To the Editor:

Put your money where your mouth is.

We have all heard this challenge before and, when it comes to aligning practice with promise, we know that it is easier said than done.

Literally, however, it is exactly what students in the Georgetown Solidarity Committee did two Wednesday’s ago when they taped dollar bills across their mouths in a silent protest of Georgetown’s failure to recognize subcontracted workers as part of the Georgetown community (“Solidarity Continues to Protest For Contracted Workers’ Rights,” The Hoya, Oct. 22, 2004, A1).

Through this protest, concerned students demanded attention and dialogue. And the administration deserves recognition for putting its ideals of social justice into practice.

In a meeting last Thursday, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Spiros Dimolitsas agreed to add a subcontracted worker to the Advisory Committee on Business Ethics as a voting member. It is a small victory, but the Solidarity Committee recognizes it as progress.

In so many ways, the Georgetown administration sends positive messages, affirming its commitment to social justice. Just last week, as part of the Pacem in Terris series, Dr. Paul Farmer spoke on campus.

His message was clear: To address Peace on Earth, one must address inequality and injustice. He quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., saying that, “Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” While the president of our university sat in the front row of Dr. Farmer’s speech, our very own workers continue to work for poverty wages without health benefits.

Our Georgetown, an institution committed to the Jesuit ideals of social justice, continues to make progress. We recognize and appreciate the efforts of our administrators to align practice with principle, but we know that more can be done.

Hopefully, the voices of all those in our campus community can come together in dialogue to reify these ideals.

Emily Napalo (COL ’06)

Oct. 27, 2004