyung Joon Nam (NHS ’21, MED ’25)

“John Steinbeck” — Seungjoon Nam (SOH ’24)

Second, professors can have students write a first draft in class on a computer, using available applications like LockDown Browser, which can block access to ChatGPT. Students could then revise their work at home, but would need to justify every change they make from the original in-class draft, forcing them to engage with the material regardless of the sources they use.

“If you’ve been reading the endless articles about ChatGPT, you likely know it’s a powerful new ‘chatbot’ that – in response to the right prompts – can generate surprisingly good short and long-form answers and, yes, essays. No, it can’t yet produce excellent writing (‘A’ work, for those still putting letter grades on assignments). But when it comes to more generic assignment prompts, ChatGPT can crank out ‘B’ or a ‘B-’ drafts in seconds. And it’s continuously learning, as are its AI relatives,” Lipscomb wrote in the email.

With the risk posed by ChatGPT, the university is currently reviewing how ChatGPT and other AI chatbots may impact students and faculty, according to a university spokesperson.

“Among the recommendations is for faculty members to transparently share their expectations related to AI tools,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya.

The Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, Georgetown’s center for teaching development and research, has been exploring the impact ChatGPT and other AI chatbots may have in the classroom, the spokesperson said. They have also begun to provide resources to faculty about how to structure their courses amidst the presence of ChatGPT, according to the spokesperson.

Nevertheless, there remains no official university policy regarding AI usage in essaywriting. Moreover, these expectations have

With long essays, unfortunately, there is likely no perfect solution. Nevertheless, professors still have options, such as requiring students to cite specific details the professor mentioned in a course lecture, or designing prompts about personal experiences or narratives.

Third, professors can move completely away from classic essays and offer written and oral exams as alternative options.

ChatGPT might usher in the most dramatic changes to college writing since the advent of the internet and the university must create uniform guidance for its use. By formalizing its approach to AI-related academic dishonesty cases, and teaching professors to create assignments that avoid AI influence, Georgetown can ensure the highest standards of academic excellence.

AI is here to stay — and Georgetown must adapt.

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.

As spring nears, some Georgetowners think that we shall not reenter collegiate baseball this season. It is for those radicals that this article is being written.

As long as I can remember, my father, a Georgetown University graduate, has planned my coming to his alma mater. His wishes were fulfilled when I entered as a freshman this past July. Spring is only a few months away, and the baseball news will again crown the sports page, but the great name of Georgetown will be missing, a name which in past years has been synonymous with great collegiate baseball teams.

When I was a youth, I was a rabid baseball fan. I ate, drank and slept baseball. I can remember the great Georgetown teams of the past trimming such clubs as Princeton,

Yale, Harvard, Penn and many other powerhouses of the day. I dreamed of the day when I would be a Hoya cheering on the great Georgetown team. Then came the war, and the call to colors was answered by men all over the country, including men from the Hilltop.

Georgetown, as did many colleges, dropped intercollegiate sports, due to the lack of material.

But now the world is again at peace, and sports are again enjoying their prewar measure of popularity. Already the basketballs are swishing through the hoops of Georgetown’s opponents; the rifle team is reforming, spring track will begin soon, as will football with Jack Hagerty in his old position. But is baseball to be had? The answer I have been given is a cold “no.” And why? The excuses are thin: lack of

playing material, equipment and other feeble reasons. Imagine now, the sport for which Georgetown University is most noted, the sport in which it has won its greatest glories, will be absent from our campus this spring.

Due to a bad heart, I cannot play other sports, and therefore, baseball is my only outlet to the sports world. This I must play; if not at Georgetown, then elsewhere. Is it too much to ask that intercollegiate competition be resumed in the sport that is most characteristically American; the sport that is followed and witnessed by more spectators every year than any other? If baseball is not resumed this spring, I, for one, will leave Georgetown. Name witheld

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Consider the Value Within Tradition

surrounding menstruation, history has no shortage of examples proving that just because something has endured does not mean it is correct.

While watching a movie called “Goodbye” over winter break, I was happy to see many of my own personality traits reflected in the unorthodox protagonist, Tara Bhalla (Rashmika Mandanna), who clashes with societal norms upon returning to her orthodox hometown. Initially, I was cheering for Tara’s rebellions, feeling validated. But then I was surprised with a challenge.

In one scene, Tara refuses to touch a priest’s feet, eschewing a prevalent Indian tradition. Her father apologizes on her behalf, but rather than taking offense, the priest takes the time to explain why the tradition exists.

“We don’t touch feet to humble ourselves,” the priest tells Tara. “We do it to receive blessings.”

I am beginning to realize that “tradition” and “backwards” are not synonymous. Identifying and preserving what was good in the past can be an admirable mission, too, and it can fortify, rather than contradict, social change. Revival and reform are not mutually exclusive.

After 13 years of attending Catholic schools, I had qualms about continuing my education at another, worried that Georgetown would be a closed box of propriety and conformity. Instead, I found that this is one of the most welcoming and freeing places I have ever been. Yet, despite its heterogeneity and the encouragement of open discourse, Georgetown is administratively more conservative than many peer institutions because of its religious affiliation.

This dichotomy between progressive, independently minded students and the comparatively traditional higherups makes our campus more turbulent than predominantly liberal or conservative institutions.

For example, university stances on current issues such as reproductive health sometimes stand at odds with the prevailing opinions of the student body.

Though there are indeed conservative voices in our generation, we typically seek to transform rather than treasure and to change rather than cherish. And that, by and large, is a good thing. From abhorrently oppressive systems, like redlining, to more subtly problematic customs, such as cultural taboos

As my mom tells me, however, certain time-honored traditions deserve at least the benefit of our doubt.

In essence, traditions exist for the same reason that art, music and poetry do: they are part of the human desire to not be forgotten.

In perpetuating tradition, we need not think that we subjugate ourselves to antiquated beliefs.

Instead, we become — for just the brief second that I bend to touch my grandparents’ feet, or the brief minute Georgetown students run up the Exorcist steps — something larger than ourselves. We place ourselves into community — into the 300,000-year-strong human story.

At the same time, blind reverence for tradition without necessary modification is a recipe for stagnation and injustice. I will bow down to my grandparents, but not to the patriarchy and rigid hierarchies of their time that prescribed, for example, wives to touch their husbands’ feet, or students to unquestioningly accept their teachers’ directives.

Questioning tradition is not disrespectful if it is done with the aim of understanding rather than automatically uprooting.

A practice I’ve found helpful is researching the history behind any tradition I dislike. Many times, there is a background compelling enough to earn my respect, but not my adherence. Other times, I find the logic so utterly flawed that I endeavor to expose the flaw and shift others’ perspectives. And still other times, I discover something that shifts my own perspective.

Malleability is key to this process of critical, but compassionate, inquiry. If our generation becomes set in our ways, we risk becoming indistinguishable from those past generations from which we are trying to set ourselves apart.

As Tara became more openminded over the course of the movie, so did I. The next morning, before I left for Georgetown, my mom held out the usual slice of jaggery — a molasses-like sweetener that we eat before starting anything new — ready to shove it into my protesting mouth. This time, she didn’t need to: I swallowed it with a smile.

Shivali Vora is a first-year student in the School of Foreign Service. Something Old, Something New is published every third Friday.

Confronting the Climate Crisis at GU

If you’re an undergraduate student, carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere have surged by about 15% since you were born. Because even small changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses can dramatically warm the Earth, in your lifetime, average global temperatures soared by around 0.5 degrees Celsius. It’s a change in climate that is totally without precedent in recorded human history.

This climate crisis will get worse before it gets better. By the end of this century, global temperatures could climb by two degrees Celsius or more. The extreme weather set in motion by warming of that magnitude would likely fundamentally impoverish Earth’s biosphere and thereby threaten the survival of today’s societies. Yet, it is still entirely possible to limit warming to just another half of a degree Celsius. That would be destructive but far from apocalyptic.

Nothing will shape the life of the average undergraduate student quite like the decisions that governments, institutions, corporations and ordinary people will make in the coming decade to reduce — or accelerate — global warming. Therefore, universities have a special responsibility to be part of the solution.

Georgetown University takes its responsibility to combat climate change seriously. In 2021, Georgetown expanded its longstanding sustainability office and hired its first vice president of sustainability, as well as a team that works within the university to plan for future sustainability and climate action. To that end, Georgetown is reducing its carbon footprint by constructing greener buildings, electrifying its bus fleet, reducing building energy usage, improving the efficiency of the central plant and utilities on campus and by purchasing

renewable energy certificates to offset the remaining electricity usage on campus.

There are currently around one million square feet of green buildings at Georgetown certified by the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Through Georgetown Energy Partners, the university will reduce energy use intensity by 35% by 2031. Currently, the partnership is undertaking a large-scale energy efficiency lighting upgrade that will reduce our carbon footprint by almost 1,800 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Two-thirds of the university’s electricity needs are provided through a power purchase agreement that launched in October 2020. This 15-year agreement allows Georgetown to buy 100,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually from 11 existing solar plants. On-site solar is also a priority for the university, and new solar panels will be added to buildings in coming years.

In addition to improving campus facilities and energy procurement, Georgetown is rolling back fossil fuel investment in its endowment. In 2020, Georgetown committed to divesting from public securities of fossil fuel companies by 2025 and from existing private investments in those companies by 2030. The university is also making smart investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and related areas while freezing new endowment investments in companies or funds whose primary business is the exploration or extraction of fossil fuels.

In addition to this substantial work, Georgetown will carefully assess and reduce its overall greenhouse gas footprint. The Office of Sustainability is collecting input from students, faculty and staff on how to take further action related to emissions from campus,

travel, procurement, investment, solid waste and other areas.

Georgetown students can engage with the university’s sustainability team, provide input and get tips for taking action by contacting sustainability@georgetown.edu or following @SustainableGU on Instagram and Twitter.

Beyond acting to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, universities can confront the climate crisis by building on their traditional roles as hotbeds of research, innovation and teaching.

Recently, Georgetown has emerged as a global leader in climate education by providing unique opportunities for students to learn about global warming from the perspectives of many disciplines.

Five years ago, a small group of faculty, students and innovators launched a new climate curriculum at Georgetown.

This “Core Pathway on Climate Change” allows students to choose four half-semester courses in distinct disciplines, from theology to physics, that all deal with different dimensions of the climate crisis. Students in the curriculum meet several times every semester to learn from leading policymakers and activists or cooperate in activities that integrate all the disciplines in the pathway. The pathway’s surging popularity has helped inspire similar programs at other universities and thereby has played a role in a transformation of how global warming is taught across the country.

More recently, Georgetown launched Earth Commons, an institute designed to connect and support all of the university’s environmental scholars and programs. The Earth Commons is hiring a wave of postdoctoral researchers and tenure-track professors with the goal of elevating Georgetown into a leading center for transdisciplinary climate scholarship. It is offering

its first joint degree with the McDonough School of Business and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences — the Master of Science in environment and sustainability management—and partnering with the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences to design a new undergraduate degree focused on the climate crisis.

Given the magnitude and urgency of the crisis, these efforts must be understood as first steps. The university must continue to reduce its consumption of energy and its solid and electronic waste, for example, and it must quickly improve more of its aging buildings. It must become a more comprehensive center for climate scholarship and teaching by rapidly increasing the pace with which it hires explicitly interdisciplinary, tenure-track faculty.

In the meantime, daily actions matter. Students, faculty and staff can fix old items before they order replacements online, use reusable water bottles, unplug devices drawing phantom power and take public transit — or a bike, or a scooter — instead of a car. These simple actions can have a profound impact.

Students have already organized efforts to reduce emissions and waste on campus and have played key roles in rallying support for climate action at Georgetown. You can learn more about how to get involved in Georgetown’s sustainability efforts by following @SustainableGU. As the world continues to warm, your actions and your voice are needed now more than ever.

Dagomar Degroot is an associate professor in the Georgetown history department and specializes in environmental history.

Meghan Chapple is the vice president of sustainability at Georgetown.

Rethink Laughter as the Best Medicine Combat GU Eating Culture

CW: This article discusses eating disorders. Please refer to this article on thehoya.com for on- and offcampus resources.

Lia Thomas, a swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, made history as the first transgender swimmer to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association championship “It’s my first meal of the day” is a typical 4 p.m. Georgetown University adage.

The combination of Generation Z’s social media obsession and the recent quarantine era has plagued Georgetown students with body dysmorphia and unnatural eating routines, perpetuating a cycle of negative dialogue around food and self-image.

My arrival at Georgetown and the social pressure to find friends in a new environment heightened my anxieties about body image. For me, at that moment, there were too many active decisions to be made about food, something that used to be a passive part of my schedule.

According to The Emily Program, a specialty health care system for the treatment of eating disorders, exposure to alcohol, living away from home, an abundance of food choices, loss of structure and academic pressure are all risk factors for college students. Mike Gurr, a licensed professional counselor at The Meadows Ranch, an

eating disorder recovery center in Arizona, cites that approximately 40% of incoming first-year students already struggle with disordered eating that is then exacerbated by those risk factors.

Living so far from home, the abundance of food choices and the malleable college routine lifestyle pushed me down a rabbit hole of self-consciousness.

I found myself saying, “Today is a new day,” every single day, in an attempt to forgive myself and justify having a disorganized schedule the previous day.

On Georgetown’s campus, people often characterize skipping meals as something to be proud of, gloating that they are too busy with clubs, academics and social obligations to find time to eat.

This, however, is a very serious problem that especially impacts women and girls. According to a survey conducted by the National Eating Disorders Association, 35% to 57% of adolescent girls have been reported to diet, fast, purge or take laxatives.

The COVID-19 pandemic brewed a fantasy lifestyle for my high-school self, where I lived in oversized pajamas, sat on Zoom, woke up three minutes before class and snacked in between them. According to the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, “Zoom dysmorphia,” a phenomenon in which prolonged time on a web camera and social media has led to an exacerbation in body dysmorphic disorders.

Being in isolation during the pandemic and navigating the social environment during their first year in college has left teenagers dependent on their most convenient form of human

interaction: social media. Social media creates a false narrative of “pandemic weight loss” and progress, with posts of diets, edited or angled mirror selfies and workout pictures. These posts display the message that many achieved high intensity goals during their glorified pandemic experience.

Last year as a first-year student, triggered by dialogue on weight gain, the “freshman fifteen” and calorie counting, I was stuck in my bed, often feeling obliged to go to the gym at Yates Field House and skip meals. In August 2021, I entered Yates for the first time, and upon my entrance into the girls’ locker room, I was greeted with a massive scale.

Georgetown’s “work hard, play hard” attitudes contribute to a culture that values productivity at the expense of self-care and wellness, and that often means that people who skip meals, work out regularly and succeed academically are put on a pedestal for their ability to “do it all.”

While we normalize conversations on mental health, we should be mindful of what we endorse and the intentionality behind our words. This means not applauding someone for being productive on homework if it comes at the expense of skipping meals to do so.

The stigma to be fit is not simply one that promotes well-being and athleticism, but rather one that comes with serious risks and dangers to healthy eating routines.

Sanaa Mehta is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. Identity Introspection is published every third Friday.

People often advise others to follow certain “life lessons” as they navigate their encounters and relationships.

From “good things come to those who wait” to “don’t judge a book by its cover,” such phrases risk becoming cliches after too many repetitions. It is only through lived experience that we can begin to evaluate the underlying nature of these lessons, and whether or not they hold true in bettering our lives as Georgetown students.

The saying “laughter is the best medicine” suggests that laughter can always be applied in a positive manner, irrespective of context.

Yet as I think back on moments of laughter that I’ve observed on campus, I wonder if “happiness” is always the emotion evoked. In my personal experience, it sometimes carries a negative connotation, depending on the circumstance.

For example, sharing a laugh with friends over a comedy show differs greatly from hearing laughs as you struggle to speak during a class presentation. Rather than stirring a sense of warmth, the latter is neither joyful nor enjoyable. With this comes an important distinction between laughing with someone and laughing at someone, a distinction that teeters between empathy and antipathy. It is in the best interest for us, our peers and Georgetown University’s community to recognize that laughter can only be interpreted

through its context.

Last semester, I observed one of my professors struggle to use the classroom’s projector. In a large lecture hall, with well over 100 watchful students, he would pause for many silent and agonizing moments to re-adjust his screen, only to unknowingly select the wrong tab or article. In that instance, what struck me was that rather than pointing this out to him, a few students would quietly laugh at the sight of him referencing a slide that was nowhere to be seen. No one offered to help.

In this context, laughter was not an indication of the appropriate, joyful response that the cliche phrase above suggests. Rather than instilling a sense of happiness, it hardened a collective’s underlying indifference towards an individual’s lone struggle. While my professor never let on that he had noticed the laughs, it’s hard to imagine that he didn’t hear it in an otherwise silent room. In moments like these, it appears that laughter can reinforce a certain marginalization of the intended victim — a lack of empathetic consideration for those around us.

I noticed a similar experience last semester while at dinner with a group of friends. That night, one person made a facetious comment about my friend’s — an international student present at the table — home country. After hearing someone joke about a sensitive, common stereotype regarding their culture, my friend laughed it off and changed the subject. But there was a trace of discomfort beneath her laugh that arose from an uncertainty of how to respond. Upon checking in

with her afterwards, I learned that the instinctive reaction was more hesitant than joyful.

What was outwardly expressed by my friend was not a sign of happiness. Instead of making her feel better, her laugh was an awkward attempt to redirect away from a moment of disconcertment. That being said, there are certainly contexts in which laughter can truly be the “best medicine.” In a different class, one of my professors shared a lighthearted anecdote about her son and his free-spirited nature. As my classmates and I listened to her joke about his unrelenting energy, our laughter carried an altogether different sensation. Rather than symbolizing a lack of empathy or recognition, it served as a foundation for fostering more personal connections within one’s community. When mutually shared, our laughs were able to establish a comfortable, supportive and communal environment that ultimately enriched our learning experience for the rest of the semester.

All of this is not to say that laughter is the only path to build deeper campus connections, or that it does greater harm than good. Rather, it would be introspective for us to examine our current and ongoing laughter-filled moments, keeping in mind how we can use it to present ourselves as compassionate peers through our interactions with others.

FEATURES

BASKETBALL, from A1

Ewing, Chief of Staff Ronny Thompson (CAS ’92) and an attempted emulation of 1980s Hoyas basketball.

For students like Ryan Knapick (SFS ’24), the historic losing streak and lack of institutional change could spell the end of his fandom.

“We need to move on. There needs to be a new coach,” Knapick said in an interview with The Hoya. “It’s hard to care about a team that goes out and loses every game. The feel on campus is pretty poor. Everyone is waiting for a new start.”

As clamors for change mount and the university remains resistant to the voices of fans and analysts alike, a number of key catastrophes have defined Ewing’s tenure as head coach.

The Failures of Georgetown Basketball

Georgetown has turned into one of the worst secondhalf teams in Division I basketball. On Jan. 4, Georgetown was tied with the Villanova Wildcats 35-35 at halftime. They ended up losing 57-73. Three days later, it was more of the same. After heading into the half leading the Marquette Golden Eagles 36-34, the Hoyas ultimately suffered a 22-point beatdown.

These are not isolated examples, either. This season, of the 363 NCAA Division I basketball programs, Georgetown ranks among the bottom 25 teams in second-half points allowed. Offensively, the Hoyas rank in the bottom fourth of all teams in second-half points scored.

One of Ewing’s blunders that has been exposed in the second half is his shallow rotation. When Georgetown blew a double-digit halftime lead in its Nov. 23, 2022 loss to American University, sophomore guard Primo Spears, who averages the seventhmost minutes per game in Division I college basketball, logged 37 minutes. Meanwhile, first-year point guard Denver Anglin saw the floor for only three minutes.

Moreover, in the Ewing and Ronny Thompson era, Georgetown has suffered from logistical failures. The program is plagued by a lack of transparency, ranging from confusion around Ewing’s contract to dismissals and transfers without acknowledgement or explanation.

In February 2022, Jon Rothstein of FanDuel reported that Ewing received a contract extension following the Hoyas’ Big East title in 2021. Georgetown, however, has not released any official information regarding an extension or the size and length of Ewing’s current contract. While Ewing’s ini-

tial contract paid him a salary of $2.6 million per year through the 2022-23 season, an extension may further disrupt Georgetown’s plans for his potential exit.

The issues extend to his players, too. In the 2021-22 season, junior forward Tre King, an incoming transfer, was dismissed from the program for not meeting the university’s expectations on conduct. Georgetown never

Carey, Collin Holloway, Tyler Beard, Timothy Ighoefe, Jalin Billingsley, Kobe Clark, Jamari Sibley, T.J. Berger, Mac McClung, James Akinjo, Josh LeBlanc, Galen Alexander, Myron Gardner, Grayson Carter, Antwan Walker, Chris Sodom and Qudus Wahab — who transferred out of the school during Ewing’s term as head coach. One other player, Chuma Azinge, entered the transfer portal after the 2021-22 season but was not selected.

The team has struggled to build a sustainable program without returning starters. Every year, Georgetown turns to Ewing to build a competitive team out of a roster of brand new players, only to lose a lot of them the next year and restart the process.

The Misleading Strength of Ewing’s Coaching Resume

“There was a lot of interest in the basketball team. There was a craze for it,” Kanjwal said in an interview with The Hoya. “Now, Georgetown loses to American for the first time in decades, and did anyone really care? It’s not even something that picks up on people’s radars anymore. That’s the bar. That’s the standard they’ve set.”

After years of growing apathy about the team’s performance, Kanjwal said his following of Georgetown men’s basketball hinges on whether the university fires Ewing.

“If they don’t move on from Coach Ewing, I’m probably done with Georgetown basketball for the foreseeable future,” Kanjwal said. “There’s no faith in his ability to turn things around. There’s zero precedent in college basketball to suggest he can do something like that.”

oring the greatest coach in Georgetown history.

That coach, John Thompson Jr., made sports history as the first Black coach to win an NCAA basketball title. Under the three-time Big East Coach of the Year’s leadership, the Hoyas had a 596-239 overall record with a streak of 24 postseason appearances in the NCAA or NIT tournaments.

John Thompson Jr. also sent 26 of his players to the NBA draft and had two of them, Ewing and Allen Iverson, selected as the No. 1 overall pick.

Since 1999, he has been forever enshrined as an inductee of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

At his alma mater, John Thompson Jr. is honored with a tall bronze sculpture at the entrance of the John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletic Center.

What’s Next?

expanded on what these violations were. Before he could log a single minute for the Hoyas, King transferred to Iowa State, where he now averages 16 minutes per game for the No. 14 Cyclones.

When asked for a statement about his dismissal, Iowa State Athletics told The Hoya that King has no comment on the situation.

The university also failed to announce the departure of junior guard Dante Harris, the Big East Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament in 2021. Harris left the Hilltop on Dec. 18, 2022, to join the bench at the University of Virginia (UVA) for the rest of the season because of NCAA rules on midseason transfers. Georgetown’s program is yet to issue so much as a press release for the player who led the Hoyas to their most successful season under Ewing.

After transferring to UVA, Harris was not shy about blasting the culture at Georgetown either. Less than a month after announcing his move, Harris reposted a pointed tweet by Caroline Darney, the managing editor at USA Today’s BetFTW.

“Dante Harris looks like he’s having so much fun already,” Darney wrote in the tweet. “I can’t imagine the vibe switch he’s experienced.”

Georgetown Athletics did not respond to The Hoya’s repeated requests for comment about Harris’ transfer.

Additionally, UVA Athletics informed The Hoya that Harris declined to comment on the situation.

When Harris left the Hoyas, he joined a class of 17 former Georgetown men’s basketball players — Donald

Because of Ewing’s ability to bring in a strong roster of players each season, some fans have remained loyal to him. Ella Davie (SFS ’25) said that without Ewing, Georgetown would be unable to attract the quality of top transfer talent it has seen under him.

“Despite the fact that we’re not winning games, he did convince a lot of good transfer portal players to come here, and that’s really useful,” Davie said in an interview with The Hoya. “I do give him some credit for that.”

In addition to recruiting Aminu Mohammed, a fivestar guard, in 2020, Georgetown boasted the fourth-best transfer class in the country in 2022. The Hoyas have already picked up a four-star guard for 2023 in Marvel Allen, beating out LSU, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Kansas and Michigan to land the recruit.

However, five of Georgetown’s seven transfers from this class were three-star recruits. Multiple schools ranked below the Hoyas had a higher average transfer class rating than Georgetown, but Georgetown’s higher number of incoming players boosted their ranking above those schools.

Moreover, highly-ranked transfer classes are less impressive when they’re needed every year. Under Ewing, Georgetown has been a revolving door for its players, replacing transfers with transfers.

The poor results on the court and the ineptitude off the court has led to a significant decline in interest from the Georgetown fan base, but there wasn’t always this level of disinterest in the formerly coveted program.

Omar Kanjwal (SFS ’17), who runs a fan account for the Hoyas on Twitter, said the difference in fan engagement between now and his time at the university is marked.

Thomas Panchley (MSB ’24), a dedicated fan of the men’s basketball team, said his attendance at future Georgetown basketball games will depend on whether Ewing is replaced.

“I’ve been a season ticket holder the last two years,” Panchley said in an interview with The Hoya. “If they don’t fire him by the end of this season, there’s no chance I’m getting season tickets next year.”

Despite all the problems that plague the Georgetown men’s basketball program, fans and analysts say Georgetown keeps Ewing and Ronny Thompson around, primarily because they are the two people in the organization most connected to the legacy of John Thompson Jr. If the university moves on from them, it will face a tough trade-off between building a modern winning program and hon-

Though it is important for Georgetown to remain connected to the legacy of John Thompson Jr. in its purpose and passion, it is clear that the Ewing experiment is not working, according to John Gasaway, an ESPN college basketball writer and author.

“Georgetown is right to put him on a pedestal at every opportunity, and as far as the people connected to him, keeping them involved in the program,” Gasaway said in an interview with The Hoya. “This hasn’t played out the way Ewing, among other people, would have wanted it. Now, the discussion has to be, ‘Where do we go from here?’”

After repeated requests for comment from Ewing about his future with the Hoyas, a Georgetown University spokesperson directed The Hoya to a statement made by Director of Athletics Lee Reed on Jan. 4.

“We recognize this is a challenging and frustrating time for the men’s basketball team and our fans,” Reed wrote in the statement.

“Coach Ewing understands that it is imperative to get the program back on track and no one is more committed than he is to making that happen.”

However, the resounding answer, from fans and analysts alike, involves finding a new leader in the locker room.

If Ewing and Ronny Thompson exit, it will end five decades of connections to John Thompson Jr. and usher in a new era for the Hoyas.

As Georgetown is one of the most storied programs in college basketball, Gasaway said the Hoyas should not struggle to find a suitable replacement.

“It would be easy to say that Georgetown is not such a good job anymore. But it’s a Big East program. The Hoyas will not lack for quality candidates when it does come to that,” Gasaway said.

Regardless of who replaces Ewing, the change will be welcome for a program suffering from the longest regular-season conference losing streak in Big East history. Ewing’s tenure has sunk Georgetown to depths no other team in the conference has ever fallen, a far cry from the sentiments expressed during his introductory press conference nearly six years ago.

That day, Ewing was aware there would be an ultimatum for his time at Georgetown.

“Success is winning,” Ewing said during the press conference. “If I don’t win, there will be another coach here sooner or later.”

In 689 days, Ewing has not won a conference game. And it looks like there will be another coach on the Hilltop sooner rather than later.

“It’s hard to care about a team that goes out and loses every game. The feel on campus is pretty poor. Everyone is waiting for a new start.”

FOCUS

VERBATIM

GU Student Association Launches New Website, Online Resources

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) relaunched its website Jan. 1, aiming to improve communication between GUSA and the Georgetown University student body.

The website has not been functional after the previous GUSA administration chose to shift its informational resources to CampusGroups, a campus engagement platform. The website aims to allow students to engage more effectively with student government and access resources provided by GUSA and the university.

GUSA President Camber Vincent (SFS ’24) said a functional website will provide the senate with an effective and necessary method for communication with students.

“The website offers our best chance at easy engagement with the student body, providing a onestop site for everything they might need — improving the efficacy, reliability, and speed of communication both ways,” Vincent wrote to The Hoya

First-year Senator Meriam Ahmad (CAS ’26) said a website that showcases GUSA’s accomplishments and ongoing projects will hopefully increase student awareness of the senate’s activities.

“I’m hoping that, by highlighting GUSA’s past, ongoing, and future work, Georgetown students can stay updated on what GUSA’s doing and how to get involved,” Ahmad wrote to The Hoya. “For that reason primarily, it is necessary for GUSA to have a working website.”

GUSA Vice President Alyssa Hirai (SFS ’24) said that though GUSA has repurchased the website’s domain space, GUSA has a long way to go with redesigning the website. GUSA needs to solve the website’s outdated interface, according to Hirai.

“A major issue with the GUSA

website was that our account had been deactivated due to an error and the website became dysfunctional as a result,” Hirai said.

“However, we repurchased the website and we will be continuing to redesign it into a platform students can more easily access and interact with.”

Vincent said he anticipates that the website will be clean of old information by the end of January and closer to fully functional by February.

“The primary issue with the website is that due to some University error the previous administration deactivated our account,” Vincent wrote. “As a result the website has become very outdated. A lot of resources and links do not work, and generally it has fallen into a state of disrepair.”

Potential resources for the website include a project called “Hoya House Hunters,” a website run by Georgetown graduates that helps students find off-campus housing and includes an engagement form to allow students to provide GUSA feedback, according to Vincent.

“We are working with some previous alums who ran a Hoya House Hunters project website to reintegrate it into our capabilities as a great resource for students looking for off-campus housing,” Vincent wrote. “We also hope to have an ongoing engagement form open with opportunities to sign up to get involved, to offer up ideas, complain about problems, or level criticisms.”

Georgetown student Kate Arkin (CAS ’26) said that a functional website may improve the perception of GUSA in the student body.

“Having a functional website is critical for GUSA because it will enable GUSA’s constituents to gain a better understanding of what GUSA does and to better reach their representatives,” Arkin wrote to The Hoya. “This in turn may help to heal GUSA’s reputation as a nonfunctional body.”

Vincent said the new website should facilitate an open dialogue between senators and students.

“Ultimately, we’d like it to be a combination of both information and communication,” Vincent wrote.

Vincent, GUSA Chief of Staff Aidan Ng (SFS ’25) and GUSA IT Director Tyler Clough (MSB ’24) currently run the website, and will work in partnership with GUSA’s full communications and leadership teams as the website’s administrators once the website is fully set up, according to Vincent.

Hirai said the new website will make staying informed of GUSArelated developments more accessible to the greater Georgetown student body.

“Creating a functional GUSA website is an important step to improve communication, increase transparency, and provide students with the resources they need,” Hirai wrote to The Hoya Ahmad said an operational GUSA website is necessary if GUSA is to properly represent student interests.

“Ultimately, GUSA’s only purpose is to advocate on behalf of Georgetown students, so the input and involvement of the student body in the work of GUSA are essential for successful advocacy,” Ahmad wrote.

Vincent said he hopes the website will facilitate GUSA’s ability to meet students’ needs and increase community involvement with the organization.

“A student government cannot function without having sustained, meaningful engagement with its student body,” Vincent said. “In the past, the website has served as one of the best pieces of infrastructure for meeting that capacity, so it is an important piece of the tasks to undertake in our new administration to meet our campaign promises of increasing communication and transparency.”

FAA Outage Delays Student Returns to Campus for Spring Semester

Mia Streitberger

Special to The Hoya

The Thousands of flights were delayed or canceled Jan. 11 following technical difficulties at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), disrupting students’ return to campus.

The FAA’s Notice to Air Missions system (NOTAM) experienced an outage for about three hours, which prevented flight takeoffs. The delays and cancellations, which were most severe in East Coast airports, coincided with Georgetown University’s first day of classes for the Spring 2023 semester, interrupting the travel of students and professors who were flying back to campus.

The NOTAM is an essential communication system that sends alerts to pilots regarding flight safety conditions. The FAA alerted the public of the outage at 6:30 a.m. via Twitter, requiring all national flights to be grounded.

All domestic departures were asked to delay takeoffs until 9 a.m., at which point NOTAM would be restored, according to a Jan. 11 tweet.

“The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information,” the tweet reads.

By Wednesday evening, the administration ensured that there was no evidence of a cyberattack on the system. The FAA confirmed on Twitter that a damaged database file caused the outage.

By that point, however, there had been enough delays to push back more flight departures for the rest of Wednesday.

The Ronald Reagan Na-

tional Airport (DCA) canceled 49 flights (10%) and delayed 128 flights (28%) as of Wednesday at 11 a.m., according to Flight Aware. Dulles International Airport (IAD) had to cancel eight flights (2%) and delay 62 flights (17%).

Paul Albergo, an adjunct journalism lecturer at Georgetown, said he had multiple students in his class whose arrival to campus was delayed because of the FAA outages.

“My first class was scheduled on Wednesday, and some of my students were impacted by the meltdown,” Albergo wrote to The Hoya “To help them, I opened up a Zoom link and allowed them to listen in on the class.”

Albergo said that during difficult situations like the FAA outage, the top priority for professors is clear communication from students.

“Missing a single session, especially for something out of your control, is not likely to impact the whole semester,” Albergo wrote. “If you missed the first day of class, then talk to your instructor, find out what you missed and explain what happened. Make sure you stay on track, and if you find yourself falling behind, then ask for help.”

Albergo also said a course’s learning environment is determined by continued effort throughout the semester, not just the first day.

“Showing up is more than just attending scheduled sessions. It involves doing the work. It involves engaging with your professor and your peers,” Albergo wrote. “Students succeed in a class when they invest in that class. Part of that investment involves showing up.”

(CAS ’25), an international student at Georgetown, was flying from Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport to the Newark Liberty International Airport when the outages were reported.

“A family member sent me a copy of the news,” San Agapito wrote to The Hoya. “I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to land, but quickly after they released that planes would be able to land. However, no planes would take off.”

Although none of San Agapito’s flights were canceled, she said the outages significantly disrupted her return to campus.

“When I landed in New-

ark, my flight had been delayed 3 hours. Due to the large number of planes that had to take off, I was also delayed during taxi procedures for almost an hour,” wrote San Agapito. “I did not make it to Georgetown until 10 p.m. I was not able to attend my Wednesday classes. Nonetheless, the professors were very understanding of my situation.”

Georgetown Selects New Director on Catholic Social Thought

Georgetown’s Kim Daniels, an advisor to the Vatican and Catholic church officials, will be the new director of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.

Daniels, who previously served as the initiative’s co-director, replaced John Carr, the initiative’s founding director, on Jan. 1. The initiative aims to promote dialogue at the intersection of faith and politics and to encourage students to see their faith and Catholic social teaching as important parts of their lives.

Since its founding in 2013, the initiative has hosted 145 speaker events featuring religious and political leaders, journalists and academics.

As director, Daniels said she hopes to focus on Washington, D.C. youth and their exploration of faith while connecting the values of the institute to greater world developments such as the conflict in Ukraine, racial justice and Pope Francis’ focus on solidarity with vulnerable populations.

“I’m excited to strengthen and broaden the Initiative’s efforts to bring principles of

Catholic social teaching, such as our commitment to seeking justice and advancing the common good, to national and global conversations,” Daniels wrote to The Hoya In particular, Daniels said she intends to uplift the voices of young Latinx Catholics and women on Georgetown’s campus.

“As director I also hope to expand our efforts to bring together young Catholics in Washington to explore links between their faith, Catholic social thought, and their lives and work, and to help raise up the voices of young Latino Catholics as well,” Daniels wrote. “One of my central goals as Director is to raise up the leadership of women and to reflect the diversity of Georgetown, our country, and our global Church in all that the Initiative does.”

Daniels has worked with the initiative since its 2013 foundation, serving as its associate director from 2018 to 2020 and co-director from 2021 to 2022. Additionally, Daniels served as a lead adviser to the Vatican, U.S. bishops and Catholic organizations on issues intersecting with Church teachings and public life and as an adjunct professor in George-

town’s department of theology and religious studies.

Daniels said she aims to attract more students to the initiative’s events.

“In the coming years our team will focus on more fully engaging Georgetown students and the broader Georgetown community in our efforts to bring Catholic social thought and the Jesuit tradition to current questions at the intersection of faith and public life,” Daniels wrote.

Kimberly Mazyck (SFS ’90), the initiative’s newly hired associate director, emphasized Daniels’ commitment to hearing from diverse voices as a leader.

“I know that she is committed to building bridges across political, religious and ideological lines which is critical to civil dialogue. I also know that she will lead by lifting up the voices of other women and lay leaders,” Mazyck wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I know that with her leadership, the Initiative will continue to promote the common good especially in critical conversations impacting our country and our world.”

Carr founded the initiative in 2013 after university President John J. DeGioia

(CAS ’86, GRD ’03) reached out to him about the opportunity, and said that despite initial doubts, the initiative has seen remarkable success over the past decade, with thousands of students showing up for dialogues.

“There is a hunger on campus and beyond for the moral vocabulary of Catholic social teaching,” Carr told The Hoya. “In a divided time, in the church, in Washington, there is a real desire for civil dialogue that is principled around fundamental ideas.”

DeGioia said the initiative’s work plays an important role in promoting Georgetown’s values in a Jan. 12 email to students announcing Daniels’s appointment.

“The Initiative has become a preeminent place of dialogue and leadership at the intersection of faith and public life and a powerful example of Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit mission in action,” DeGioia wrote in a press release from the university. “The Initiative’s mission and progress are more important than ever here at Georgetown, in Washington, and for our Church and nation.”

Carr said he looks forward to the initiative continuing to serve as a facilitator of peaceful discussions on so-

cial issues in the church and public life under Daniels.

“Georgetown is the right place and it is the right time

to promote civil dialogue and to lift up basic principles of human dignity and solidarity,” Carr said.

Our comeback is about unlocking the full potential of our people

“Missing a single session, especially for something out of your control, is not likely to impact the whole semester.”

Georgetown Announces Spring Semester Public Health Guidance

Georgetown University is updating its public health guidelines for the Spring 2023 semester after a significant rise in respiratory infections around the country, including COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and influenza (flu).

The new guidelines reinforce existing protocols such as contact tracing, wastewater testing, and recommending students obtain COVID-19 and flu vaccines. With the start of the Spring semester, Georgetown also transitioned from nasal swab testing to saliva testing offered at vending machines throughout campus.

Georgetown Chief Public Health Officer Ranit Mishori said the university is prepared for an expected rise in COVID-19 cases on campus at the start of the semester.

“The virus has been unpredictable at times and the emergence of new variants –especially variants that may be more virulent or transmissible – is something we are watching closely and will have to adapt to,” Mishori wrote to The Hoya

To protect against COVID-19 the university has required all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with 98% of students being fully vaccinated, according to Mishori. Additionally, the university has updated HVAC systems and will continue to offer free masks and testing to the campus community, Mishori said.

The university will continue to monitor public health conditions on campus using wastewater surveillance testing, Mishori said. According to Mishori, wastewater surveillance testing is an unobtrusive method of gauging population-health level that many universities and state and local governments are utilizing across the country.

“Wastewater testing is a science-based method for detecting COVID-19 levels in our community through the sewage system,” Mishori wrote. “People who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 shed viral material through their feces, even before they have symptoms (which for many people is the first trigger to test), so wastewater testing can serve as an early warning signal of rising levels and allow us to more rapidly take public health mea-

sures in case of an outbreak.”

Recently the university began offering PCR testing through Shield T3 vending machines across campus. Previously the university provided nasal swab PCR testing, with appointments made available using the healthcare app One Medical.

Mishori said the new testing system will continue to be effective in providing PCR testing on campus, while allowing the university to return functionality in locations that may have been previously used as COVID-19 testing facilities.

“This new system will provide our community with greater flexibility regarding when and where to test and enable the campus locations that were converted to clinical COVID-19 testing to become available again for other events and activities,” Mishori wrote.

Locations that were previously dedicated to COVID-19 swab testing include the Leavey Center Ballroom and the Healey Family Student Center, which are now back in regular use.

Margaret Baker, an associate professor of global health at Georgetown, said test rates will

need to be monitored in order to understand how students react to the change in the use of vending machines from appointments.

“The change is that the sample is now saliva (versus the nasal swabs of before) and they are being collected through the vending machines,” Baker wrote to The Hoya. “This brings us to something else that is always at the core of public health — human behavior. Just because something is a good idea (evidence based even) does not mean people will do it.”

Prior to the start of the Spring semester Georgetown strongly recommended that students get tested for COVID-19 before their arrival to campus. The guidance also recommends students continue to report positive test results

A Century in Astronomy: Where We Are Now

One hundred years ago, Edwin Hubble made the first discovery of galaxies outside of our own.

In 1923, Hubble found a way to view individual stars within the Andromeda Galaxy, which is 2.537 million light years away. This initial discovery helped pave the way for the discovery of millions of other galaxies, the realization that the universe is expanding and the formulation of modern astronomy.

Hubble conducted his observations using the world’s thenlargest telescope, the Hooker Telescope. Today, the telescopes and resources available to scientists have greatly improved, expanding the public’s understanding of the universe too.

The Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched nearly 70 years after Hubble’s initial discovery, has given astronomers a better understanding of the creation and growth of galaxies and stars, black holes and exoplanets. The Hubble Space Telescope can capture ultraviolet to near-infrared light, allowing for the capture of stunning and iconic images such as the Majestic Barred Spiral, Hubble Ultra Deep Field and Pillars of Creation.

Telescope technology is continuing to advance, and Hubble laid the groundwork for its successor: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The JWST is now the world’s largest and most complicated space observatory, and it has the ability to see over 13.5 billion years back in time.

In an interview with The Hoya, Owen Chbani, vice president of the Georgetown University As-

tronomical Society, explained the JWST’s capabilities.

“James Webb represents a revolution in astronomy, at six times the light-collecting power of Hubble, with a state-ofthe-art instrument package designed to detect infrared light, which allows astronomers to peer past the gas and dust in nebulas to look at the earliest moments of stellar formation, as well as look for life on habitable exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars,” Chbani said.

The next telescope to be launched in the coming years is the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, named after the “mother of Hubble.” Roman joined NASA as the chief of astronomy and relativity in the Office of Space Science in 1959 and is credited with making the Hubble Space Telescope a reality through her advocacy for launching telescopes into space.

The Roman Space Telescope will be able to capture more of the sky with less time and will study dark energy and exoplanets, according to NASA.

Some have apprehensions about these telescopes, citing the high costs of pursuing astronomy research and development. Developing the Hubble Space Telescope cost $16 billion, a hefty price that has sparked proposals in Congress to limit or even fully cut the budgets of these projects.

Jeff Urbach, a former American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) science and technology policy fellow at the Department of Energy and physics professor at Georgetown, said the U.S. government plays an important role in funding telescope development projects.

“Advancing our understanding of the universe has, since Hubble’s time, required telescopes that are large and complex, and therefore expensive, both to build and to operate,” Urbach said in an interview with The Hoya. “U.S. federal support has and continues to be essential for progress — there is no other organization with the necessary resources and broad mission.”

Although Georgetown’s astronomy department was disbanded in 1972, ties to astronomy still exist across campus.

The Heyden Observatory that remains on the campus near Yates Field House is one of the oldest in the country — it was founded in 1841 under the leadership of Fr. James Curley, S.J..

Students actively used the observatory throughout the 20th century, and in 1933, an unusually clear photo of a solar eclipse was captured there.

Georgetown’s astronomy graduate program was home to numerous notable astronomers, including Vera Rubin (GRD ’54), who would go on to discover crucial evidence supporting dark matter.

Urbach said studying astronomy is incredibly useful for both students and the general public.

“The public fascination with the amazing stuff that comes out of astronomical observations has inspired generations of students to pursue careers in science and technology, which in turn underpins much of our economic growth,” Urbach said.

Chbani further emphasized the importance of space telescopes for both the present and the future of science.

“Space telescopes also don’t just help us gain a better understanding of the universe, they force scientists and engineers to innovate and invent,” Chbani said.

Science Spotlight: ‘Science For All’ Core Requirement

Georgetown University requires all undergraduate students to complete a course designated “Science For All” (SFA), grounded in the belief that all Georgetown students should understand scientific thoughts and concepts.

First introduced to the Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) in 2018, the requirement applies to all five undergraduate schools at Georgetown as of Fall 2019. The requirement is the newest addition to Georgetown’s shared core, which also consists of two philosophy courses, two theology courses, humanities: art, literature and cultures (HALC), writing and two “engaging diversity” courses.

The SFA requirement has received mostly positive reviews, with some students and professors pushing for expansions or additions to existing courses.

The SFA requirement received broad support when it was first proposed, according to Edward Van Keuren, a physics professor at Georgetown, member of the core science committee, and former member of the main campus core curriculum committee.

“Faculty from the SFS and the business school all thought that Georgetown students really needed to have some level of scientif-

ic literacy when they graduate,” Van Keuren told The Hoya. “The big reason is a lot of the issues that we’re faced with these days have some sort of science component to them, whether it’s vaccination or climate change or renewable energy.”

SFA courses are geared toward students who otherwise may not have taken science courses at Georgetown. Current SFA courses include “Information in the Brain,” “Science in the News,” “Biodiversity and Conservation” and “Innovating with Modern Physics.”

For some students like Leila Sebastian (CAS ’24), the SFA courses have been a positive addition to their college experiences.

“I am grateful to have taken the class and would take it again,” Sebastian wrote to The Hoya. “That being said, I do not plan on taking any other science classes at this school and probably would not have in the first place if it were not for the requirement.”

Although SFA courses are intended to be accessible for students of all majors and backgrounds, they are not intended to be any less rigorous than other Georgetown courses, according to Cynthia Wei, director of science education in Georgetown’s program in Science, Technology and International Affairs.

“They’re not supposed to be blow-off, easy classes,” Wei said. “We make it more accessible, and I don’t want to make it so intimidating that people hate it. But we also want to challenge students to think in a scientific way and to develop some skills.”

The SFA requirement can fall short of some students’ expectations, including Keith Richards’ (SFS ’24).

“I felt like it was super dumbed down,” Richards told The Hoya. “It really pushed the whole ‘SFS equals safe from science’ narrative.”

The term “Safe From Science” is a spoof of the initials of the SFS, reflecting the fact that SFS students who graduated before 2022 were not required to take any science courses.

Other students such as Nicholas Riccio (SFS ’24) have found it difficult to register for an SFA class that appeals to their interests in the first place.

“The options are limited and there are only a couple of SFA classes that students get really excited for,” Riccio wrote to The Hoya

According to Van Keuren, the core science committee is actively responding to this issue. “We’ve created a number of new courses in response to the need for seats in science for all classes,” Van Keuren

told The Hoya

In addition to adding classes, Van Keuren and Wei said some professors are also exploring the option of adding a lab component to existing classes that are currently in a classic lecture-andexam format.

“The one thing some of us would really like to do more of is incorporate lab-based components,” Van Keuren said. “The more experimental, hands-on stuff we can do the better.”

According to a university spokesperson, Georgetown is open to exploring additions and changes to the SFA requirement.

“The University is extremely supportive of exploring course options that reflect the broad interests of our students, as well as University values,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “The SFA requirement, as with all changes to the Core Curriculum, will be reviewed after five years.”

Van Keuren reiterates the importance of science education. “It’s such a fundamental way of viewing the world that I think everyone should have at least some basic understanding of what science is.”

Wei adds, “There are reasons we know what we know, not just because we say so. And understanding that process is super important for everyone.”

from antigen and off-campus PCR tests to the university.

The recent guidance also mentions concerns raised from contact tracing in the Fall, which showed that many community members would continue to go to classes or work even when experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. The university urges those experiencing any symptoms of illness to stay home and seek medical care if needed.

In addition to the required COVID-19 vaccination, the new guidance strongly recommends students receive their flu vaccine, as well as a bivalent booster for the COVID-19 vaccine when eligible.

Assistant professor of global health Eva Jarawan said respiratory diseases are prominent at this time of year, and preventions

including vaccines are necessary to maintain individual and public health.

“It’s not only COVID,” Jarawan wrote to The Hoya. “Respiratory diseases are quite prevalent in winter months and masks as well as frequent handwashing are important to minimize the risks of catching the viruses.”

Baker said she is confident in the university’s recent public health guidelines.

“I am very supportive of the approach that Georgetown University has taken to the COVID pandemic throughout its course,” Baker wrote. “It has adapted to different stages of the pandemic showing that it can both reduce restrictions and increase them again as COVID prevalence increases and decreases.”

Close Gender Inequalities in Science Academia

a whole.

These misconceptions affect women in myriad ways. A 2014 study found that two out of every three women surveyed felt that they had to prove themselves over and over. Women’s job expertise and preparedness are questioned more than their male counterparts.

But with women comprising only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and earning on average $15,000 less than men every year, that gap still looms underfoot. Although progress has been made, there is still a long path ahead for women to receive the opportunities and recognition they deserve in science and engineering fields.

2022 quashed much of the progress that women have spent years fighting for. The overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Taliban’s ban on Afghan girls and women from participating in education and the workforce, and the widespread sexual violence perpetrated by the Russian military against Ukrainian women are just some examples of sexism and injustice in our world today.

These inequalities are also everpresent in our labs, universities and hospitals, preventing female scientists from accessing the same opportunities as their male peers.

Even at educational institutions where members of the new generation of scientific innovators and leaders are taught, gender inequality continues to thrive. For example, at Georgetown there are 1202 male professors compared to only 815 female professors. This discrepancy is particularly stark in the physics department, where only six out of 21 full-time and adjunct faculty are women.

This is a problem because scientists — the very people who depend on accurate samples for their work — are not an accurate sample of the global population. Scientists should ideally represent a microcosm of human diversity. However, while half the global population are women, this is not reflected in the scientific community. Scientific research should be innovating to help everyone so the minds that are doing it should be as diverse — in experiences, race and gender — as the population they represent.

I have too often heard the claim that this is because women are less interested in science careers or do not excel at science compared to men. However, several studies reveal that women are equally well-prepared for careers in science. While the study showed that women tend to “overlook” careers in STEM, this may not be because of an intrinsic disinterest in science, but rather because of sociocultural factors such as stereotypes and misconceptions which serve as obstacles to women’s entry into science careers. Misconceptions about a woman’s place in science continue to plague educational institutions, the industry and society as

Many women also cite a lack of female role models as a deterrent from pursuing scientific careers. From high school teachers to Nobel Prize winners, there are not enough women who can serve as leaders and mentors for young people thinking about their career prospects.

With fewer women in science academia,fewerresearchopportunities are given to women, and, as a result, female science students have fewer women role models. This creates a self-perpetuating problem.

Women scientists with children encounter yet another barrier: maternal wall bias, or the misconception that mothers or pregnant women are less competent and committed. Nearly two-thirds of these scientists with children expressed that they were offered less opportunities during and after pregnancy. Working mothers’ competence and commitment are both questioned, stunting their potential for career growth.

However, it is not only workplace representation that is at stake. The absence of women in STEM tangibly reduces the quality of science being produced by disregarding the female perspective.

This disparity can be clearly seen in the medical field. Women’s health is often neglected in research, with the allocation of funding going to research for diseases which are significantly more likely to affect men.

Shockingly, women are more likely than men to die in car crashes simply because crash dummies are modeled only after male anatomy. Artificial Intelligence (AI) may also prove to show bias against women, especially women of color, if it falls under the pattern of using the white male body as a norm as science has in the past to find new drugs and to create standards of care.

As an educational institution, Georgetown University is far from demonstrating gender equality in the sciences. While this is not a problem that can be fixed overnight, it is important for the university to take intentional steps towards including women in STEM. After all, as a university, Georgetown has the opportunity to make a huge impact on the formation of the new generation of female science innovators.

Though the role and recognition of women in STEM have increased over time, there is still a long way to go. As young female scientists, we must keep fighting for our space in science. As members of a global community, we must elevate the voices of women scientists who have changed the world with their discoveries and yet remain widely unrecognized.

Maria Posada is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. Mind the STEM Gap appears in print or online every third Friday.

The Washington Post, The New York Times Now Free for Georgetown

Georgetown University Alum Takes Home $45,000 on “Jeopardy!”

JEOPARDY, from A1 games and board games.

Curran also said his experience as a journalism minor in college and his family’s history working in journalism — Curran’s father and grandfather were journalists, and Curran himself was a sports editor for The Hoya — helped him pick up some trivia.

“When you read a lot of journalism, especially if you practice it in any way, you get exposed to things that you wouldn’t necessarily be seeking out as part of your day to day,” Curran said.

Curran said the “Jeopardy!” staff provided support during production, makeup and wardrobe, and he felt even more prepared because he had created his own buzzer at home.

“I made a little fake one with one of those spring wood and plastic toilet paper holders,” Curran said. “So I was very prepared, I felt like, and the staff does a really good job of making everybody feel comfortable.”

Jacob Callahan (SFS ’26) said he enjoyed watching a Georgetown graduate compete on the show.

“It was cool to see someone on the show who I have something in common with, even with it just being something small like having gone to the same school,” Callahan wrote to The Hoya. “He did really well and won two games in a row, which was pretty impressive.”

Curran said he was surprised by how much attention the press have given to his “Jeopardy!” appearance.

“I’ve done TV appearances, like multiple local TV appearances,” Curran said. “I was shocked that it caught on as much because if you ever watched ‘Jeopardy!’ there’s somebody from the D.C. area on every other night.”

Curran said he attributes part of the attention to Christian Hunt, the creator of the Capital City Showcase. Hunt hosts Monday Night Trivia at Breadsoda, a Washington, D.C. bar Curran regularly attends.

Hunt said many people from

the bar gathered to support Curran at energetic watch parties.

“He’s been a regular at our trivia at Breadsoda for years, and it was so awesome to see everyone there rally around him,” Hunt wrote to The Hoya. “The watch parties were absolutely electric.

I couldn’t be happier for Pat, because he’s not only a world-class trivia player, but a world-class human being as well.”

Curran said he would like to use the money he won to make a down payment on a house, purchase a gift for his mom and go on a trip with his wife.

Curran said the show is challenging but not impossible and that he encourages anyone with an interest in the show to apply.

“I love to hammer home that anybody can take this test,” Curran said. “It’s free, it’s online. There’s zero barrier to entry. If you don’t have a computer, you can go to the library. D.C. public libraries are great. You can go to the library and take it there. You never know when you’re going to get the call.”

READERSHIP, from A1

our students for the next 6 years and we’re excited to watch the roll-out.”

Jacob Sowers (CAS ’23) said the new initiative gives students access to news outlets that they otherwise would not purchase individually.

“Although outlets like the Washington Post and the New York Times do have student discounts, many students that I know of, including myself, do not want to spend the money for a yearly subscription if they are just going to be reading an article or two per month,” Sowers wrote to The Hoya. “With this new change, students will be able to use these media sources without worrying about the paywall.”

Harriette Hammasi, the dean of Lauinger Library, said the online subscriptions will be more accessible to students who wish to use them.

“In a globally focused institution like Georgetown, staying up-to-date on current events is essential for students,

staff, and faculty, both to work in their specific fields and to be informed citizens more generally,” Hemmasi wrote to The Hoya. “While these papers were and are available at the Library through print subscriptions, databases, and news aggregators, direct web access will make it much easier and more convenient for Hoyas to read the stories they’re interested in.”

Emma Vonder Haar (CAS ’26) said she appreciates that the university chose to provide access to two papers that are already popular among many students.

“I think it makes a lot of sense as these are two of the most predominant newspapers that are especially relevant to what we do as students,” Vonder Haar wrote to The Hoya. “Being in DC, access to The Washington Post is certainly significant and helpful.”

Dylan Shapiro (CAS ’26) said the two newspapers will provide news to students through a more balanced lens.

“Since they’re print outlets,

both have a long history of being consistently reliable, and you also have the option of more right-leaning editorials (WashPo) or more left-leaning ones (NYT),” Shapiro wrote to The Hoya. “By giving students a wide variety of choices for where to get their news, it becomes way easier to stay informed.”

Vincent said he hopes GUSA can renew the program in future years and continue to offer free access to additional publications in the future.

“We hope to continue to work on expanding the program to more publications for the student body as time goes on and guarantee an extension on contract when it lapses,” Vincent said.

Sowers, a senior in Georgetown’s journalism minor program, said he’s hopeful the initiative will promote student interest in credible news outlets.

“I think this new policy is a fantastic opportunity to connect Georgetown students with quality and dependable journalism,” Sowers wrote.

Prime Minister Hosts Talk on Russian Invasion, Global Democracy

NETHERLANDS, from A1

the Netherlands has invested millions of euros into food, water, shelter and medical care for Ukrainians. The Dutch government recently doubled down on its financial support by committing another 2.5 billion euros in aid. Ukraine is also set to receive advanced military technology in the form of Patriot defense systems, surface-toair missile defense systems, from the Netherlands.

Fleck said Putin underestimated the strength of Ukraine and its allies when he began his invasion of the country in February 2022.

“When Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February of last year, he made two bad bets,” Fleck said at the event. “First, that Ukraine would quickly falter and second, that a fractured and weak West would stand idly by.”

Fleck said that over the past year, Putin’s idealized ambitions have largely fallen flat as Ukrainians have stood their ground.

“He lost badly. For nearly a year, the Ukrainian people have shown incredible courage and tenacity in fighting back against Russian attacks on their lives, their homes and hospitals.

Ukraine stepped up and so has the West,” Fleck said at the event.

While Putin initially targeted population centers like the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, counteroffensive efforts

have shifted Russian objectives toward the Donbas, a largely Russian-speaking region in eastern Ukraine, and the southern part of Ukraine along the Black Sea. Violent separatist movements in the region, many backed by Russia, have been occurring for the better part of the last decade.

Mackinnon said the conflict in Ukraine is not over, as new threats are on the horizon every day.

“Officials in Kyiv have been sounding the alarm that Moscow may be on the brink of announcing another mobilization ahead of a renewed offensive operation in the spring,” Mackinnon said.

In addition to warnings of increased Russian manpower, former President of Russia and fervent Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev recently warned of a nuclear attack in the event of a Ukrainian victory.

Rutte said international cooperation is critical for securing desirable results, as can be seen in Ukraine’s case.

The Netherlands promised NATO that it would spend 2% of its GDP on defense in 2014, according to Rutte.

“We followed with a commitment of five more billion,” Rutte said at the event.

“We all have to do more, and the same goes for us.”

Rutte said Putin needs to be held accountable for the bloodshed he and his government continues to cause in Ukraine.

“At this stage when the Russian aggression is killing people, and again this week, over 40 people died and still 20 are missing, it’s so dif-

ficult for me to think about what to give to Vladimir so he is a bit less offended,” Rutte said. “No, he needs to stop this and his govern-

ment needs to be brought to accountability.”

The Netherlands will fight until Ukraine is free, according to Rutte.

“It can take years and years until we get to full recognition, but we will not let go, the Netherlands,” Rutte said. “We will not let go.”

Georgetown Business Students Meet with Estée Lauder Executives

A group of McDonough School of Business (MSB) students visited New York City on Nov. 11 to learn from executives in the Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), an American cosmetics manufacturer.

The trip was organized by the Gen Z Network Initiative, a partnership between the MSB, ELC and the Global Business Initiative (GBI), an MSB program that aims to introduce Georgetown University students to corporate executives.

The Gen Z Network Initiative provides training and opportunities for young entrepreneurs by connecting them with ELC executives to consult on a specific brand from ELC’s portfolio, including MAC Cosmetics and Clinique. Through this partnership, 10 Georgetown students had the opportunity to speak with company executives.

This year, the Gen Z Network Initiative collaborated with Origins, a skincare brand under ELC which focuses

on using plant-based ingredients. Students met every Friday to communicate with executives, understand consumer preferences and explore ways that brands can change according to their feedback, according to a press release on the MSB website.

Students had the opportunity to engage with the problems that Origins executives face and how they approach solving them, while the company received valuable consumer feedback from a savvy student population, according to GBI Director Ricardo Ernst.

Ernst said the event succeeded at providing students with experience that cannot be found in the classroom.

“It gives the students the opportunity of working firsthand with real problems and real companies, and that is the beauty of the whole thing,” Ernst told The Hoya Nikita Thummala (MSB ’24), a student who participated in the event, said she gained invaluable corporate lessons from working with the Gen Z Network Initiative and seeing business principles ap-

Mayor Bowser Reveals Five-Year Economic Plan for the District

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) announced D.C.’s economic goals for the next five years on Jan. 9.

The economic development plan, known as the “Comeback Plan,” highlights six major areas in which to achieve economic growth by 2028. This includes the creation of new jobs in specific sectors and increasing the size of the downtown population.

Bowser said the new plan emphasizes investment in all of the District’s communities to eliminate resource gaps across neighborhoods, such as in food, housing and internet access.

“This is a comeback that is focused on equity,” Bowser said in a Jan. 9 press release.

“This is about making sure we have the revenues to support our world-class city services, our robust network

contributed most to the District’s GDP growth.

The Comeback Plan also strives to improve the economic prosperity of Black and minority residents by aiming to have minorityowned employer businesses make up one-third of all businesses, eliminating opportunity gaps and lifting Black residents’ median household income by $25,000.

Black residents make up 45 percent of the D.C. population, however Black-owned businesses make up less than 14 percent of total businesses in D.C., according to the 2017 Annual Business Survey.

Additionally, Black and white Washingtonians face a median household income disparity of over $100k, respectively earning $53,629 and $160,194 annually, as of March 2022.

Black residents of the District experience a poverty rate of 21.6%, over four times as much as D.C.’s white residents, who experience a poverty rate of 5.1%, the 2019 American Community Survey estimates.

D.C. has turned to the Vitality Fund, a new multiyear program that incentivizes companies to remain, expand or relocate to the District by supplying funds for basic business costs to local entrepreneurs, to reach its economic goals.

plied to a real-world product.

“We were able to understand and experience the thought process that goes behind every part of the brand, from the Origins website all the way to its product packaging,” Thummala wrote to The Hoya. “The initiative showed me that business, especially within the cosmetic industry, is very collaborative and truly analyzes the current culture in order to best serve future consumers.”

The program offered benefits to both students and ELC executives, according to a university spokesperson.

“Through this initiative, students provide the ELC with consumer-centered feedback,” the spokesperson said. “The ELC, in exchange, provides the group with development, education and mentorship opportunities, as well as the chance to gain industry insights and work with and learn from executives in different areas of the company.”

Thummala said she got to speak one-on-one with CEO of the Global Reverse Mentor Program at ELC, Lea Nesdale, about

possible career paths. “She was very hands on and was kind enough to have a oneon-one discussion about her journey through ELC and some future roles I could possibly get into,” Thummala said. “All of these individuals were incredibly respectful and truly listened to everything we had to say. They also helped our experience by asking us questions that pushed our thinking process and really narrowed our suggestions into concrete ideas.”

Although ELC is the first company that GBI has partnered

GU LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group Hosts Inaugural Event

A new Employee Resource Group (ERG) for LGBTQ+ staff at Georgetown University held an inaugural meet and greet for potential members over breakfast Jan. 18.

The Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action (IDEAA) officially recognized the resource group in October 2022, according to Evan Fossen, the director of events and brand experience at the McDonough School of Business.

The event organizers aimed to introduce the ERG to members of the campus community in an informal environment, said Dash Kees, a senior developer at University Information Services and one of the event organizers.

“We are still growing and trying to make sure that we are reaching to LGBTQ staff and faculty on campus,” Kees wrote to The Hoya “This event was just a way to bring folks together at the start of the semester, the start of the year, and the start of the ERG itself.”

Fossen said around 30 people attended the event that was available both in person and virtually.

While Georgetown provides several resources for LGBTQ+ students, the new resource group is a milestone for support offered specifically for employees, according to Fossen.

“As far as I’m aware, this is the first LGBTQ+ group specifically focused on employees,” Fossen said.

managed fully through IDEAA and human resources to facilitate staff well-being, and the LGBTQ+ group is the newest one.

“We recognize and are grateful that many faculty and staff have long been involved in community-building, mutual support and common service to the university, and we are glad to formally support these efforts through the ERG program,” Kilkenny wrote to The Hoya ERGs are an integral step to creating an inclusive work environment that encourages employees of all backgrounds to do their best work, according to Kilkenny.

“We view ERG’s as a welcome institutional partner as we seek to continue to strengthen the diversity of our workforce and ensure that all members of our community feel welcome and supported,” Kilkenny wrote.

Kees said they met with a small group of LGBTQ+ employees a few times before campus life became virtual in March 2020. Kees and several colleagues decided to pursue the opportunity later when IDEAA launched the employee resource group program.

ERGs seeking official recognition from the university must have a designated leader, at least five members and a mission that is consistent with university values, according to the IDEAA website.

with, Ernst said he is hopeful that more companies, including the jeweler Cartier, will want to participate in the initiative after seeing the benefits of learning from youthful perspectives.

“Now we are looking to expand into other companies,” Ernst said. “It was so successful, and Estée Lauder was so happy with it, that now we would like to leverage that in bringing other companies to do the same thing. The more the better in the sense of engaging students by offering first hand experience in how they can start working with companies while

they are still at Georgetown.”

Thummala said she is excited to bond further with other students involved in the program at future Gen Z Network Initiative events.

“I truly loved working with the Gen Z Initiative and not only meeting executives from ELC but also collaborating with a group of incredibly talented Georgetown students,” Thummala wrote. “Everyone highlighted different strengths, and it was wonderful to learn from not only people at the company but from my own peers as well.”

of social programs, and the resources — like our schools and rec centers — that keep people in DC.”

D.C. revealed on Dec. 30, 2022, that estimates for the District’s annual revenue had increased by $172.1 million.

Bowser said economic indicators like the revised revenue, recent GDP growth and population increases inspire optimism for the area’s prosperity over the next five years, according to a press release.

“Our priority remains on ensuring every Washingtonian has a fair shot and that we have the resources necessary to address our most pressing challenges, take care of our most vulnerable neighbors, deliver worldclass city services, and create new opportunities for residents and businesses,” Bowser said in the Dec. 30 press release.

In the third quarter of 2022, professional, scientific and technical services, sectors which the economic plan will focus on supporting, increased in D.C. and

“It will encourage employers to locate in DC and create jobs, bringing the city closer to our job creation goals in high-growth sectors, including technology,” the Jan. 9 press release reads. “Expenses such as rent, tenant improvements, down payment assistance, workforce training, and recruitment can be covered with the program funds.”

Joe Massaua (SFS ’25), a representative of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2E, which oversees the Georgetown, Burleith and Hillandale neighborhoods, said that he looks forward to seeing the plan implemented.

“Mayor Bowser’s ‘comeback plan’ provides great opportunities for investment in our local communities,” Massaua wrote to The Hoya. “I’m excited to work with the Georgetown Community Partnership (GCP) and Georgetown Main Streets (GMS) to craft solutions for the Georgetown neighborhood.”

Bowser said the Comeback Plan aims to provide people from all backgrounds with greater access to the economic opportunities of D.C.

“People stay in and come to Washington, DC because they want to change the world — because they recognize DC as a place where you can bring big ideas to life,” Bowser said in the Jan. 9 press release.

“Our comeback is about unlocking the full potential of our people, our neighborhoods, and our businesses.”

Rosemary Kilkenny (LAW ’87), vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, said ERGs are

Kees, Fossen and the other founding members of the ERG met regularly last summer to discuss the group’s values and draft their charter before submitting it to human resources in the fall, ac-

cording to Fossen.

“A lot of the conversation was centered around making sure that the group was primarily focused on community building, connecting the LGBTQ+ employees and their allies on campus — to give them a space to network with each other, support each other and just find that sense of community at Georgetown,” Fossen said. “That was kind of the primary driving force.”

Kees said they hope the LGBTQ+ group will interact with other ERGs at Georgetown in the future, particularly to support members who belong to more than one resource group.

“We’re hoping to build an inclusive and affirming environment for LGBTQ+ employees and allies at Georgetown,” Kees said. “But we’re truly hoping that we can be a place where members can come together to build connections and to stand in solidarity with members of other ERGs since we know that the identities represented within our groups are intersectional.”

According to documents obtained by The Hoya, the group’s

charter indicates four key elements of its mission: to build a culture of inclusion, to offer employee activities that align with the university’s mission, to provide professional development opportunities and to offer unique solutions to decision-makers within the university.

Fossen said he hopes to eventually expand the reach of the resource group as a way to promote important discussions and bring visibility to LGBTQ+ resources on campus.

“We’re also at some point in the future planning on trying to post campus-wide events where we can bring in someone to talk about a queer issue and have those conversations on queer topics on campus for the broader Georgetown community,” Fossen said.

Kees said they also envision the resource group growing and adapting in the future.

“The last thing I want is for us to become just another committee for people to join,” Kees said. “I hope the ERG becomes something vibrant within the Georgetown community.”

Professor Presents Book on Rebels in Middle East

Li Events Desk

A Johns Hopkins professor presented her new book on the logistical and communicational behavior of insurgent forces during the Lebanon Civil War at a Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) event.

Georgetown’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), the only academic center in the United States exclusively dedicated to studying the Arab world, hosted the Jan. 17 discussion with professor Sarah Parkinson. During the talk, Parkinson explored the inspiration behind her book, “Beyond the Lines: Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon,” and described how guerilla militant groups combated the operational and resource disadvantages of asymmetrical warfare.

Parkinson said the book aims to capture the human element of warfare that is often ignored in traditional military analysis.

“In Beyond the Lines, I’m interested in deemphasizing battlefield scorecards,

which emphasize the actions of fighters, in favor of analyzing how both combatant and non-combatant labor shape organizational and political trajectories,” Parkinson said at the event. “So the argument here is that understanding people’s lived experiences of conflict is not simply a humanitarian necessity, it’s a political imperative.”

Parkinson began by describing the stories of several young women in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), highlighting their multifaceted duties.

Alongside their expertise in firearms and combat, these PLO soldiers serve as battlefield medics, ambulance drivers, nurses, logisticians and social workers, according to Parkinson.

“Every armed conflict involves backstage labor, logistical intelligence, medicine, finance and human resources that may not involve using a weapon,” Parkinson said at the event. “Indeed, most experienced militants with whom I’ve spoken do not consider the physical labor of killing the most important aspect of armed conflict.”

Parkinson then discussed the ways military networks structure themselves, and said insurgent groups are often organized as a complex web that involves intimate personal connections and social roles as opposed to a regimented, linear ladder.

“If you think about what a military organization looks like, it’s a hierarchy, top to bottom,” Parkinson said.

“However, think about how all of the people in that are in multiple networks at the same time. Someone who is a soldier is also a spouse, is also a member of a sports team.”

Parkinson also explored how militias utilize stereotypes at the intersection of gender and age, such as underestimating the capabilities of older women, to their benefit for communication purposes.

“One of the people I knew who had been in a guerrilla organization talked about this little old lady who would stand next to a collaborator and drop a bag of groceries. That’s how we knew we had to target that person,” Parkinson said.

While discussing the common presentation of noncombat roles like document

forgery, which are often done by women, as merely indirect support, Parkinson said these roles are highly specialized and require far more skill than ground soldiers.

“I can give an 18-year-old guy a gun and train him to shoot at the broadside of a barn,” Parkinson said.“And then I can think about what it takes to forge a passport, which is what a lot of these support roles are. Are you confident smuggling $10,000 in cash tomorrow? These are high-skilled roles requiring incredible people skills that most 16 to 18-yearolds do not have.”

Looking forward, Parkinson said she expects U.S. activism strategy to parallel the tactics rebel forces in the Middle East have used to achieve their political goals.

“Regarding American reproductive rights issues that have returned, you will get old people mobilizing because they have old networks from when they were protesting in the 70s,” Parkinson said. “They’re back out there in a very particular way because of how they understand a particular mode of repression.”

“Our priority remains on ensuring every Washingtonian has a fair shot and that we have the resources to address our most pressing challenges..”

Georgetown Physics Professor Honored With Academic Distinction

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) elected a Georgetown physics professor as a member of its 2022 class of Fellows for his achievements in physics research.

Professor Kai Liu, whose research focuses on improving the environmental sustainability of digital storage and magnet production, joined 168 other new Fellows who collectively hold over 5,000 U.S. patents. The honor is one of the highest professional distinctions for academic inventors and connects NAI members with other top researchers in their field of study.

Liu said he is researching how to realign magnetic materials to reduce energy consumption.

“We have demonstrated how to make them twist and turn into certain exotic winding configurations,” Liu wrote to The Hoya. “These findings may someday lead to devices that only use a tiny fraction of the energy compared to the current technology.”

Liu said that his experimentation with various materials, including metallic foams and metal and oxide interfaces, can creatively improve information storage and better the efficiency of hydrogen storage and air filtration systems.

“Our research in this area has led to a number of inventions to introduce topology into nanoscale magnets, which are relevant to the sustainability challenge we face in nanoelectronics – energy consumption in information and communications technology already accounts for

over 10 percent of world’s total energy usage today, and continues to rise rapidly,” Liu said.

Amy Liu, the chair of the physics department, said that Kai Liu’s award is fitting for all the academic accomplishments that he has contributed to the field of physics.

“Professor Liu is an outstanding researcher who not only makes important contributions to understanding the fundamental science of materials at the nanoscale, but also thinks creatively about potential applications of these materials, particularly in terms of sustainability,” Amy Liu wrote to The Hoya Amy Liu said Kai Liu is devoted to student mentorship in addition to academic excellence.

“Through his teaching and research mentoring, he is helping students develop a spirit of innovation in the way they do science,” Amy Liu said.

Over the past two years, Kai Liu has led a group of Georgetown student researchers through their participation in the Mask Innovation Challenge, a materials design competition sponsored by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to improve the protection of masks.

His team won the first phase of the competition in 2021 and was selected as a finalist for the second phase in June 2022.

Makarand Paranjape, an associate professor in the physics department, said Kai Liu’s focus on real-world impact not only attracts students but also adds to the interdisciplinary nature of his work.

“Kai generates a lot of interest from students to undertake both undergraduate and graduate projects under his mentorship,” Paranjape said. “He also does not hesitate in exploring completely new avenues of research.”

Kai Liu said he plans to continue exploring new mask technologies, most recently through using his expertise in nanomagnetism to improve the reusability of masks.

“One of the projects my group is currently working on is a novel type of nanoporous metallic foams built by nanowires,” Kai Liu said. “The foams are ‘light as a feather,’ yet robust and efficient for capturing ultrasmall particulates – a critical need that we know all too well in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Liu said he is grateful to be joining his peers in the NAI, and he hopes to use the honor to expand his collaborations with other top scholars in physics.

“It’s a rather humbling experience to be named a NAI Fellow,” Liu said. “I’m most excited that the NAI recognizes our innovations as impactful and relevant to society. Getting this pat on the back is tremendous encouragement that we are doing something right. Our work is really just starting.”

Liu said he is grateful for all the support the Georgetown community has given him in his career leading up to the fellowship.

“The work done together with my students, postdocs and collaborators over the years made this award possible,” Liu said. “To get recognized for doing things we love just brings a grin to everyone’s face.”

Georgetown Student-Athletes Explore Sponsorship Deals in Summit

Plight of Russian Invasion Impacts Disabled Children, Activists Say

Li Events Desk

Disability Rights International (DRI), an organization dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can fully participate in society, discussed the current plight Ukrainian children with disabilities are facing in the ongoing war with Russia at a Georgetown University event.

The Jan. 12 event was hosted by Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of International Migration, a center in the Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) that conducts research on refugee law and immigration. There, DRI Founder and Executive Director Eric Rosenthal (LAW ’92, H ’16) was joined by Quill Kukla, director of the disability studies program, who delivered the closing remarks at the event.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin began Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, families began fleeing the country to seek refuge in Eastern European countries like Poland and Hungary.

However, many individuals with disabilities had to risk staying behind in Ukraine, according to Rosenthal.

“The people who can’t move, the people for whom accessibility issues prevent them from moving, the kids with the greatest needs were the ones left behind,” Rosenthal said at the event.

Rosenthal said many families who could not afford to bring their child with disabilities when they fled left their children in institutions in western Ukraine.

“They dumped the kids from eastern Ukraine into the facilities in western Ukraine,” Rosenthal said. “These were already bad places with segregation and neglect, and then you double the number of kids in these facilities, and you have a terrible, terrible situation.”

At the event, Rosenthal played a video showcasing the conditions of the Vilshany Orphanage, a facility housing over 200 children with physical and intellectual disabilities. In it, several children were lying in beds without medical care, and one child with cerebral palsy was bound to a chair and calling for his family members, who abandoned him while fleeing to Germany.

Rosenthal met the director of the orphanage years ago, telling the audience that kids should not be placed in those kinds of institutions.

According to Rosenthal, the war may even be encouraging people to donate to facilities that segregate individuals with disabilities.

“When Americans and international groups want to go to Ukraine, they’re going to be dealing with people like this director, who are saying ‘isn’t it terrible that it’s so hard to get money to modernize my orphanage?’” Rosenthal said. “That’s the risk. The war is going to be an occasion for more money being put into already bad segregated facilities.”

Rosenthal said international aid can provide a false impression that facility conditions are good.

One Ukrainian institution receiving aid from an international disability and humanitarian group for physical therapy and massage is still treating children poorly and inhumanely, according to Rosenthal.

“In the same building, children were lying on the floor, rocking back and forth,” Rosenthal said. “Kids were in the grass outside, eating grass and dirt.”

Rosenthal said that during wartime, people have historically been more concerned with the abuse of political dissidents in psychiatric hospitals rather than people with disabilities who are housed in the same institutions.

“Given the history of the political abuse of psychiatry in the former Soviet Union, everyone was concerned when political dissidents were put in psychiatric hospitals, but no one was really concerned when people with disabilities were put in psychiatric hospitals, or people who actually needed some form of support were segregated from society,” Rosenthal said.

Moving forward, DRI will be meeting with the United States Agency for International Development in late January to discuss the possibility of providing government aid for disabled children in Ukraine, according to Rosenthal.

“The war has been going on for a year, and we have not been successful yet,” Rosenthal said. “There needs to be a focus on the basic protection of human rights of these children. It needs to be built into our foreign assistance efforts. It needs to be done urgently, and it needs to be done now.”

Georgetown Professor Expands on Disability Studies Research

Sophia Lu Student Life Desk

Over 250 student-athletes attended the inaugural Georgetown Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Summit to learn about opportunities to build their individual brand.

The Jan. 12 event was hosted by the Georgetown University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in partnership with InvescoQQQ, a boutique investment management firm at McDonough Arena. It featured panelists including Dev Sethi, head of sports at Meta, Rebecca Hamilton, the vice dean of the McDonough School of Business and other executives from Invesco, Altius Sports Partners and INFCLR, a content platform for elite athletics. Speakers provided their unique industry perspectives on NIL to students.

Prior to 2020, the NCAA did not give student-athletes the rights to their NIL, meaning no college athlete could create or sell their own merchandise.

Lee Reed, the director of intercollegiate athletics at Georgetown, said the athletics department wanted to organize the summit to help student-athletes navigate the relatively new concept of NIL ownership by individuals.

“NIL is an exciting new element within the landscape of intercollegiate athletics, and we are proud to provide our student-athletes with both professional partnerships and educational programming to assist in their growth,” Reed

wrote to The Hoya Organizers intended the summit to serve as a starting point for student-athletes, but actually securing NIL deals also depends on the self-initiative of studentathletes, according to Reed.

“While it is up to the individual student-athlete to put in the work to succeed in an NIL world, we strive to support their efforts, enabling them to build their personal brands for the future,” Reed said.

Preston Murray (CAS ’24), a defensive back for the football team, said the NIL summit also advised students on how to differentiate branding to attract the interests of companies and how to manage their personal finances.

“I really learned that if you find your niche, whatever it is, or find something that makes you stand out, it’s really going to help you in terms of getting a NIL deal with whatever company it is,” Murray wrote to The Hoya. “I also learned that it’s important to be smart with your money as college students, especially athletes. People are known to be a little lackadaisical. I think the advice InvescoQQQ exec told us about was really helpful and I really appreciated it.”

Dan O’Neil, Georgetown’s deputy director of athletics for external affairs, said that in the push for more NIL accessibility, the athletics department also launched the Hoya Blueprint Exchange, a portal that helps connect studentathletes with business opportunities and NIL partnerships.

“Since the name, image

and likeness legislation went into effect, we have been actively working to support our student-athletes who would like to take advantage of this opportunity,” O’Neil said. “The NIL Summit was one more opportunity to get in front of our student-athletes with the resources we offer, as well as welcoming speakers who offered industry best practices.”

Max Norton (MSB ’24), a junior offensive lineman on the football team, said student-athletes appreciate the support from the university administration.

“To me, it just means a lot that the school cares enough to put something on like this for us,” Norton said in a Twitter video shared with The Hoya. “It’s a great opportunity to learn more about the process and learn from the speakers about the business side of their interests and how they relate to ours and how we can all work together to build this thing and build the brand at Georgetown.”

Even if a student-athlete does not consider themselves to be the biggest name on the field or does not have the largest presence on social media, they still have the opportunity to secure NIL deals, according to O’Neil.

“While some student-athletes are making large sums of money, there are many who can benefit from a local sponsorship,” O’Neil said. “When done correctly, NIL could range from thousands of dollars to a free lunch. It’s important that our student-athletes understand the full scope, the resources and the process.”

A Georgetown University professor published the second issue of a research journal on disability studies in November exploring the diverse meanings of disability in society.

Professor Joel Michael Reynolds founded the “Journal of Philosophy of Disability” (JPD) in 2021 to bridge a gap in disability studies scholarship and provide a forum for the discussion of new disability studies research. The second edition of the journal explores different definitions of disability, the role of lived experience with disability in research and the philosophy of disability as a field of study.

Reynolds said his journal provides a space for disability scholars to share their research, something that has not always existed despite the expansion of scholarship that has emerged in the field in recent years.

“Disability is central to life, and it is long overdue for those working in academic philosophy to take its study more seriously,” Reynolds wrote to The Hoya. “While philosophical work has been done on disability since the 90s, there has never been a dedicated outlet for scholars to develop their research on its own terms and to engage with others who share similar approaches and expertise.”

Sabrina Leeds (GRD ’22), managing editor of the journal and third-year student pursuing a doctorate in philosophy, said the JPD aspires to define a clearer definition for the philosophy of disability as a field of study.

“I hope that the JPD sparks conversations about what, ex-

actly, philosophy of disability is and how it is distinct from, but always in conversation with, disabled philosophy, disability studies, philosophy of medicine, bioethics and phenomenology,” Leeds said in an interview with The Hoya Leeds hopes clearer distinction between different subfields in disability studies will increase awareness about scholarship in each subfield.

“I think that clarifying the differences between these areas, examining what each of them can do for us and mapping out the contours of the ongoing conversations between them has the potential to provide us with novel conceptual tools that might be practically useful for the purpose of disability rights activism and the pursuit of intersectional liberatory projects,” Leeds said.

The second edition of JPD features pieces from Thomas Nadelhoffer, an associate professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston, and Quill Rebecca Kukla, a professor of philosophy at Georgetown and director of the university’s disability studies program. Their pieces focus on the impacts of exclusionary discourse surrounding disability and disability’s social epistemology, respectively.

Reynolds and his co-editor Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, a professor of bioethics at Gallaudet University, actively seek to incorporate a wide range of academic traditions in the journal, according to Reynolds.

“We welcome scholarship from all philosophical perspectives, including analytic, continental and pragmatist

traditions, the history of philosophy, empirically informed philosophy, non-Western philosophy and other traditions as well as other fields that substantively engage research in philosophy of disability,” Reynolds wrote.

In addition to peer-reviewed research, the journal also publishes book reviews, critical responses, commentaries and occasional special issues, including one focusing on epistemic arrogance. In an effort to construct a more inclusive scholastic environment, Reynolds said the journal has no paywall and is open to the public. The university funded a Creative Commons license for the journal that supports its free distribution, according to Reynolds. Reynolds says plans for future expansions are already in the works.

“More than one scholar has expressed to us that the existence of a journal devoted to philosophy was ‘long overdue’ and that they were ‘overjoyed’ it exists,” Reynolds said. “Submissions to and interest in the journal are very strong, and we may soon be in a position to shift to two issues per year.”

Kukla said they are thankful Reynolds created a space for researchers to further explore the boundaries of disability studies.

“I have been writing and talking about philosophy of medicine and health for many years, and I am excited to finally bring this discussion to an audience that won’t unreflectively center normally abled bodies, and which is willing to think critically about concepts like disease, normalcy and wellbeing,” Kukla said.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

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TENNIS

Georgetown Outplayed

48-72 by Sharpshooting Butler Bulldogs

Oliver Ni Senior Sports Editor

The Georgetown women’s basketball team (9-9, 2-7 Big East) was losing momentum on defense, exhausted from constantly covering passing lanes and preventing dangerous penetrations to the paint.

Conversely, the Butler Bulldogs (7-12, 2-8 Big East) stuck to strong off-ball play to generate chances from outside the arc and defeat Georgetown 72-48.

From there, it was like clockwork: pass, catch, shoot, score, rinse, repeat and win.

The Hoyas and the Bulldogs entered the Jan. 11 game hoping to break their respective three-game losing streaks. The Hoyas, who saw their relatively poor run on shooting improve in their previous game against Villanova, wanted to build upon their progress against a sharpshooting team in the game against Butler.

After winning the tipoff, Georgetown looked more comfortable than the Bulldogs on both sides. A combination of strong passing play to generate scoring opportunities and constant pressure on the ball allowed the Hoyas to build a comfortable 13-5 lead with 4:23 remaining in the first quarter, capped off by a steal and fastbreak layup by junior guard Kelsey Ransom.

The Bulldogs managed to claw their way back to a threepoint deficit by the end of the first quarter despite both sides collectively missing the final eight shots of the period.

Georgetown was still maintaining decent pressure while also drawing fouls to halt Butler’s attacks, although Butler began to find cracks in the defense to rack up a few points.

As the second quarter opened, the Bulldogs slightly

altered their approach, taking more 3-pointers, exploiting the Hoyas’ focus on the perimeter.

As Georgetown struggled to adjust on the fly, Butler took the lead and steadily pulled ahead to 22-19 with 5:15 left in the second quarter. The Hoyas failed to mount a response, playing sloppily and conceding eight turnovers on a series of errant passes and lapses in concentration.

A necessary timeout gave Georgetown an opportunity to stop the bleeding, but their continual poor shooting widened the gap to 34-23 by halftime. The Hoyas, making only 4-of-11 field goal attempts this quarter, attempted zero 3-pointers, whereas the Bulldogs went 8-of-17 with four buckets coming from beyond the arc. Butler guard Kendall Wingler emerged as a dual threat, scoring 10 points and making two steals in the second quarter alone.

Looking for an answer to the Bulldogs’ shooting, the Hoyas began to press more aggressively for turnovers high up on the court while switching to a zone defense in their own half. These adjustments were somewhat effective at limiting further scoring, yet Georgetown’s offense remained too one-dimensional to take full advantage of the opportunity.

A few highlight reel-worthy plays from Ransom injected some life back into the home crowd, but otherwise, the Hoyas went a woeful 3-of-17 in the third quarter. As the game entered the final period, Georgetown was down 48-32 and had to play aggressively in hopes of massively outscoring their opponents and retaking its early lead.

The Hoyas closed the game strong by posting their highest field goal percentage in a single period, making 7-of-13 shots at a 53.9% clip for their highest-scoring quarter. How-

ever, the assertive approach meant that the Bulldogs had more chances to exploit double teams and continued to rain down 3-pointers. The fastpaced play on both sides did little to change the unceremonious final score of 72-48, extending Georgetown’s longest losing streak of the season.

Georgetown converted just 35.6% of its field goal attempts despite creating seven more chances than Butler with 59 shot attempts, largely due to its inability to capitalize on offensive rebounds and conversions.

Furthermore, the Hoyas fell severely behind the Bulldogs both in 3-pointers made — 2 compared to Butler’s 13 — and points scored from the bench, with 8 compared to Butler’s 54.

Head Coach James Howard said an imperfect execution of the game plan led to troubles on the defense.

“You have to be disciplined when playing that action. We knew it was a penetration, kick, and off-side cut,” Howard said in an interview with The Hoya. “Their movement caused some problems. We ran some ball screens, but they were able to pass out of it and find the open player, making us pay with some threes from the corners.”

Ransom said the team can strengthen its presence by maintaining a fast tempo throughout the game.

“We do better when we’re aggressive,” Ransom told The Hoya “The team looks better when we have the mentality that ‘We have that dog in us. We’re going to get the ball back.’ We have to know what the strengths and weaknesses are for every team and that’s something that we have to lock into.”

The Hoyas traveled to the University of Connecticut for a Jan. 15 away game, where they lost 65-50 to the No. 4 Huskies.

Georgetown University Starts Season With Mixed Results

Robbie Werdiger Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown’s (1-1) most impressive showing of the weekend was its doubles performance, with the team winning five out of its six doubles sets across both days of competition. Senior Kieran Foster told The Hoya that doubles have been a point of emphasis for the Hoyas since they lost in the first round of the Big East Championship last year in part due to their doubles play. Foster and first-year Zamaan Moledina toppled a Presbyterian College (1-2) pair ranked No. 22 in the nation.

The Hoyas swept all three doubles matches versus the Blue Hose and won two out of the three doubles matches against the Old Dominion Monarchs (2-2) to start both matches with a crucial 1-0 lead. In singles play against Presbyterian on Saturday, Moledina and sophomores Jake Fellows and Advhyte Sharma captured crucial wins to clinch the match and earn four team points.

At second singles, Fellows prevailed in a tight three set battle, winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

“My match was tough and there were lots of ups and downs

throughout, but I’m glad I was able to pull out the win,” Fellows said.“I think that gave us a lot more security in the overall match so it didn’t have to come down to the last match on court.”

The Hoyas faced a tougher task on Sunday against the Monarchs, one of the tougher teams they will face all year. Old Dominion took an insurmountable 4-1 lead, securing the win despite a hardfought effort by Georgetown firstyear Arthur O’Sullivan and sophomore Akira Morgenstein, who scored two more points for the team with resilient three-set wins to make the final team score 4-3.

The team worked hard despite the loss, according to Head Coach Freddy Mesmer.

“It stings a little to lose that in such a close manner, but our guys fought their tails off and competed until the very last point,” Mesmer said in an interview with The Hoya. “ODU will be inside the top 40 this year for sure so for our team to be that close is a testament to the work they put in this fall and the improvements we’ve made as a whole. Moving into our next matches, I think we just need to continue to improve our discipline and mental toughness.”

Overall, though, Foster said he is happy with Georgetown’s performance.

“I think we surprised ourselves and other teams with how well we competed and played,” Foster told The Hoya “A lot of us have high ceilings. I’ll be excited to see how we all develop and get closer to these high ceilings as the season goes on.”

The two newest additions to the team’s starting lineup are O’Sullivan and Moledina as third and fourth singles, respectively. Mesmer told The Hoya he recruited the two first-years because of their competitiveness and drive to improve.

The new recruits are already making an immediate impact on the team, Mesmer said.

“Our team is extremely young,” Mesmer said. “I am excited to watch them mature on and off the court. The youth of our team comes with challenges, but also great strengths because there is a sense of fearlessness within the younger guys on this team and that has bled into the rest of our program.”

The pair of matches were Diana Kussainova’s first as the team’s new assistant coach.

Kussainova is a former five-star recruit who played collegiate tennis for George Washington University, where she became its first nationally ranked player in over two decades.

According to Mesmer, Kussainova has provided crucial help off the court as well, recently traveling to the Orange Bowl and Winter Nationals to gain experience on the recruiting front.

“Diana Kussainova has been a tremendous addition to our staff,” Mesmer told The Hoya. “She is a great coach on the court and has been a huge help to me with aspects of the job outside the court.”

Up next, the Hoyas will travel to Penn State University, where they will look to carry their momentum against the Nittany Lions on Jan. 22.

When Buffalo Bills safety

Damar Hamlin collapsed because of cardiac arrest after a tackle midway through the team’s Jan. 2 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 of the NFL season, league officials were faced with the difficult question of how to proceed.

Play was temporarily suspended as medics administered CPR, but players from both sidelines appeared distraught after Hamlin was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, placing the prime-time broadcast in limbo.

The NFL ultimately decided to cancel the game after an hour of indecision. Confusion over whose decision it was to suspend play highlighted the league’s lack of awareness surrounding players’ needs and public opinion. Officials even initially told players that they had only five minutes to regroup before continuing the game. Even after outcry from fans, and the media challenging the league’s claims of unilaterally postponing the rest of the game without hesitation, the NFL’s stance only spotlighted incompetence by its decision-makers.

For as long as I can remember, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been a controversial figurehead for the league, drawing harsh criticism for controversial player suspensions and his nowrelaxed crackdown on touchdown celebrations.

However, this incident was different.

Not only did it shed light on the league’s failure when not afforded the time to consult with PR specialists on crucial decisions, the injury’s severity and exposure on national television — it was the most-watched Monday Night Football telecast in ESPN history — amplified the

impact on players’ and fans’ opinions of the league.

Whether you were a player on the sidelines or, like me, simply following the game on Twitter, you received the same limited information: Hamlin had been evacuated after needing CPR, and it was unclear whether the game would continue. The lack of transparency with which the event unfolded made it a recipe for a public spectacle that drew unanimous sympathy.

The problem was clear: a teammate and competitor had been hospitalized, leaving both teams in a state impossible to resume play. The solution was similarly clear: suspend or postpone the game to a later date. However, the complete lack of transparency with which the NFL approached

“Despite the happy ending, it’s important to recognize the disgace with which the league handled the situation.”

the situation made it anything but clear.

ESPN commentators reported that the league had given both teams five minutes to warm up before the resumption of the game. The NFL denied those claims, but ESPN had direct communications with the league at the time.

The league had over half an hour before the game was officially suspended to debunk the announcement, and players were seen warming up despite being visibly upset. Denying the obvious live on over 23 million TV sets in America, and then subsequently attempting to retcon the narrative to frame themselves as benevolent, was the NFL’s critical mistake.

When it surfaced that the Bills’ and Bengals’ coaches, and not the NFL, had been responsible for stopping the game, the NFL was rightfully left alone in its corner of the ring. Fans sided with Hamlin, and players and coaches prioritized their own needs in spite of the league’s ambivalence. Meanwhile, all the NFL did was delay and deny. Even a well-manicured statement by Commissioner Goodell did little to convince the public that the NFL was on the players’ side.

Generous outpourings of support continued as Hamlin recovered in the hospital. Fans donated over $8.9 million to The Chasing M’s Foundation Charitable Fund, a charity founded by Hamlin. Teams across the league rallied around the slogan “Love for Damar,” and players from opposing teams joined in prayer for their fellow player during Week 18 games. The NFL worked with the Bills to adjust Hamlin’s contract so his salary would remain unchanged while on injured reserve. And, most importantly, Hamlin was discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Jan. 11, though his treatment continues back home in Buffalo.

Despite the happy ending, it’s important to recognize the disgrace with which the league handled the situation. The league made a tremendous mistake, was forced to reverse its decision after pushback, and then denied that it had been made in the first place. Still, the horrifying images remain seared in the minds of millions, confirming the perception of a league focused more on its profits than its players.

Unless something drastic changes with how the NFL approaches these situations in the future, it will continue to fail its players.

Benjamin Manens is a firstyear in the SFS. A League for Whom? is published online and in print every three weeks.

Georgetown Hoyas Jump Off to a Strong Start for the Indoor Season

Graduate Eni Akinniyi built off her resume as a two-time Big East Champion with her second straight win in the triple jump this indoor season. Akinniyi jumped 12.16 meters for the championship title, 0.42 meters ahead of second place. Sophomore Alexis Emery earned seventh place after jumping 11.21 meters.

Sophomore Chloe Williams also shared in Georgetown University’s field success, jumping 5.53 meters to finish third in the long jump. Williams was followed by Akinniyi with a jump of 5.36 meters for seventh place.

On the track, senior Maya Drayton finished third in the 400 meters with a time of 55.75 seconds, while firstyear Jadah Fitzgerald followed closely behind in fifth place with a time of 56.77 seconds. The 4x400 team’s time of 3:51.93, featuring Fitzgerald, Drayton, sophomore KC Ashiogwu and firstyear Finley McGee, finished in fourth place.

In the 1000 meters, senior Pippa Nuttall placed fifth with a time of 2:53.57. Nut-

tall is coming off a strong cross-country season and seems poised to continue her success with the 1000 meters this track season. In the mile, senior Kate Tavella finished in seventh with a time of 5:13.12.

On the men’s side, junior Christopher Pitt scored a third-place finish in the long jump, tallying 6.82 meters.

Graduate middle-distance runner Rusty Kujdych and sophomore distance runner Marlon Belden opted for a shorter race than usual in the mile. Kujdych finished second in 4:10.13, while Belden was barely behind in third with a time of 4:10.21.

Senior Matt Rizzo ran the 600-meter race, placing second with a time of 1:19.56.

Graduate Ethan Delgado finished fifth with a time of 1:20.94, while senior Jantz Tostenson finished fifth in the 1000-meter with a time of 2:24.10.

In the sprints, the Hoyas also demonstrated many strong performances. In the 60-meter hurdles, senior Malachi Quarles earned third place with a time of 8.32 seconds, while sophomore Aaron Lindsey ran 49.75 seconds to earn fifth place in the 400-meter race.

The men’s 4x400 team, consisting of Lindsey, Tostenson, sophomore Joshua Peron and first-year Nicholas Givan, finished in fourth place with a time of 3:19.41.

Alton McKenzie, director of cross-country and track and

field, was proud of the potential that the Hoyas demonstrated.

“I felt Matt Rizzo competed well, running 1:19.56 in his first 600m is great effort,” McKenzie told Georgetown Athletics. “Marlon and Rusty stepped down from their usual longer distances to run impressive for the mile. Freshman Nick Givan was also impressive in the 600m and came back to run an exceptional leg on the 4x4. Chris Pitt’s consistent series in the long jump should lead to big jumps later this season.”

McKenzie was glad that the Hoyas were able to bounce back to deliver at the invitational after the three and a half weeks of winter break.

“Overall, we had some decent performances coming off the winter break and rebooting our Indoor Season,” McKenzie said in a Georgetown Athletics press statement. “We’re looking forward to building from this meet and getting better as the season progresses.”

The Hoyas hope to improve upon these results as both the men’s and women’s teams travel to Blacksburg, Va., to compete at the Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21. In addition, first-year distance runner Luke Ondracek will be the only Hoya to travel to Richmond, Va., to compete in the Under-20 Cross Country Championships hosted by USA Track & Field on Jan. 21.

BENJAMIN MANENS Columnist

GUHoyas

MEN’S

WHY IT WAS SPECIAL

Pelé: The Soccer Legend Lives On

LONERGAN, from A12 World Cup, told the Associated Press that when he saw Pelé play, “It made me feel I should hang up my boots.”

Pelé’s personal accolades are so astonishing as to be laughable. He was the joint FIFA Player of the Century alongside Diego Maradona, the International Olympic Committee’s Athlete of the Century and one of Time’s most important people of the 20th century. His goal tally, although hotly debated due to the ambiguity of some matches’ status as friendly or competitive, sits at a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances over a 21-year-long career, according to FIFA.

Georgetown Hoyas Unable to Hold Off Villanova Wildcats at Final Buzzer

VILLANOVA, from A12 fouls with arrays of pump fakes to keep themselves in the game.

From there on out, it was the “Primo Spears show.” The sophomore delivered pinpoint passes, including a dime to senior center Qudus Wahab, who threw down a vicious dunk. Georgetown eventually took a 71-69 lead off of a fading mid-range jumper by Spears. However, clutch time offense was a struggle for the Hoyas — aside Spears and free throws from Murray, the team struggled to score. Meanwhile, Villanova continued to convert from the charity stripe while creating good looks in the paint and on the perimeter.

The Hoyas fell short despite their phenomenal effort, losing 73-77 and extending their record-breaking Big East losing streak to 28 consecutive conference games.

Though the Hoyas only registered 13 turnovers, close to their season average of 12.7 per game, Villanova capitalized by scoring 18 points off of those opportunities.

The Wildcats also attempted 31 total free throws, 22 of which

came during the second half, as several of the Hoyas got themselves into foul trouble. Though the Wildcats shot just 10 from 22 from the field in the second half, these free throws kept them within striking distance. Their defense in the clutch moments ultimately gave them the edge, holding Georgetown scoreless from the field in the final two minutes of the game.

Despite the nail-biting loss, there were some positive takeaways. Spears looked confident in his decisionmaking and shot selection during many moments, though he did register a team high of 7 turnovers. Riley also continued to impress, scoring 18 of Georgetown’s points with a field goal shooting accuracy of 66.7% .

Similarly, sophomore forward Bradley Ezewiro is proving to be a valuable rotation piece, leading the team with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, 2 of which came in pivotal moments down the stretch.

Georgetown continues its road trip against No. 8 Xavier (15-3, 7-0 Big East) on Jan. 21 in yet another tough matchup for the Hoyas.

Pelé transcended soccer, becoming a 20th century pop culture icon. Journalist Barney Ronay noted that he “became the first Black global sporting superstar, and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration.” He appeared in movies such as “Escape to Victory” and mingled with celebrities like Andy Warhol and Arthur Ashe when he moved to the New York Cosmos toward the end of his career.

Later in life, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and even received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

Pelé was anointed as the most famous athlete in the world in 1966, but he was never meant to be called Pelé. To his parents, he was just Edson. Named after Thomas Edison, an error on his birth certificate led to his first name being listed as “Edson,” the name his parents ended up calling him throughout his life. He grew

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

up in poverty in Bauru, São Paulo. His father, who was an ex-professional soccer player, taught him to play with a sock stuffed with newspaper or a grapefruit, as they could not afford a real ball.

The name Pelé emerged after he mispronounced the name of Bile, a goalkeeper at Vasco de Gama, and it stuck.

Pelé died Dec. 29 from

complications related to colon cancer, and the world mourned the loss of a soccer giant. FIFA urged every nation in the world to commemorate the world’s superstar with a stadium named after him as a testament to his impact around the world. He will forever be remembered as the G.O.A.T. — the greatest of all time.

Hoyas Defeated by Powerhouse Huskies

Dec. 31 loss

contributions, including 5 steals from

UCONN, from A12 Huskies to the second lowest score differential the team has seen, behind only the Marquette Golden Eagles who fell by 13 points Dec. 31. The Huskies have cruised to all of their other conference wins by at least 25 points.

For the Hoyas, the scoreline

MEN’S SOCCER

was a significant improvement upon their last meeting with the Huskies. UConn downed Georgetown 84-38 to eliminate the Hoyas from the 2022 Big East Tournament.

Standout first-year guard Kennedy Fauntleroy continued to be an all-around essential player for Georgetown, scoring nine points and chalking up

three assists and three steals.

In addition, Scott contributed an impressive performance, with 11 points and seven rebounds. Although Ransom, the Hoyas’ leading scorer, only posted three points, her defensive energy with five steals spread to the rest of the team.

Overall, Georgetown forced UConn to concede 23 turn-

overs on 11 steals.

The Hoyas rebounded from their loss to win 87-73 against the DePaul University Blue Demons (11-8, 4-4 Big East) on Jan. 18 at McDonough Arena. Georgetown will next face off against the Providence Friars (12-8, 3-6 Big East) on Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. on the road.

Georgetown’s MLS Success Continues

MLS, from A12 four seasons on the Hilltop. Rocha’s college career saw him hoist the 2019 Division I National Championship, and Rocha was honored as the 2022 Big East Midfielder of the Year.

Rocha participated in the Dec. 9-12 MLS College Showcase, an event allowing teams to evaluate top college prospects on the field and during interviews, where he learned that several teams were interested in drafting him. It was not until eight family members frantically refreshed their screens on draft day that he learned of the good news, according to Rocha.

“I was cheerful,” Rocha told The Hoya Panayotou was the third Hoya to make the leap to the pros, as the New England Revolution officially signed the Cambridge, Mass., na-

tive on Jan. 10 to a homegrown contract through the 2026 MLS season with an optional extension to 2027. The 2022 UnitedHealthcare Revolution Academy Player of the Year has played with his home club since the Under-13 level, including nine appearances with the Revolution II, New England’s MLS Next Pro affiliate. Panayotou did not need to enter the draft as the club already owned his MLS rights.

Panayotou said his familiarity with the club helped ease his transition to the pro league.

“It feels like I played for this club my entire or most of my life,” Panayotou said in an interview with The Hoya “Even though I’m sort of in a new situation with a new team, I feel very comfortable, very at home.”

Panayotou said his decision to play his first year of NCAA eligibility with

Georgetown for the 2022 season was instrumental to his development.

“I cannot say enough good things about the school and about the soccer program,” Panayotou said. “I think the college game is a physical one. It is fast. The teams defend well. They want to win. So I think now, going into my first season as a pro, it won’t be anything new.”

Rocha and Stojanovic will have to impress during the current preseason to earn a contract with their respective first teams.

“My goal isn’t to be with the second team forever,” Stojanovic told The Hoya. “I want to sign the first team deal as soon as I can.”

Rocha said he is equally as ambitious in his career goals.

“I would be lying if I said I did not want to be one of the best players in the league,” Rocha said. “First, I’ve got to

get on the team. And then I have got to be trusted with the team.”

Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese has now coached 35 players who were ultimately drafted or signed with an MLS or top European club since beginning his tenure in March 2006. Wiese said he is proud of his players’ success.

“Our guys come here with the goal of becoming professionals, and I’m incredibly proud of how hard they’ve worked to make those dreams a reality,” Wiese wrote to The Hoya. “Especially for a player like Aidan Rocha who paid his dues behind some future pros, worked hard and got his degree, that’s what we hope to see with every player that comes through our program. I wish them all luck and am excited to watch them at the next level.”

Georgetown (0-0)

Vs. George Washington

Saturday, 12:00 p.m.

McCarthy Pool

TALKING POINTS

Three Former Hoyas Look to Make 2023 MLS Debut

Former Hoyas Aidan Rocha (CAS ‘22), Stefan Stojanovic and Jack Panayotou are all just one step away from making their professional Major League Soccer (MLS) debuts this upcoming season.

Each choosing to go pro at different points in their careers, Rocha, Stojanovic and Panayotou all took distinct paths to gain the opportunity to prove themselves to MLS coaches this preseason. The trio will join a network of dozens of former Hoyas pursuing professional careers around the world as Georgetown men’s soccer continues to impress on the national stage.

Stojanovic was the first of the three Hoyas to officially make the jump to an MLS first-team environment when the Philadelphia Union selected the forward with the 57th overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. Stojanovic was the 28th pick in the second round of the Dec. 21 draft.

Stojanovic transferred to the Hilltop for his junior year after attending St. Louis University, starting every game and notching nine goals during the 2021 season. Stojanovic departed Georgetown at the season’s conclusion to sign a contract with the Philadelphia Union II, the MLS Next Pro team for which he made 16 appearances in the 2022 season.

Georgetown’s successes continued as D.C. United drafted Rocha as the 60th pick overall after an illustrious

See MLS, A11

Georgetown Loses to Villanova in Final Seconds

Despite a promising chance to win its first game against a Big East opponent since March 13, 2021, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team fell to the rival Villanova University Wildcats 73-77 on Jan. 16.

Down by 1 point with just 30 seconds left on the clock, sophomore guard Primo Spears had the opportunity to take the lead for the Hoyas. But as he

drove left, Villanova forward Brandon Slater managed to poke the ball away straight into the hands of star Wildcat forward Cam Whitmore, who threw down a monstrous slamdunk on the other end to put Villanova up by 3. With one more chance to tie the game, a tough rainbow triple attempt from sophomore guard Brandon Murray hit the rim, sealing the game for the Wildcats.

The Hoyas (5-14, 0-8 Big East) mounted an impressive

team effort against the uncharacteristically struggling Villanova Wildcats team (910, 3-5 Big East), who had lost its prior three games. Though Georgetown put up one of its better team performances of the season, shooting 54% from the field and dominating the rebound battle 33 to 21, the Wildcats continuously earned points off turnovers while fouls plagued the Hoyas.

Villanova came out of the gates hot, hitting its first 4 shots.

GU Falls to No. 5 UConn Huskies 50-65

Georgetown University women’s basketball mounted an impressive effort against the No. 5-ranked University of Connecticut Huskies, ultimately losing 50-65 against the powerhouse program.

Playing in front of a large crowd of Husky fans in Hartford, Conn., the Hoyas (9-9, 2-7 Big East) came out of the gates aggressive, not shying away from physical contact with the Huskies (16-2, 9-0 Big East). This energy allowed them to shock their typically dominant opponents, keeping them in close range throughout the Jan. 15 game.

On the offensive end of the court, Georgetown outscored UConn 13-11 in the first quarter, led by a combined three sharp shots from beyond the arc from graduate student guard Kristina Moore and sophomore forward Brianna Scott.

Defensively, Georgetown’s hustle and physicality threw the Husky offense out of its orbit, forcing the team to give up seven turnovers in just 10 minutes. Despite the Huskies’ leading scorer Azzi Fudd coming off the bench halfway through the quarter in her second game back following an injury, the Hoyas remained unfazed, holding UConn to its lowest scoring quarter of the season.

In the second quarter, both teams continued to tug the lead back and forth, with the Huskies starting strong on a 6-0 run to go up 13-17. However, Georgetown continued to lay on its all-out defensive pressure, forcing another six turnovers and allowing the Hoyas to keep it a one-point game at halftime, trailing 23-24.

UConn dominated the third quarter, making it increasingly difficult for the Hoyas to remain a competitive force. In the first two minutes, UConn quickly took control, taking the lead 31-23 and not relinquishing it from then on.

The Hoyas found themselves in deep trouble trying to stop UConn’s aggressive drives, with three of the team’s starters — Moore, junior guard Kelsey Ransom and senior forward Graceann Bennett — earning their third fouls each just three minutes into the second half. As the fouls piled on, the Huskies capitalized on their free throw opportunities, going 13-for14 on the line and outscoring the Hoyas 20-8 in the third quarter.

Although the Hoyas tried to scrape their way back from a 13-point deficit in the final quarter, the last minutes of the game saw much of the same Husky domination. Back-to-back baskets

from

to win 50-65.

Despite the loss, the Hoyas held their own against the

However, sophomore guard Jordan Riley, who earned a start despite Murray’s return from injury, matched the Wildcats’ run with one of his own, scoring 9 early points with an emphatic putback dunk.

Though Riley took fewer shots throughout the rest of the first half, Spears picked up the scoring, hitting tough shots in isolation and bringing the score differential down to 1 point near halftime. However, a clutch 3-pointer by Villanova guard

Mark Armstrong left Georgetown down 33-37 at the break.

Just as he did in the first half, Riley propelled Georgetown’s offense early in the second, making great reads without rushing the game. He converted on a number of smooth midrange shots off the bounce to tie the game at 42 a piece.

However, the Wildcats would not relent. In typical Villanova fashion, they scored

WHY IT WAS SPECIAL

him, having agreed to a deal prior to the 1958 World Cup, but after Pelé’s performances, Santos sensibly took a U-turn on negotiations.

O Jogo Bonito. The Beautiful Game. Not only did Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, coin this now-iconic nickname for soccer, he also embodied it.

The original wunderkind, Pelé burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old during the 1958 World Cup, becoming the then-youngest player ever to partake in the tournament as well as the youngest player to score a World Cup hat trick. His two goals in the final helped Brazil hoist the first of its five World Cups — of which Pelé won three. He remains the only player to have ever done so.

Naturally, Pelé’s signature was highly sought after by many European giants following his success in the 1958 World Cup. International giants including Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United tried and failed to sign him. Inter Milan managed to offer him a contract, but the deal fell through after Santos fans revolted. Valencia, a club in Spain, was arguably the closest to signing

The final push to keep Pelé in his home country for good came in 1961, when the national government of Brazil declared Pelé an “official national treasure” to deter him from transferring abroad. He was 21 years old at the time.

O Rei, or “The King,” as Pelé was affectionately dubbed, was idolized more as a god in both Brazil and the world, as opposed to a monarch. He was talked about in the same way Messi and Ronaldo are spoken of today, in a dignified air reserved only for the best of the best.

Johan Cruyff, one of the greatest players ever and one of Pelé’s contemporaries, told FIFA, “Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.”

“The greatest player in history was [Alfredo] Di Stéfano,” Ferenc Puskás, one of soccer’s best strikers in history, said. “I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.”

Just Fontaine, the player who holds the record for most goals scored in a single

I would be lying if I said I did not want to be one of the best players in the league.”