This week in D.C. news features Kwame Brown’s fraud charges, Capital Pride back in action, Corcoran Museum’s plans to sell the Beaux-Arts building and Councilmember Jack Evans getting a little feisty on Twitter.

Kwame, Fully loaded

Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, a federal felony, after resigning his City Council seat on Wednesday. Back in 2007 Brown submitted falsified loan applications, one of which was to finance his ironically-named boat, “Bullet Proof.” He exaggerated his income, forged a signature and changed a 3 to an 8 (on two occasions).

Yesterday, prosecutors charged Brown with violating the District’s campaign finance laws during his 2008 reelection campaign. Prosecutors alleged that Brown authorized a family member to establish a “side account” for campaign contributions, which he used to make under-the-table expenditures in excess of $50. Failing to report expenditures of that size is a misdemeanor. Today, Brown gave a less-than-contrite acknowledgment of his campaign finance transgressions.

As reported by Washington City Paper, Brown gave a statement to reporters as he left the federal courthouse after pleading guilty to the felony bank charge. “I am guilty to knowing that poll workers and others received more than $50 in cash payments for doing campaign work, which is and has been done in this city for years,” he said. “I believe I’m the…only candidate who has ever been charged—with a misdemeanor.”

Here’s a handy summary of the “Fully Loaded” saga.

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Our very own Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall is a bit of a bonding experience for all freshmen and sophomores, who must submit to the mandatory meal plan, barring a few exceptions.

Vegetarianism doesn’t get you a pass on Leo’s, but you bleeding heart animal lovers will be pleased to hear Peta2 voted Georgetown the 10th most vegetarian friendly campus of 2008. Though we have yet to repeat the performance, Leo’s vegetarian options aren’t all that bad. In fact some Leo’s-weary diners become what we like to call “Leo’s vegetarians,” in self-defense from the dubious post-Thanksgiving turkey mélange.

Anyway, whether you carry out a (totally safe) Grab ‘n Go sandwich, or enjoy your chicken fingers beneath Leo’s nod to the Sistine Chapel, surviving Leo’s requires an iron-clad will stomach and a reliable Tupperware set. Not to mention the well-developed knack for double-think that allows students to smuggle out a backpack full of nauseating food after every meal.

Luckily for all you newbies, some of your fellow Hoyas have compiled their favorite Leo’s recipes (we like to call them coping mechanisms) in O’Donovan’s On The Waterfront. Since these tips won’t get you through the whole year unscathed, here are Vox‘s tips for dealing with Leo’s, originally compiled by former Voice Editor Juliana Brint:

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Last month, Dr. Hal C. Lawrence, executive vice president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a University professor, praised the Administration’s decision to require full contraceptive coverage without copay on all new insurance plans.

“The women of this country deserve no less than access to all comprehensive and clinically effective preventive care,” Lawrence said in an ACOG press release.

The Cardinal Newman Society, a conservative non-profit organization that seeks “to help renew and strengthen Catholic identity in Catholic higher education,” is predictably unenthusiastic.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has already criticized what it sees an excessively narrow religious exemption. “Although this new rule gives the agency the discretion to authorize a ‘religious’ exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social service agencies and healthcare providers,” Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told LifeSiteNews.

The regulation will take effect beginning Aug. 1, 2012. It may include a conscience clause that would allow religious institutions to opt out of the coverage. However, the ACOG press release argued against such an exemption.

“Should a woman choose to use birth control, she should have access to all methods at no cost, as these guidelines insure,” reads the press release. “However, any exemption to religious-affiliated health plans from this contraceptive requirement erodes this right. ACOG recommends that no exemption be allowed and looks forward to resolving these concerns with HHS.”

The new regulation will encompass all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception – including Plan B – as well as more comprehensive HIV and STI screenings, and domestic violence screening and care.

At a press conference this afternoon, GUSA President Mike Meaney (SFS ’12) stood with a handful of other student body presidents as they unveiled their letter to President Obama, imploring him and other leaders to reach a compromise on the debt ceiling debate and the country’s budget crisis.

Over 100 college and university student body presidents representing over 2 million students signed the letter.  Similar letters will be hand delivered to members of Congress.

Meaney, who spearheaded the initiative along with other members of GUSA, explained that the idea to appeal to the country’s leadership was born out of a conversation during a bus ride about a week ago. The topic of discussion: the discrepancy between how our government ideally works and “the sorry state of the ongoing gridlock over the debt ceiling and deficit.”

“We asked ourselves: How come our leaders can’t seem to work together for the good of the country? Why do they seem to care more about the next election than the next generation?” he said. “Young people are often used as a political football, but we can’t afford to let others speak for us any longer.”

The letter [PDF] is an appeal for bipartisan collaboration that transcends party agendas, ideology, and promises.  “We can’t pass up an opportunity to solve our problems because of pledges, partisanship, or pettiness,” Meaney said. He later denied any reference to the GOP’s Pledge to America, which was released before the 2010 elections and vowed to drastically reduce government spending.

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On Monday, the School of Continuing Studies’ Technology Management Program sponsored a lecture by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Andrea Weckerle – founder of the cyber-etiquette organization CiviliNation – on the need for civil discourse on the Internet.

The talk, entitled “Upholding the Core Ideals of Democracy & Freedom of Speech: the Need for Civil Digital Discourse,” focused on the need for a healthy online environment that fosters a thoughtful exchange of ideas. However, neither contributor saw this as the present reality.

“Because we haven’t yet developed online social norms,” Weckerle mused, “we have allowed this to become a truly global problem,” citing intentional provocation, release of private information, Facebook attacks, Google bombs, cyber stalking, and generic spreading of lies online.

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Yesterday, congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, gave the annual Whittington Lecture in Georgetown’s Gonda Theatre. Van Hollen’s speech, which addressed the recent budget debate, advocated for the strengths of President Obama’s blueprint while critiquing the budget plan recently passed by the Republican-controlled house.

The Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s annual Whittington Lecture is held in memoriam of Leslie Whittington, a former professor and GPPI associate dean who perished during the 9/11 hijacking of Flight 77, the plane which was used to attack the Pentagon.

Van Hollen began his address by acknowledging the significance of the lecture’s timing. “When I think about the death of Osama bin Laden, I thought about how fitting it was that we gather here in [Whittington’s] memory.”

Transitioning to the economy, Van Hollen emphasized the far-reaching impact of the budget debate. “Perhaps no challenge is as great as finding a way to work together to ensure that the U.S. remains a vibrant, dynamic economic powerhouse it has been,” he said.

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Stuck in the District over Easter break? Don’t worry: there’s plenty of egg-cellent things to do in our fair city that will put the hip back in your hippity-hop!

Friday, April 22

10:00am – 12:00pm: Earth Day Party for the Planet. Visit the National Zoo for a day of recycling and frolicking with the animals! Activities will take place at the “In Your Back Yard” exhibit (a breath of fresh air from the NIMBY-ness of the neighbors). Eco-friendly crafts galore! 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008. Price: Free!

6:45pm & 9:00pm: Washington Film Institute’s Green Screen Kickoff Event. Feel like your bleeding-heart has become a bit atrophied this spring? These films will reignite your sense of righteous indignation over the state of our planet. See The Fourth Revolution at 6:45pm and The Nuclear Comeback at 9:00pm. Goethe-Institute, 812 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001. Tickets: $10.

10:00am – 1:00pm: Georgetown Family Fair at the Dumbarton House. Hoya Snaxa has closed its doors to the sweet tooth’s of Georgetown students, but you can still satisfy your cravings for ye olde desserts at the Georgetown Family Fair. Homemade sundaes and chocolate houses abound! 2715 Q St NW, Washington, DC 20007. Price: $10.

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Last night, the GUSA Financial and Appropriations Committee held its second town hall meeting to discuss the Student Activities Fee Endowment reform plan.

Attendees discussed the previously proposed reform plan, as well as a potential increase in the student activities fee. According to Greg Laverriere (COL ’12), FinApp Committee chairperson, Georgetown’s student activities fee is less than 75 percent of fees at peer institutions. The proposed increase could range from $5 to $100.

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Thursday night’s Burleith Citizens Association meeting featured an appearance by Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who answered residents’ concerns about Georgetown’s 2010 campus plan.

While standing between two of the BCA’s ubiquitous “Our Homes, Not GU’s Dorm” lawn signs, Evans voiced his support for Burleith residents. However, he also told the crowd that he has little control over the D.C. Zoning Commission, the judicial body that will rule on the plan.

“It’s not something I can make happen for you, or make happen for anybody,” he said. “I wish I could solve your problem with a magic wand, but I can’t.”

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