Who says Econ majors can’t be creative?

Today, Georgetown Alums Mike Cahill (COL ’01) and Brit Marling (COL ’05), both of whom graduated with degrees in Economics, opened their feature film Another Earth, which gained acclaim months ago when it garnered two prestigious awards at the Sundance Film Festival, in New York and Los Angeles (the film is set for national release sometime in August). The film, the sophomore collaborative effort of the two producers, explores themes of fate and the vastness of the universe in the context of personal tragedy.

The film, which the pair co-wrote, Cahill directed, and Marling stars in, revolves around the relationship between Rhoda (Marling) and John, played by William Mapother, of Lost fame. Rhoda has recently been released from prison, after serving a four-year sentence after a car accident which put John in a coma, and killed his wife and child. Rhoda, the responsible party, was driving not only under the influence of alcohol, but distracted by the shocking sight of a newly visible planet in the sky. Four years later, the planet has become clearly identical to our own Earth.

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Looking for a change of pace during your summer vacation? Tired of sunny beaches and drinks with tiny umbrellas? Look no further than the Mongol Rally, an adventurous road trip organized by the Mongolian Principle Charity Mercy Corps.

Participants from all over the world pile into tiny cars and drive from London to Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia, for the sake of making a financial contribution to a charity of the participants’ choosing.

Georgetown sophomore, Rich Rinaldi (MSB ’12) decided to take this trip along with fellow Jersey Boy Alex Insel this summer. Choosing a European-made Ford ‘Ka,’ bought on eBay, the duo drove 8,100 miles through thirteen countries.

The 30-day trip was not without its pitfalls. Rinaldi himself, in fact, crashed the car on the day before the rally was scheduled to start (as is typical of many New Jersey drivers). A friendly British mechanic, however, took the boys into his own home, fed them, and fixed their car so they could start the trip on time.

In Kazakhstan, potholes on the country roads were often bigger than the 1.3 Liter Ford the two relied on. During the final stretch, one of the car’s tires blew out during a snowstorm in the Mongolian mountains, prompting one to wonder why anyone would opt to take this trip in the first place.

“It’s for charity, and it’s for adventure,” Rinaldi explained. The Jersey Boys have raised over $2,000 for the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, an organization that runs an orphanage outside of Ulaan Baatar, thanks to contributions from friends and local businesses in New Jersey.

If any readers are thinking about trading Caribbean beaches for Eurasian deserts, Rinaldi has some advice: Russian traffic cops will give you ice cream if you bribe them enough and the Super Mash Brothers are the right start to any day of driving over treacherous terrain.

With the Wisconsin Avenue Safeway out of commission, are your shopping needs just not being met by Whole Foods/Safeway Delivery/Trader Joe’s?  GUTS has your back!

According to Georgetown’s Director of Media Relations Andy Pino, GUTS will be offering runs to the Rosslyn Safeway on weekends.

The change will combine the Rosslyn and Dupont Circle routes; GUTS buses will go from campus to Rosslyn, stopping on North Oak Street near the Safeway there, back to campus and then to Dupont.  Weekday service will not change.

In the wake of the Hoya‘s April Fools’ Issue last spring, President DeGioia held a town hall meeting and announced the creation of three working groups to address diversity issues in terms of admissions, academics and student life at Georgetown.  DeGioia promised that these groups—comprised of administrators, faculty and students—would be doing work over the summer and issuing a report this semester.

The academics working group outlined a document that compares Georgetown’s curriculum to that of “similar” schools. The purpose of this document was to examine whether or not Georgetown’s curriculum placed enough importance on cultural diversity. Factors mentioned in the outline include whether the curriculum requires the study of various cultures, what percent of students are ethnic studies majors, and an analysis of minority enrollment in relation to these factors.

The admissions working group addressed the huge discrepancy between the percent of admitted black students and admitted white students who end up attending Georgetown. According to Kilkenny, approximately 25 percent of admitted African American students attend Georgetown, as opposed to between 70 and 80 percent og admitted white students. This finding led the admissions group to think about how Georgetown packages itself as a community in terms of cultural diversity.

In terms of student life, Kilkenny brought up the apparent social segregation that takes place on campus, citing Leo’s specifically as a particularly flagrant example.  The participants of the student life working group have been studying and analyzing integration within several student groups and activities on campus this summer.

Sound like exciting stuff to you?  If you’re interested in joining one of the working groups you should contact Rosemary Kilkenny at kilkennr@georgetown.edu.