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The Lincoln Experience
CALL Campus Since 1920 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2024
THEHOYA.COM
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 105, No. 09, © 2024
SJP Rallies, Urges University To Divest From Companies Selling to Israeli Military
AAMIR JAMIL/THE HOYA
Student protesters called on Georgetown University to divest from companies supporting Israel during a rally Feb. 2.
Maren Fagan and Aamir Jamil
Academics Desk Editor, GUSA Desk Editor
More than a dozen students rallied in front of the Healey Family Student Center (HFSC) during Georgetown University’s Senior Parents and Family Weekend, calling on parents and students to urge the university to divest from companies supporting Israel in the Israel-Hamas war. The Feb. 2 rally coincided with the start of the President’s Reception, an event the Office of the President hosts to welcome families and showcase student groups in the HFSC. Protestors amplified their chants with megaphones in an attempt to make parents and students inside the HFSC hear them until the Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) officers told protestors to stop using the megaphones. Selina Al-Shihabi (SFS ’26), a
protestor and organizer of the rally, said Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student organization that supports Palestine and calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, decided to host the rally outside the HFSC to maximize protestors’ visibility. “We knew that if we did an action during Parents Weekend, not only would it be high impact because there would be a lot of parents and would show the university we’re serious about our demands, it would be impactful to the university because the university cares about its image,” Al-Shihabi told The Hoya. “It would probably make the university more likely to answer our demands.” Al-Shihabi said the conflict was personal for many of the protestors, as they had family members killed in Gaza. “I know people who have lost 40plus family members in Gaza,” AlShihabi said. “Having lost just three See RALLY, A7
AAMIR JAMIL/THE HOYA
The ambassador to the United States from Poland and the first secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine met in Riggs Library to discuss Russian war crimes and the path to holding perpetrators accountable at a Feb.7 event.
Diplomats Discuss Russian War Crimes Aamir Jamil
GUSA Desk Editor
CW: This article references and discusses war crimes against women and children. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.
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he ambassador to the United States from Poland and the first secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine joined experts in international affairs and Georgetown University faculty to commemorate the second anniversary of the Rus-
sia-Ukraine War at an event in Riggs Library on Feb. 7. The Polish embassy partnered with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and Vital Voices Global Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women in leadership, to host the event. Organizers also screened a short documentary titled “TENETA”, showing accounts of Russian war crimes from witnesses and survivors. Melanne Verveer, the former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues and current director of GIWPS, said the two-year-long Russia-Ukraine War has caused
immense death and destruction in violation of international law. “It’s been almost two years now since Russia mounted its full-scale unprovoked assault on Ukraine, and it has brought enormous death and destruction to Ukraine and her people,” Verveer said at the event. “Civilians continue to be directly targeted in violation of international rules of law.” Kateryna Smagliy, the first secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine, said Russia has committed numerous war crimes during the war’s two-year course, including sexual violence and
violence against children. “As we get closer to the second mark of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked attack in our country, mass killings, rapes, torture, filtration camps, illegal detention of civilians and children have become a cruel reality again in the 21st century,” Smagliy said at the event. Ambassador Marek Magierowski of Poland, who discussed the investigation and recording of Russian war crimes by independent organizations, said technology like social media has made it easier to document the atrocities. See DIPLOMATS, A7
Students Commemorate 48th Georgia’s Secretary of State Annual Black History Month Speaks on Election Security Joshua Chilmaid Special to The Hoya
Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state of Georgia, spoke about his experience overseeing presidential elections and his predictions for the future of U.S. politics at a Feb. 7 event. The event, titled “Trust in Elections,” was hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) and featured a moderated discussion about Raffensperger’s work to ensure election accuracy in Georgia. Raffensperger garnered national
attention in the wake of the 2020 election after refusing former President Donald Trump’s orders to overturn Georgia’s election results. Since the 2020 election, Raffensperger has worked to improve election administration, security and access at a time when Republican voters are concerned about the validity of voter counts. Raffensperger said this public mistrust in elections is a threat to American democracy. “Trust is the gold standard of this work,” Raffensperger said at the event. “Accessibility with security, building trust — I think that’s what really pulls our so-
cial fabric back together.” Raffensperger discussed Trump’s requests to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in Georgia. On Jan. 2, 2021, Trump called Raffensperger and asked him to find 11,780 votes to overturn Biden’s win in Georgia. Raffensperger said he knew the call with Trump would be significant within the context of the 2020 election and Biden’s 0.23% margin of victory against Trump. “It wasn’t something I was looking forward to,” Raffensperger said. “Somewhere, the hopeful part of me said, if I See GEORGIA, A7
LAUREN DOHERTY/THE HOYA
Students honor the start of Black History Month, celebrating this year’s accomplishments while looking forward to continued activism and community building.
Madison Fox-Moore Student Life Desk Editor
Georgetown University announced its recognition of the Black community in the honoring of the 48th annual Black History Month Feb. 1. This year, the celebration hinges on student engagement, particularly in celebration of this year’s accomplishments furthered by Black student activists and in the continued push for further advances in inclusion and equity on campus. This year’s celebration includes the recognition of two achievements that the Black Student Alliance (BSA) realized in the past year: the inaugural recognition of Slavery Remembrance Day — a Sept. 10 event that Hoyas Advocating for
Slavery Accountability (HASA), the GU Black Leadership Forum (BLF), BSA and the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) hosted to honor those who endured slavery — and the opening of a Black affinity space, Blaxa Block. The BSA hosted its second annual Family Feud event Feb. 1 and will also host Melanin Milestones, an event celebrating Black seniors at Georgetown Feb. 15 to celebrate Black History Month. GUSA President and BSA Vice President of Operations Jaden Cobb (CAS ’25) said Black History Month at Georgetown presents both the opportunity to engage with Black culture at large and at the university. “Celebrating Black History at Georgetown is not only celebrating
the historical significance of Blackness in American culture but also celebrating Blackness and its microcosms here at Georgetown,” Cobb told The Hoya. Nestory Ngolle (CAS ’26) said Slavery Remembrance Day, which honored the 272 men, women and children whom the Jesuits sold in 1838 to keep the university financially afloat, marked a commitment for the university, as a Jesuit institution, to formally confront its history with slavery. “You always hear about the Catholic Church and slavery, but especially in history classes, that begins to fade,” Ngolle told The Hoya. “But Slavery Remembrance Day See HISTORY, A7
@GUPOLITICS/X
Brad Raffensperger spoke to the Georgetown community about trust in elections and the outcome of presidential contests in an event hosted in Lohrfink Auditorium.
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
Senator Speaks on Trade
Reflections on Research
Bienvenue, La Bonne Vache
The World of NIL
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Hoyas Rising has emerged as the lead Georgetown collective pairing student athletes with third-party vendors. A12/A11
Get on Your Knees
Lax Loses at Loyola
Chris Coons (D-Del.) discussed the evolving relationship between climate change and U.S. trade policy.
Black Poet Voices
Four Black poets gathered to celebrate Black History Month by reading their work and discussing its resonances.
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Assistant Dean Michael Parker calls for a more inclusive approach to undergraduate student research.
Ceasefire in Gaza
Saeed Samra (CAS ’27) says a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is the only humanitarian solution to the mounting death toll.
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Jordan Guzzi (CAS ’26) rates Georgetown’s latest French newcomer highly, recommending the garlic aioli fries.
A Georgetown grad smashes performative purity culture in a new hit comedy special, according to Elizabethe Bogrette (SFS ’26).
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Published Fridays
In the first match of the 2024 season, Georgetown men’s lacrosse disappointed against Loyola Maryland in an 18-10 loss.
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