Today is partly cloudy and muggy with a high of 86.

To masticate today:

• Caps fall short: The Washington Capitals led by their pirate captain Alexander Ovechkin were defeated 5-0 by the New York Rangers Monday night in game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, bringing their season to a close.
• Commencement events start tomorrow: Commencement events run from May 16 to 19 and begin with a general Senior Convocation at 2 pm on May 16 and end with the Law School commencement at 3 p.m. on May 19. Expect heavier traffic and tougher parking during these days, especially on Saturday, when the College holds its commencement at 9 a.m.

What to look out for:

• Circulator fare hike: The Circulator bus may have its route extended to include Glover Park and the National Cathedral, but this change will be accompanied with a rise in fare. In some cases, fare will be double what it is now.
• Preserving the National Cathedral: The Washington National Cathedral won a $100,000 grant to help repair damage sustained during an earthquake in August 2011.
• Fighting school closure however they can: The D.C. Council’s education committee voted unanimously to give parents a full year’s delay between any school boundary changes and when those changes go into effect. The vote is just one of several ways that the education committee is making its presence known during school budgetary decisions.

While the Georgetown University Class of 2013 revels in their upcoming graduation with Senior Week, recent employment numbers may put a damper on their celebrations. Frighteningly high unemployment numbers for young college grads from the month of April indicate a need for more federal assistance to students. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has responded with a  reexamination of student loans and debt.

The current job market for college grads is unsurprisingly terrible. The April employment data show that, while unemployment for 18-29 year-olds is officially 11.1 percent, adjusting for young workers who have given up on looking for jobs raises this number to 16.1 percent.

“It is a rough time to be a young person in America,” President of Generation Opportunity Evan Feinberg said. “The effective youth unemployment rate is 16.1 percent, and with about 2 million college students graduating this month, there is no sign of an economic recovery for my generation. Half of all graduating seniors aren’t going to find meaningful work in the coming months.”

The bleak prospects for grads prompted the CFPB to launch a “Request for Information Regarding an Initiative to Promote Student Loan Affordability.” The results of their outreach, released last week, conclude that the biggest stumbling block for students is debt from private loans, which do not provide nearly the same benefits of federally-granted student loans.

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Better than a cup of coffee, the Morning Digest will provide you with what you need to be prepared for the day: a daily round-up of links, local news, and important events on campus and around D.C.

     Today has a good chance of rain with a high of 64. Update, 6:22 pm: There is a 30 percent chance that it is already raining.

To masticate today:

• Michelle Obama book signing: This morning, Michelle Obama will be signing copies of her book “American Grown: The Story of the Whitehouse Garden and Gardens Across America” at Politics and Prose on 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW between 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

What to look out for:

• Breast cancer walk: The Georgetown Lombardi/Capital Breast Care Center team raised more than $145,000 for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in D.C. The 39.3 mile, two-day walk took place on Saturday and Sunday, and, at the closing ceremony on Sunday, Avon presented $250,000 to Capital Breast Care Center.
  
• Capital Bikeshare accused of underpaying workers: The D.C. bike rental service has come under investigation by the U.S. Labor Department now that a former employee alleges that he was underpaid for nearly two years.
• This time, it’s not the British: Former Marine Adam Kokesh is planning a march on Washington. The gun rights advocate has stated that, if enough people attend, he will lead a group of rifle-toting gun rights supporters across Memorial Bridge and into D.C. this 4th of July. Recognizing the illegality of such a venture, Kokesh hopes the police will work with him on a plan to allow the protest to take place.

Better than a cup of coffee, the Morning Digest will provide you with what you need to be prepared for the day: a daily round-up of links, local news, and important events on campus and around D.C.

   Today will be muggy and mostly cloudy, with a high of 64.

To masticate today:

• Isadora in Russia: This weekend, Once Wild: Isadora in Russia is playing in the Davis Performing Arts Center Gonda Theatre. Show times are tonight and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Take a break from studying and head over for some intense drama and Russian dance.
• Tour de embassies: The Around the World Embassy Tour by Passport DC is tomorrow from 10:oo a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Over 42 embassies in D.C. are participating in the event, which will feature numerous cultural performances, in addition to educational talks and exhibits at each embassy.
• To infinity, and beyond: As part of the ongoing effort to preserve and restore the Heyden Observatory, the Observatory will host open houses from noon to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, the Georgetown University Astronomical Society is hosting a stargazing event from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday. You can vote to preserve the Heyden Observatory here.

What to look out for:

• Drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants: Mayor Vincent Gray announced a proposal yesterday afternoon to allow undocumented immigrants the right to use special drivers licences. These licences will in some way look different than the ones used by documented residents.
• School closures and cuts pile up: While many are left scrambling in the wake of school closures and spending cuts, many more are shocked to learn that Mayor Gray has yet to even discuss D.C.’s school closures with Education Committee Chair David Catania in person.

Reported crimes ran the gamut, from four public urinations to the assault of a police officer who was trying to stop a thief in Lau. Most notably, Dahlgren Chapel was vandalized one night. The vandals damaged furniture and knocked Jesus’ hand off a crucifix. There are no known suspects.

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Better than a cup of coffee, the Morning Digest will provide you with what you need to be prepared for the day: a daily round-up of links, local news, and important events on campus and around D.C.

  The weather today is partly cloudy and muggy, with a high of 70.

To masticate today:

• Saxa awards: The 2012-2013 school year will be concluded, in part, by the presentation of Saxa Awards to the year’s notable student leaders, student groups, and individual events. The ceremony starts at 2:00 p.m. at the Alumni House.
• Happy May Day, comrade: As a celebration of May Day, GU Occupy is hosting The Free University: An Anti-Capitalist Forum. The event will feature both Georgetown professors and student activists who will have a discussion on capitalism. The forum is scheduled to be held on Healy Lawn from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., but, in the event of rain, signs in Red Square will direct participants where to go.

What to look out for:

• Cloudy with a chance of locust swarms: The 17-year cicadas have started emerging, and D.C. is one of the projected spawning sites for the buzzing insects.
• It’s never too early to start campaigning: After announcing her candidacy for D.C. mayor a few weeks ago, Muriel Bowser started campaigning in earnest and knocked on people’s doors in three wards. Robert Bobb, meanwhile, may decide to be the second candidate to announce his candidacy.

The 2012-2013 term came to an end on Sunday afternoon, as GUSA held its last meeting for the year. GUSA’s members reflected on the success of Georgetown Day and gave thank yous and fond farewells in anticipation for the three long, lonesome months for which all Georgetown students, but mostly GUSA, will be deprived of GUSA’s presence. In addition, they passed bills concerning group advocacy and ways to further expand sexual assault education.

Georgetown Day was sexy and GUSA knows it

GUSA took particular pride in the great success of Georgetown Day this year, and views it as the proper way to facilitate on-campus event-planning with the administration. 

“Last year we had an anonymous student campaign to make sure that the administration didn’t barricade Healy Lawn, and that went down to the wire, in terms of what rights we would and would not have,” Student Life Committee Chair Ben Weiss (COL ’15) said. “Compare that to this year, when we had a lot of really great administrative-student conversations and deliberations. I think we can look to that as a model going forward on how we can all work together.”

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This issue of the the Voice features the eight 2013 photo contest winners. The winner is “Musical solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers”, by Sarah G. Vázquez (COL ’13).

News covers the student guard laptop ban and some of the guards’ reactions to the prohibition.

Leisure reviews GU Hispanic Theater’s performance of two one-act Cervantes plays, El retablo de las maravillas and La cueva de Salamanca, and reflects on their dark humor.

In Sports, Steven Criss weighs the pros and cons of Georgetown’s move to a new varsity athletics conference, the American Athletic Conference, following the breakup of the Big East.

The Voices section features Christian Lambert reflecting on GU Pride’s annual Genderfunk event and finds that it doesn’t help transgender inclusivity in Georgetown’s gay community.

The Ed Board calls for more acceptance of Georgetown Day realities on the part of the administration.

White House reopens and D.C. adjusts after attacks

The Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent manhunt for suspected brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev created heightened security throughout the Northeast. Police removed the trashcans on Capitol Hill and DPS even upped security on campus. In a move described as “an abundance of caution” the White House was closed, but reopened yesterday.

Closing down the White House to all visitors may have been an over-precaution as a response to a bombing in Boston, but that was not the only attack last week. Letters containing the incredibly deadly toxin ricin were mailed to President Barack Obama and Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

Both letters were successfully stopped by screening procedures, which have been in place since the anthrax attacks on Congress in 2001. The success of these safety measures has Capitol security brimming with confidence. “I have confidence in our procedures, our personnel, the United States Capitol Police response personnel, the strength and weaknesses of field testing and the need for laboratory confirmation,” said head of Senate security Terrance Gainer, according to the Post.

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Sunday afternoon, Internet2, a community of academic, industry, and government leaders who work together to find ways to advance global research and education, is hosting its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Georgetown President Jack DeGioia, along with members of the Jesuit Refugee Service and the World Bank will deliver the meeting’s keynote address.

DeGioia’s address follows a trip taken last year by Georgetown faculty and staff to the Kakuma Refugee Camp, which houses refugees from conflicts in Kenya. The camp is home to over 100,000 refugees, many from Sudan and Somalia, and JRS has been there for months providing aid and protection to the refugees.

Yesterday, Vox interviewed International Director of JRS Peter Balleis S.J., who explained the role technology plays in JRS’s educational programs.

In recent times, however, JRS has been able to provide the refugees with far more than aid materials and physical protection. JRS now has a broad network of educators, who, with the help of modern technology, are able to provide high-level education to the refugees in their camps.

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