Listening to conservative talk radio came in handy today when I found newly-former Georgetown professor Doug Feith on the Dennis Prager Show. Apparently, Feith isn’t too happy that his contract wasn’t renewed, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

The real fun came, though, when Feith talked about a talk he had with Provost James O’Donnell around the end of his time at Georgetown. Feith told O’Donnell that he thought discussion about his renewal should consider that he was the only faculty member with his viewpoints (i.e., armed intervention in the Middle East).

Rather than mentioning this guy, or that applying Feith’s recruiting theories would mean hiring a Pastafarian to teach theology, O’Donnell instead said, “I always consider it peculiar when conservatives talk about diversity of thought.” That provost is outspoken!

Much radio harumphing ensued, including host Dennis Prager wishing he had bought an ad in The Hoya for a petition supporting Feith.

Speaking of petitions, Feith complained that New York Times never reported on a counter-petition students circulated arguing for his renewal. Considering that the petition’s signatories included such doubtlessly genuine people as Feith & Crimes Against Humanity, Fire Feith Fast (3 times), and Moqtada Al-Sadr (Hawsa wa Qum ‘11), it was probably too hot a potato for the Gray Lady to handle.

Update: Provost O’Donnell says “no comment” via email. Fee Feith fo fum.

Someday all this will be yours, my son

It’s Aaron Golds, class of 2011. He’s the first known candidate now for the student spot on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (and the choice housing that entails), according to an email from outgoing commissioner Jenna Lowenstein, who watched interested students drop out of contact with her until only Golds was left.

Golds didn’t respond to my email, but he did leave his Facebook open to anyone on the Georgetown network, so we can find out some things about the boy who would be commissioner.

With only 39 friends on the Georgetown network, can he stand against a better-networked challenger? He’s also a College Democrat, so if he wins the 3 most recent commissioners will be Dems.

At least one more challenger needs to step forward so Georgetown will have an election dust-up. Surely more than one student wants to spend their Tuesday nights ruling on construction permits.

ANC picture from the Voice’s Flickr account

I’ll be honest: I’ve never really understood what the job of provost entails. I know it’s a vaguely important position, a step below President and outranking all the various Vice Presidents and Deans. Beyond that, I’m clueless.

So when I saw that Georgetown provost James O’Donnell had penned a commentary piece intriguingly entitled “What a Provost Knows and Can’t Tell” for The Chronicle of Higher Education,  I was expecting a little insight. Unfortunately, the article is more self-aggrandizing than enlightening.

O’Donnell was once your average cerebral, antisocial academic. Then someone went and made him Provost and apparently two things happened: he had to start being nice to people and he became damn-near omniscent. From the mundane (problematic ceiling tiles in the dining hall, drafty windows in classrooms) to the scandalous (whatever academics find scandalous), he knows it all. The provost also knows a lot of Georgetown’s financial details, so he’s probably battling depression.

You might think knowing all the secrets is nice, but omniscience isn’t easy:

“That’s the burden of the job: knowing all the things that others don’t know or would rather not know. Much that I know I can’t talk about, and I have had to get used to being the object of (usually) undeserved suspicion. Because I know so much, my actions are not fully intelligible to those who observe them.”

A provost, like God, works in mysterious ways. So mysterious, in fact, that I’m not clear what he does.

Meet Jennifer Chau (above), incoming Georgetown freshman and slighted salutatorian.  Chau caused a stir at her New Jersey high school graduation when she ditched her approved speech and publicly accused school administrators of favoritism in selecting the valedictorian.

Apparently, Chau didn’t get top honors because of a dispute over credit for a freshman honors class. More suspiciously, the girl who was ultimately named valedictorian is the daughter of a member of the Board of Education. Chau must think this had something to do with her 2nd place finish, as she mentions school board connections in her speech.

Chau was cut off and booted out after she started to complain about her treatment:”I know this is a community that values education.  That is why you need to know what is really going on behind the walls of Mainland’s administrat-”.

Her high school classmates have shown their support by creating a Facebook group, “LET HER FINISH,” where you can read the full speech.

The speech is both self-indulgent and interesting. Sounds like a great fit for Georgetown.

Picture via PressofAtlanticCity.com 

Washington is updating its zoning laws next year. Since these laws affect everyone in DC, working groups that anyone can attend are being held now to make recommendations on the revisions. While other groups have produced policy recommendations from the clash and collaboration of different groups, the interests of students are being completely ignored on the zoning rules that affect them most.

This is because the Campus/Institutional Working Group is being held in July. Holding the meetings in July, when most students are out of Washington and university employees are more likely to be on vacation, is like holding a working group on Memorial Day or the July 4th weekend and expecting full attendance.

Why the Office of Planning would hold the meetings in July when other working groups meet during school months is unclear, because Steve Varga, the Office of Planning employee who sent out the working group schedule, never responded to requests for comment.

Linda Greenan, Georgetown’s Associate Vice President for External Relations, said in an email that Georgetown will have some administrators attending the meetings. These employees, however, will be a poor representative for student interests.

Students learned from Todd Olson’s alcohol policy to be wary of rules enacted during the summer. The Office of Planning should be embarrassed by this similarly shadowy process, which, deliberately or not, cuts out the group most affected by new university zoning rules.

Good news for those Georgetown students who want to rock a pair of shiny gold lamé leggings: American Apparel is opening a new store on M Street.

Best known for T-shirts and hoodies – as well as their opinions on immigration – American Apparel also offers a wide array comfy pants, dresses and sweaters that fit perfectly into any hipster’s wardrobe. As of now, they’ve only given us a tantalizing “Coming Soon” sign in the window, but you should prepare for more Hoyas going skintight when the store opens at 3025 M.

Temperatures in the past few days have been hovering around 100, and it’s a sweaty, aggravating walk to the Yates pool. After all, who really wants to trek up that hill and through those locker rooms only to swim laps indoors? That’s why now is the perfect time to turn to the Volta Park swimming pool.

Located on 33^rd and Q, just a short walk from the university, the pool is small and sociable. It attracts students and Georgetown residents alike looking for a way to escape the heat. Although it can get crowded, it’s a sweet little gem that still feels like a hidden oasis, whisking you away from the hustle of the city and the routine of the campus field house.

If you could once play “Ode to Joy” on the piano like your life depended on it, but your skills have fallen into disrepair since your parents let you quit weekly lessons, the Program for Performing Arts might have something for you.

They’re selling pianos that have only seen a year of use at a discount sale this Sunday. One clue that the instruments still might not be quite in your price range: the email didn’t include any actual numbers. If you’re still interested, though, here’s the info:

Dear Friends,

For the past academic year, Georgetown University has had the benefit of using new Yamaha pianos through an ongoing arrangement with Yamaha Corporation and their local representative, Piano Place, Inc. The university receives new pianos each academic year which then become available for purchase. This arrangement is an answer to our age-old problem of having old pianos in constant need of repair or replacement, but we need your assistance to perpetuate the program.

This weekend, all pianos used in this program at Georgetown will be offered to alumni, faculty, staff and students at reduced prices before being offered to the general public. These pianos have been professionally maintained and will carry a 10-year factory warranty. Used Steinways and other pianos of distinction will also be available. The selection includes grand, baby grand, upright and digital pianos. Sales, service, financing and delivery will be provided by The Piano Place, Inc.

A successful selling event will help Georgetown University and the Performing Arts Department continue to receive new pianos for our students’ use. This letter is to inform you of the opportunity to purchase one of these pianos at a fraction of the manufacturer’s retail price.

All pianos used in this program will be offered to alumni, faculty, staff and students at reduced prices before being sold to the general public.

You may select an instrument by calling the piano information line below and making a private appointment for Thursday, Friday or Saturday, June 5-8. This assures you the best selection and pricing in advance of the public sale.

Please call (202) 687-1583 to make an appointment for Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

Public Sale: Sunday, June 8; Noon to 5 p.m.

Thank you in advance for your participation and support.

Sincerely,

Anna H. Celenza, Ph.D
Thomas E. Caestecker Chair in Music

As to how you’ll fit your previously-loved piano in a dorm room, you’re on your own.

-Anna Bank, Editor-in-Chief. Heads-up from former editor-in-chief Mike Stewart.

Student Affairs VP Todd Olson announced in a broadcast email this week that the long-promised LGBTQ Resource Center — one of GU Pride’s major demands throughout their yearlong conversation with the administration — has someone lined up to fill the director position. Her name is Sivagami Subbaraman, and she certainly sounds qualified for the job; she’s currently the Associate Director of the University of Maryland’s Office of LGBT Equity.

I’m a little surprised, though, that current Director of LBGTQ Community Resources Bill McCoy wasn’t tapped for the top job. McCoy is also the Associate Director of Student Programs, though, and perhaps he (or another admin) wanted him to stick with that rather than running the new center. Either way, choosing a director is a commendable concrete step forward for a process that’s been characterized by drawn-out working group negotiations and back-and-forth bureaucracy.

If you’re attending Georgetown’s 209th commencement exercises this weekend, you’re there to see your friends get their diplomas, not to listen to the speeches. But there will still be speakers, and while you’re sitting on Healy Lawn wishing you had remembered your sunglasses, you might as well listen to what they have to say. Or should you? That depends on which school’s graduation it is.

Georgetown College - Wendy S. Kopp, Teach for America Founder and CEO - I’m sure she’s a smart/interesting person, but this seems a little too much like pandering. 10% of Georgetown’s senior class applied to TFA, so there’ll probably be some congratulatory, everybody’s a winner, you guys are going to change the world blather in this speech. I think the ideal graduation speaker is someone super-accomplished who makes you want to go on to do something big, not someone who makes you feel big already (Saturday at noon.)

School of Foreign Service - H.H. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al Missned, Qatar Foundation Chairperson - The SFS is obsessed with all things Qatari, for reasons I still don’t quite understand. Hopefully this speech will shed some light on that (Saturday at 6 p.m.)

McDonough School of Business - Carlos M. Gutierrez, United States Secretary of Commerce - This guy is a very big deal. He’s on TV during the state of the Union, and as the go-to econ guy in the Bush cabinet, probably partially responsible for running our nation’s economy into the ground. Maybe an MSB grad who failed to net a sweet i-banking job because of the recession will egg him or something scandalous like that. But I doubt it (Saturday at 9 a.m.)

School of Nursing and Health Studies - Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Health care research is a personal favorite, but it’s not really the stuff of “ask not what your country can do for you” speeches. (Before you say anything, I know, that was an inauguration, not a graduation, but you know what I mean.) This speech will be interesting, but expect people, especially grad’s younger sibs, to get restless by the middle (Saturday at 3 p.m.)

School of Medicine - Ambassador Mark Dybul, United States Global AIDS Coordinator - see: NHS, but AIDS is quite a bit trendier, so the audience will probably stay with him until the end (Sunday at 11:15 a.m.)

Law Center - Joel I. Klein, New York City Public Schools Chancellor - Big ups to Klein for being the only speaker whose name I recognized sans title. I’m still not sure how I feel about that whole “banning cell phones in schools” policy, but he certainly subscribes to the Great Man theory of reforming public education, and I’m sure he’ll give a compelling talk that’s even worth hauling yourself down to the law school for (Sunday at 2 p.m.)

Photo from Flickr user Il Primo Umo used under a Creative Commons license.