Turning Georgetown Day Into Every Day

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This year’s Georgetown Day has become an opportunity to redefine the way students socialize on campus.

KEOWN: American Revolution An Unjust Rebellion

Irrespective of his questionable support for the means used in the American Revolution, Carroll’s founding of Georgetown is a great example of the Catholic faith inspiring work for the common good.

Adjunct Role Merits Fair Compensation

The entire teaching population at Georgetown deserves fair compensation for important and demanding work.

CHESS: In Crises, Sports Unite

Playing sports is a way to sustain human competition in a manner that replaces violence.

Confessing a Need for Change

These disillusioned comments signal a revelation: Basic discrimination and intolerance exist at Georgetown. It is alarming. It must change.

The Last Word

If last year was a year of stagnancy and administrative pushback, this year was one of concerted movement and building momentum.

A Worthy Honor for Father Fields, S.J.

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Last Friday, my mentor, professor and chaplain received the Dorothy Brown Award for his “strong commitment to the educational advancement of students.” 

DAVIS: Racial Bias Impedes Justice

Inequitable practices in American law enforcement senselessly fling stigmas on groups of people. 

STERN: NRA Cash Silences Senators on Guns

It’s worth taking a moment to consider the human lives lost to gun violence. The NRA won’t. Most politicians won’t. In the end, it falls on us.

WEIS: Finding Diversity On Hilltop

Recognizing Georgetown's diversity takes more than simply seeing different skin colors, races or ethnic groups. 

ROGERS: As End Nears, Keep Finals in Perspective

I hope that we here on the Hilltop can encourage each other to recognize our dignity and worth not in what we do but rather in who we are becoming.

Francis to Return Church to Its Roots

Pope Francis will bring a simplicity and humility to the Vatican, which will inspire reform, clean house and bring people back to the message and joy of knowing Christ.

A Beauty Campaign's Ugly Reality

Rather than try to redefine the way our society values beauty, Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign only perpetuate standards of what a woman “should” be — beautiful. 

Standing by Boston

“If you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil, that’s it. Selflessly, compassionately, unafraid.”

Rallying Relay

Since its introduction in 2007, Georgetown’s Relay for Life fundraiser has become a Hilltop fixture.

A Day for Every Dorm

Many great memories involve the small, cramped doubles of one’s freshman year on the Hilltop.

Good Luck, Otto

The Hoya faithful should not begrudge Porter the opportunity to realize his NBA dream.
 

Putting the Service in IRS

VITA is a nationwide, federally funded program run by the Internal Revenue Service that provides free tax assistance to low-income families and individuals.

Speakers of Substance

Georgetown chooses to hold separate graduations for each school and often invites speakers whose interests and achievements reflect those of the school they address.

MONOD: On TV, Nerds Find Popularity

Imagine how many problems we could solve if we applied our newfound love of all things complicated to things like government.

GAVIN & HONJIYO: LGBT Outreach a Catholic Church Duty

The Church has a duty to actively reach out to LGBT individuals, serving their needs like it serves the needs of all other Catholics.

Marathon Attacks Touch All Bostonians

The cruel symbolism of planting bombs at the finish line is apparent — an act of ungodly terror in what should be a glorified moment of triumph over both terrain and body.

Recognizing Roots of Racism

The approach taken at Georgetown has been to shun or ignore racism while unintentionally allowing it to continue privately and then vented through anonymous means.

Time to Make the Hilltop Go Green

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As the next generation of legislators, journalists, scientists, lawyers and parents, we have a responsibility to protect the earth for our posterity.

Students Hearing Students

Holding a town hall meeting where students could speak directly with The Corp would benefit students and the company. 

Fairness Lost in Translation

Language proficiency exams are structured by individual departments. As a result, many discrepancies exist in their rigor. 

GWU Foggy on Free Speech

As a university, GWU should be committed to bringing together different beliefs and voices.

BEAUCHAMP: Past Research Abuses Reveal US Hypocrisy

The real moral import of Nuremberg was the need for a worldwide system of moral standards  to protect human subjects.

CHESS: A Court Supremely Unpopular

No matter what side of history you think you are on, never count on the Supreme Court for anything.

Kim's Crime Bigger Than Missiles

The press has been largely silent on Kim’s greatest crimes to date: his crimes against humanity.

Rape Culture Merits Campus Discussion

We are tired of seeing the hard work of advocates in the student body and Georgetown administration fail year after year to put a dent in Georgetown’s sexual assault statistics.

Tinder Can't Spark Real Connection

The hook-up culture that is Georgetown only goes so deep. We’re real people with real wants and needs; we’re not just a Tinder picture on a screen and a chat bubble. 
 

Marriage an Institution Defined by Procreation

Marriage deals with far more than social statuses and governmental designations. It is central to pro-creation.

DAVIS: Pluralism Needs Action

Promoting pluralism is not something that will just happen on its own. Its up to our leaders to integrate diversity education into Georgetown's curriculum.

STERN: Roberts Ignores Call to Uphold Justice

Justice Roberts' faith in the majority is willfully naive, and his insistence on leaving marriage equality up to a majority vote is a shocking abdication of his judicial duty.

1,000 Followers, Zero Stars

Leo’s may have gotten more fans on Facebook with its surf ‘n’ turf gimmick, but without taking its deficiencies more seriously, the dining hall will continue to get poor reviews from its patrons.

A Major Pay-Off

The McDonough School of Business' more competitive acceptance rate points to the heightened appeal of schools that are perceived to guarantee future career safety through more vocational majors.

Discriminatory Discretion

For a fair network of diverse opinions and vibrant campus culture, universities cannot reduce activities fees to reflections of individual religious beliefs.

A Wary Gun Violence Week

“Awareness,” after all, involves complete knowledge of an issue, not just one side of it.

AlcoholismEdu

“You’re only an alcoholic once you graduate.” This philosophy is accepted by most as an unspoken rule of college life.

The Upside of a Crackdown

The expanded shuttle service allows students more accessibility to the greater D.C. area. And for all we know, a kegger at Leo’s could become a quirky Georgetown tradition

Remembering a Legacy of Faith and Engagement

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This week, Jan Karski’s legacy was honored at “A Tribute to Jan Karski."

Small Changes to Increase Verizon Center Turnout

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As a top-five team, we as students have a responsibility to support our classmates throughout the entire season, not just during the big rivalry games.

Israel-U.S. Bromance Must Keep it Real

To save its bromance and to save Israel, U.S. leaders must create a framework for bringing the two sides together to mediate a two-state solution.

A 'Like' for Georgetown Compliments

In my experience, an anonymous message on Georgetown Compliments have a deep and positive impact on recipients.

DAVIS: Minority Victims Overlooked

CNN and other cable news outlets deserve criticism for disproportionate coverage of white female victims over everyone else. 

STERN: Scalia: A Disguised Blessing for Democrats

Scalia’s outrageous remarks and vehemently vitriolic dissents have made him the conservative justice liberals love to hate. 

Jesuit Diversity Neglected

Georgetown has the opportunity to lead the way in increasing diversity across all Jesuit universities.

Expand Emergency Systems

There exists not only a severe lack of call boxes but also a randomness to their allocation and distribution throughout campus.

An Affordable 99 Days

The cost of the 99 Days Club definitely adds up, a factor which likely affects the retention rate for the club.

O'BRIEN: New Pope a True Jesuit

In Francis, we have the first Jesuit pope. To be a Jesuit means to be steeped in the spiritual tradition of St. Ignatius, to have an expansion vision and a deep commitment to service.

New Pope Faces Fading Church

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While Pope Francis may not be a reformer, he can still rebuild the Church’s image.

Better Social Life a Two-Way Street

 It is our hope that conduct reform, the alcohol policy, student safety, access to benefits and student life policies will make coming years even better, easier and more vibrant for the generations of students to come.

Key to Vibrant Campus Life Lies With Students

If we live up to the expectations, pay a little money to offset the costs and watch out for our friends and fellow students, we can all enjoy a vibrant on-campus party scene.

Let Magis Guide Conduct

It is simply unacceptable for us to disrupt life for our neighbors. We all have the chance — and the obligation — to be bit more considerate and aware of others.

A Curve That Works

Should students be assessed on the personal value of their achievements or how much more they have achieved than their fellow students? 

Tracing Lab Fee Funds

It is unfair to simply charge graphic design students more than a student specializing in drawing, for example. Perhaps it isn’t wrong to charge all students an equal fee.

Demand for Disclosure

It is essential that GUSA address potential conflicts of interest by establishing norms of disclosure.

A Call for Fair Treatment of Food Service Workers

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The entire community must come together to address the unjust practices that have resulted in our broken food system.

A Campaign for Hope

As a 20-year-old city council candidate, a son of Newark and an African American male, I, too, struggle to find hope.

District Needs Blanket Plan for Public Schools

While the fiscal savings and the enhanced programming may be minimal, the social costs of these closures are real and significant.

CHESS: More than One Tactic Required for Iran

No one set of air strikes or negotiated agreements will succeed in neutralizing the Iranian threat. 

LITTLE: A Field Without Apology

Yet when physicians and hospitals commit errors, “I’m sorry” is often the last thing that patients hear. 

Like a Good Neighbor

The ongoing conflict with Georgetown’s neighbors is more a reflection of the school’s location than of particularly disruptive students. 

More Common Ground

One program that helps students meet professors is the Midnight MUG office hours program.

A Glaring Omission in NSO

The best way to prevent on-campus sexual assault is a conversation that is worthwhile for every student to participate in.

Grand, Old Tactics Need Refocusing

The GOP should transform their core message from one of fighting constant budget battles to one of delivering economic growth and prosperity for all Americans.

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

While job hunting with the rest of the Class of 2013, I couldn’t help feeling like I was competing in a Hunger Games of sorts.

GAVIN & HONJIYO: New Pope Must Lead Church to Reform

The New Pope will have to deftly balance the preservation of tradition with the progression of necessary change. He will determine whether the Church thrives or falters.

MONOD: New Age of Cyber Politics

New trend will bring the future of political discourse online for mass consumption, giving anyone a platform to voice their opinions.

Valuing Our Veterans

Georgetown should recognize GUVAP’s merit in making the classroom environment more accommodating to student veterans.

Hard Knock Res Life

While financial aid is administered on a federal level, changing this policy would only require Georgetown to bill the RA position as a full-time job.

A Mandate for Reform

Yesterday’s election showed student interest in expanded rights. Tisa and Ramadan campaigned and won on this platform. Now it’s time to make it happen.

VEATCH: Employer Health Plans Needlessly Mandate Values

Transfer to employees the funds that employers presently spend on it. Employees would then — under Obamacare’s mandate — have to buy insurance from the exchanges or pay penalties. 

CHESS: Immigrant Voters Provide Party Base

History suggests that when immigrant communities break onto the stage politically, they tend to remain important to one party or another for a long time.

WEIS: Liberal Arts a Lost Beauty

Surely society would be on a downward trend if its academic foundation were to become focused solely on the applicability of classroom skills to those required of an entry-level job.

ROGERS: A Papacy Divinely Guided

Oddsmakers from around the world are taking bets on everything from the actual name of the cardinal elected to his age and country of origin.

Board Stands by Appelbaum & Cleary

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Appelbaum and Cleary's policy goals — which include funding reform and student rights advocacy — should weigh on the minds of voters much more than Appelbaum's personal affiliations. Our confidence that Appelbaum and Cleary will best serve the undergraduates on the Hilltop has not wavered.

Make Your GUSA Vote Count

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To take full advantage of this voting procedure, students should always provide a complete list of their preferences, ranking all of the tickets.

Vote Appelbaum & Cleary for GUSA Executive

This year, we endorse Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14) and Maggie Cleary (COL ’14) because they are best equipped to effectively represent students at the university bargaining table.

Confessions of a Steward Hunter

Keep in mind that your ability to achieve everything you want on the Hilltop does not hinge on your belonging to a secret society.

For Students, by Students

We have laid out in our platform not the lofty goals or wide nets cast by some but action plans that present voters with deliverable objectives and a way to get us there together.

A Progressive Hilltop

Our platform is simple. We want to improve the everyday lives of students and make our campus more progressive.

Eliminating Red Tape

As the only ticket that has never been a part of the GUSA bureaucracy, we are ready to break the mold and embrace that vision. Finding new solutions to old problems is what we’re all about.

Experience to Further Reform

Our plan will give student organizations more autonomy to do what they want when they want to do it.

DAVIS: Star Too Scandalous For TV Show Viewers

While the desire for fair portrayal is completely understandable, it seems that many critics want an idealized role model from 'Scandal's protagonist.

STERN: 'Roe': A Case for Liberty

The pro-life movement’s rejection of substantive due process is a rejection of the notion that our constitution preserves a zone of personal liberty for every — real, living — citizen.

Public Disservice Alert

DPS should, however, exercise more discretion in deciding what information is actually helpful to the public.

Expanding the Zip Fleet

Georgetown’s current fleet of eight Zipcars comes in a range of sizes, but Georgetown has yet to contract with the company’s companion service, Zipvan.

Food Trucks a Hilltop Staple

Food trucks provide a welcome diversion while fostering an appreciation for local food and a refreshing change from the monotony of limited late-night cuisine.

DISSENT: DPS Alert Provides Necessary, Helpful Information

Discretion is important when assuming that individuals matching certain descriptions are suspicious. But the responsibility for discretion lies with individuals, not the Department of Public Safety.

The Best Ticket to GUSA Success

Jack and Maggie share the values we hold dear — community, justice, fairness, student input and student autonomy — and then see if we are living up to those values.

District's Taxation Needs Representation

Although federal politics in Washington may be a chess game, the taxpayers of D.C. should not be the pawns. The time has come to vote “for” the budget autonomy referendum.

CARNES: Humility and Humor from Generations Past

In a remarkable way, telling our story helps us become the “generations to come.”

WEIS: Legacy Lives Strong Despite Controversy

The legacy of Lance Armstrong is not about the bike.

Something Fishy on M Street

Wage theft is a widespread problem in the District. When the issue cropped up so close to home, it was heartening to see over a dozen Georgetown students stand behind these marginalized workers. 

All for One, One for All

By choosing an inclusive approach to donations and asking for a reasonable amount from freshmen, the society has demonstrated that money can be solicited tastefully. 

Keep Calm and Campaign On

It is time for a toned-down GUSA executive election. That is not to say that the office being pursued isn’t important, but the way one gets there is important, too. 

On the Hilltop or Around the World

Studying abroad is not a requirement, and no one will remind you of a deadline or pity you if you miss it.

Pro-Life Students Lead Shift

Students at Georgetown have been — and continue to be — leaders in this shift from just a concern about the Roe v. Wade decision to a concern about the “whole person.”

Pro-Life Movement Honors Church

Co-opted as a convenient justification for a kind of moral and intellectual relativism, cura personalis is reduced to merely a trite slogan or sentiment, devoid of any real meaning.

Pro-Life Gives Voice to Unborn

Since 1973, the unborn have been legally silenced and instead must rely on others to lend their voices to them.

Military Tactics Need Scrutiny

Campaign promises are practically made to be broken, and we are naive to place faith in words alone.

MONOD: Casting Call: The Perfect President

Fictional presidents are often an idealized version of what we want our leaders to be. 
 

PEREZ: Prejudice Promoted by Media

Although no political change will likely arise from Puerto Rican statehood support, reactions to the recent vote highlighted America’s past and the way we treat Latinos here and abroad.
 

Putting the 'GO' in GOCard

GOCard debit dollars are an indispensable resource at Georgetown, and facilitating the way in which one adds funds to the card is in everyone’s interest.

A Global Hilltop

EdX aims to promote learning and provide education for a global audience — for students of all ages, backgrounds and economic means.

GUSA Dishes Up Old Fix

If GUSA hopes to be a true force for change on campus, it must remember that cooperation between the senate and the executive sends a stronger message to administrators and the student body.

Pro-Choice Broader than Abortion Issue

It is very important to recognize that, while pro-choice includes the issue of abortion, it encompasses many more decisions that both men and women make throughout their lives.
 

'Zero' Dark on Details

The ‘Zero Dark Thirty' controversy centers on its depiction of torture, and the broader topic of the responsibility of art to its subject — especially when that subject is an ongoing conflict

The Key to Preventing Crime

To prevent further burglaries, the university should make all the doors in on-campus residences and faculty offices automatically lock when closed. 

A Black Spot on Blue & Gray

Blue & Gray tour guides show prospective students the ins and outs of Georgetown’s campus, but the organization itself has room to learn how to more fairly structure an application process.

LITTLE: Confronting Conscientious Objection

By its very nature, medicine intersects with some of the deepest issues in life and some disagreement is inevitable.

CHESS: Tea Party Overlooks Its Roots

The Tea Party thinks it has been empowered to recapture some core value of the “American way” — small government.

Locking the Door on Crime

We all need to work together to prevent crime — especially theft — on our campus.

An Undocumented Story

Our stories are real when we see families across the country torn apart by outdated enforcement policies.

"Django Unchained": A Film, Not a History

While I liked “Django,” I understand that Tarantino’s films are certainly not for everyone.

Tarantino's Latest Misunderstood

I understand the apprehension toward Tarantino — whose admiration of black culture admittedly borders on a fetish.

New Service Orientation

More critically, students are unmotivated by the social pull of NSO’s forced bonding activities and end up only grudgingly attending or skipping them altogether.

Dusting Off Lau's Systems

Lauinger’s aesthetics may not make it the most beloved campus building, but its underutilized space resources are certainly worth tapping into.

No Time for Tardiness

Student-professor relationships are built on mutual respect — respect for both mutual effort and mutual appreciation of the other’s time.

STERN: Obama Sets Tone for Gay Rights Debate

Marriage equality is not merely about extending justice to a small minority.  It is about fulfilling the promise of our founding principles.

DAVIS: Beyoncé in Sync with Feminism

Feminism is a movement built on the idea that a woman should be able to make decisions for herself and her society.

A League of Their Own

Joining the team gave us a home at Georgetown. They accepted us, immediately and unconditionally.

After Tragedy, Gun Reform Still Stalled

We are too fearful of the polarization and uproar that publicly questioning the Second Amendment would cause.

Pure Dollars and Cents

A larger endowment means more scholarships, higher-quality academics and top-notch faculty.

Georgetown's Lost Art

The art department’s dramatic lack of campus space limits its ability to offer a wider range or larger quantity of courses.

O'BRIEN: Intellectual Risks Yield New Insights

Insights sometimes take a while to crystallize. Jesuit education should create time and space for ideas to marinate and for conversations of depth to take place.

WEIS: College Mold Too Limiting

Put simply, we are the students our grandparents wanted our parents to be. We are well-groomed, hard working and desire success — often times at the expense of enjoying youth.

A Noisy and Thriving Democracy

Although the words of Obama’s inaugural speech were drowned out by the protester, the meaning behind them rang clear.

Jesuit Values a Moral Investment

If American educational institutions came together in force, they would have the power to send a message about their priorities in the future global marketplace.

Award Needs Student Input

Georgetown’s burgeoning online discussion board, IdeaScale, could serve as a platform where students nominate honorary degree candidates.

Access in Excess

GERMS provides an invaluable — quite literally lifesaving — service to individuals associated with the university and surrounding neighborhood.

SAGHAI: Health Laws Too Tame

The idea that the least restrictive policy alternative is always best is premised on the misguided view that all liberties matter equally and should be equally protected.

CHESS: Historical Lens Sharpens Today's View

The study of history leads to greater collective self-understanding.

Racial Bias Runs Rampant

This is not only a “black people problem” or a minority problem. It is a problem for the entire university.

Hopeful Look on Obama's Second Term

 As the president begins his second term, many will discuss his legacy. And in every sense of the phrase, Barack Obama was — and is — our generation's president.