Archive for the “Vox Populi” Category

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Vanya may have trouble with doors, but you should see what she can do with Microsoft Windows.

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Tim can be found tearfully singing “My Heart Will Go On” and clinging to the Healy statue after graduation.

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Tax Forms and CalculatorWhile 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.

yellow smiley sun with sunglasses  7 cmToday will be sunny with a high of 85.

To masticate today:

  • 2013 Commencement speakers: The speakers  for the 2013 commencement ceremonies have been announced. This year, the lineup includes Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė for the SFS, Democratic Senator Matthew Cowan from Massachusetts for the MSB, Dr. Lisa Simpson, CEO of AcademyHealth, for the NHS, and  Lisa Shannon, founder of Run for Congo Women and the Thousand Sisters Campaign, for the College. 

What to look out for:

  • D.C. Schools: Today, the first arguments will be heard in federal court against the closure of 15 schools in the District. The plaintiffs, organized by advocacy group Empower DC, claim that the closures “disproportionately affect poor and minority children and therefore violate a number of civil rights laws.”
  • Glover Park-Burleith Farmer’s Market: The Glover Park-Burleith Farmer’s Market will be re-opening for the summer tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. Hardy Middle School on 34 St. and Wisconsin Ave.
  • EU Open House: Every year in May, the European Union embassies open their doors to the public. This Saturday, 27 member countries will be open to visits  from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. See if your Maps knowledge is still fresh, and make sure to check out soon-to-be member state Croatia.

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Giving credit where it's dueIn characteristically late fashion, the University announced today who will be giving Georgetown’s 2013 commencement addresses. Each school has a separate speaker and the list includes several scholars, journalists, high-ranking government officials, and a sitting head of state.

The School of Foreign Service’s commencement speaker will be President Dalia Grybauskaitė of Lithuania. She was inaugurated as the first female president of the Balkan Baltic state in 2009. She’s known as the “Iron Lady” (of Lithuania) and is credited with pulling the country out of its economic crisis after 2008, doing so without taking financial aid from the International Monetary Fund. “I never really had this goal—to become president,” she said. “I saw Lithuania sliding deeply into crisis, and I wanted to help the government get our country out of those troubles.” She also holds a black belt in karate.

The School of Nursing and Health Studies gets Dr. Lisa Simpson (not to be confused with the Simpson’s television character), the president and CEO of AcademyHealth, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institution dedicated to advancing the field of health services research. According to her bio page, “Dr. Simpson has worked to raise the visibility of the field of health services research and its contributions to improving the quality, value and accessibility of care, reducing disparities, and improving health.” (All Vox got from that was that she likes health.)

The commencement speaker for the McDonough School of Business will be Senator William Cowan, Democrat from Massachusetts. He was appointed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to fill the seat that John Kerry vacated when he became secretary of state. A prominent lawyer in Massachusetts, he served as Patrick’s chief legal counsel for two years from January 2011 to November 2012.

Finally, Georgetown College’s speaker will be Lisa Shannon, the founder of Run for Congo Women and the Thousand Sisters Campaign. According to her bio page, she was the “first national grassroots activist in the United States working to raise awareness of the forgotten humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Run for Congo Women has sponsored over 1,400 war-affected women from the Congo and raised over $12 million.

Needless to say, this year’s crop of graduation speakers is bound to be less controversial than last year’s affair.

See the rest of the commencement speakers after the jump.

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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 will have scattered clouds with a chance of rain, with a high of 75.

To masticate today:

  • OCAF, Student Housing do the bureaucracy shuffle: Yesterday, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson and Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey announced that OCAF and Student Housing would be moving to the Division of Student Affairs effective July 1, 2013, among other office changes. 
  • Question Time: Jim Coury (SFS ’15) has advanced to the semifinals in the College Championship of the show Jeopardy. Tune in on May 15 to watch the semifinal round.
  • May Madness: Point guard Tre Campbell confirmed that he has committed to play basketball for Georgetown, last night via Twitter . He joins power forward Isaac Copeland as part of the incoming class.

What to look out for:

  • Going to get law schooled: Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed two separate cases against Metro Transit officers. The teenagers represented in the cases allege that Metro Transit officers assaulted them, then invented charges in order to justify the arrests.
  • Bus-spotting: Several changes to the D.C. Circulator have been proposed this week. Under the new plan, put forth by  Councilwoman Mary C. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Circulator fares could double, from the current fare of $1. The revenue from the increased fare would go towards expanding Circulator routes, including the Georgetown-Rosslyn and Georgetown-Union Station loops. Of course, if public transport is just too plebeian for you, D.C.’s cabs will be taking credit cards by the end of August, so buckle up.

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9 a.m. Thursday Dec. 12 Healy HallThis afternoon, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson and Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey released a memo announcing pending changes in the structure of the Office of University Facilities and Student Housing, which includes the Office of Campus Activity Facilities and Student Housing.

As of July 1, 2013, OCAF and Student Housing will become part of the Division of Student Affairs. Housing and the Office of Residence Life will consolidate into one office, headed by Stephanie Lynch, Director of Residence Life since 2003. OCAF will move to Student Affairs as part of Student Engagement, and will be led by Assistant Dean Erika Cohen-Derr.

The entire Office of University Facilities and Student Housing will change to become Planning and Facilities Management. Jonalyn Ware Greene, who currently heads the Office, will transition to lead Financial Management and Business Operations for the new office.  The role of Planning and Facilities Management is to ”focus on master planning, facility infrastructure improvements and work order management implementation to facilitate service improvements,” according to the memo. These changes will not affect summer or fall housing, late stay, or activity space scheduling.

The memo, titled “Strategic Changes to Support a Vibrant Living and Learning Community,” explained that these changes came after consultation with students and faculty and took comments and questions from the Hoya Roundtables over the past two years into consideration. “We are making significant investments to bring more students on campus, and to engage students, faculty, and staff in the life of our campus, inside the classroom, in residence halls, and in the many co-curricular opportunities offered,” the memo said. ”This change comes at an exciting time and provides us the capacity to ensure students experience a premiere residential environment that supports an engaged campus community.”

Photo: Tiffany Lachhonna/Georgetown Voice

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Update, Tuesday, 6:00 pm: “It appears that the vehicle was left in neutral and simply rolled out of its space,” DPS Chief Jay Gruber said. “The vehicle was unoccupied when the accident occurred. There was nobody driving it. There was no foul play. It wasn’t intentional. At this point in time, we don’t anticipate anybody getting any tickets or anything like that.”

The crash ended up damaging University property in the accident. “It’ll be referred to our office of risk management, which does all our insurance claims to work it out with the car insurance company,” Gruber said.

Gruber did not have information at hand to say whose car it was.

Original post: At approximately 11 p.m. tonight, a car crash was reported in the parking lot behind Wisey’s. It appeared that there were no injuries, and Wisey’s continued to operate as usual until closing time. A tow truck was called to the scene, but the car remains firmly lodged in the fence.

Both DPS and MPD were present at the scene, but DPS and Wisey’s staff declined to comment.  Vox will keep you posted with updates as the story develops.

Reporting by Ryan Greene

Photo: Joshua Raftis/Georgetown Voice

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Kirill Makarenko

Kirill, don’t be jealous of our Jedi mind tricks. That leads to hate…then suffering…then yeah.

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We’ve been there, Kendall. Try to see how sexy rice cakes are when they don’t look like brains.

 

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SEIU localThis past weekend, Georgetown’s adjunct professors voted in favor of forming a union with the local branch of Service Employees International Union, SEIU Local 500.

The election was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. 311 of the 650 eligible voting members participated in the election, and 72 percent voted in favor of forming a collective bargaining unit. Georgetown joins American University and George Washington as part of a larger SEIU initiative to unionize the part-time professors in the District.

This vote comes after an extended campaign, launched in Oct. 2012. Provost Robert Groves wrote to the faculty about the unionization process, citing the Just Employment Policy as an important aspect of Georgetown’s partnership with its workers. As per the policy, “all working members [at Georgetown] have the right to freely associate and organize, and that the University will respect the rights of employees to vote for or against union representation without intimidation, unjust pressure, undue delay or hindrance in accordance with applicable law.”

After the election, there is a seven-day period for objections to be filed, and the results cannot be certified until any objections are resolved. Once the results are certified, SEIU Local 500 will represent part-time, non-tenure line faculty on the Main Campus. Neither faculty of the the Law Center campus nor the Medical Center, which includes the NHS in this case, will take part of the union at this time.

David Rodich, Executive Director of SEIU Local 500, spoke favorably of Georgetown’s administrators. “This was a respectful process between the union and Georgetown University,” he said. “The administration made a point of putting their social teaching into practice … I hope that other institutions will look at how Georgetown put its just employment policy into practice and that they will view this as a model for how universities should handle organizing campaigns.”

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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.

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