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Basketball Issue
Live Music Ban Since 1920 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2024
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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 106, No. 5, © 2024
Hundreds of GU Students Join Thousands at National MallRallyforKamalaHarris Ruth Abramovitz, Patrick Clapsaddle and Nora Toscano
GUSA Desk Editor, Chief Copy Editor and Academics Desk Editor
Hundreds of Georgetown University students attended a rally at the National Mall to hear Vice President Kamala Harris deliver the closing remarks for her presidential campaign Oct. 29. During the rally, Harris focused her speech on drawing a contrast between herself and former President Trump, saying the country needs to move past disunity and polarization. “The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised, a nation big enough to encompass all our dreams, strong enough to withstand any fracture or fissure between us and fearless enough to imagine a future of possibilities,” Harris said at the rally. “Let us fight for this beautiful country we love.” The rally comes as the election
season nears its end and Harris seeks to make a final appeal to voters in her bid for president. Harris took the stage at the Ellipse, with crowds reaching as far back as the Washington Monument and an illuminated White House as her backdrop. By 7:20 p.m., Harris stood in front of a crowd of as many as 75,000, addressing a variety of her policy positions, including restoring reproductive rights and lowering costs for workers. “I believe in the fundamental freedom of Americans to make decisions about their own bodies and not have their government tell them what to do,” Harris said. “I will fight to restore what Donald Trump and his hand-selected Supreme Court justices took away from the women of America.” Noah Vinogradov (SFS ’25), who attended the rally, said Harris’s comments on striving toward the founding See HARRIS, A7
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC) and Georgetown University reached a tentative agreement on two articles related to health, safety and emergencies after their fourth round of negotiations Oct. 30.
GRAC, GU Finish Fourth Bargaining Session Aamir Jamil and Maren Fagan Senior News Editors
COURTESY OF BRAEDON TROY
Hundreds of Georgetown University students attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally at the National Mall Oct. 29.
The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC), the organization that represents Georgetown University resident assistants (RAs) in collective bargaining negotiations, finished two rounds of negotiations with university officials Oct. 21 and Oct. 30. GRAC and the university tentatively agreed on two additional articles regarding health and safety and emergency and natural disasters, while
continuing to negotiate the length of training, job descriptions and placement. These negotiations represented the third and fourth meetings between GRAC and the university, following the RAs’ formal vote to unionize April 16, accepting representation from Local 153 of the Office of Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). With the completion of four bargaining rounds, RAs and the university have tentatively agreed on nine of their proposed contract’s 22 total articles while discussing, but not agreeing to an additional three.
Sam Lovell (CAS ’25), an RA in Copley Hall and the interim chairperson of GRAC, said negotiations in this bargaining session were particularly productive in exchanging language. “This meeting, in particular, was really productive in the sense that the university and the union engaged in an iterative process where we handed back and forth language a couple of times on counter proposals,” Lovell told The Hoya. Izzy Wagener (SFS ’26), an RA in Kennedy Hall and the interim vice chairperson of GRAC, said GRAC has seen continued
progress in negotiations. “I think it seems like the university does seem open to actually making some real progress on the articles, and I know that was something we were concerned about going into it,” Wagener told The Hoya. “I think we have been making steady progress, so that’s good to see.” A tentatively agreed article titled “Health and Safety” provides specific provisions to protect RAs, including forbidding Residential Living employees from asking RAs to clean public See GRAC, A7
EDITORIAL
Vote Henshaw/Wagner Nov. 5, Demand Better from GUSA ACMCU/YOUTUBE
UN independent expert Francesca Albanese who focuses on human rights in Palestine asserted that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza at an Oct. 28 Gaza Lecture Series Event.
At GU, UN Independent Expert Accuses Israel of Genocide Nora Toscano
Academics Desk Editor
A United Nations independent expert on human rights in Palestine asserted that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and emphasized the international community’s moral obligations towards the ongoing conflict in the Middle East during a talk at Georgetown University Oct. 28. Francesca Albanese, the expert, is an Italian international lawyer who serves as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and works independently of the U.N. to examine and report on human rights issues. On Oct. 1, the U.N. published a report by Albanese on conflict in the region that concluded Israel has committed
genocide and ethnic cleansing in an attempt to colonize Palestine; in her talk, titled “Anatomy of Genocide in Gaza” and part of the university’s Gaza Lecture Series, Albanese discussed the report and the wider context of war in the region. “I concluded in March this year with others — and there are Israeli scholars, experts of genocide — together with leading genocide scholars, that what Israel has done amounts to acts of genocide,” Albanese said at the event. “It’s established as Article II of the Genocide Convention, which says this is very specific to this crime, that in order to have genocide, this crime should be committed with the intent to destroy,” Albanese added. Albanese’s report also concluded
that the violence in Gaza “is not happening in a vacuum, but is part of a long-term intentional, systematic, State-organized forced displacement and replacement of the Palestinians.” It also recommends that member states of the U.N. intervene in the conflict. “Investigations can be launched by domestic courts,” Albanese said at the event. “And then there is the responsibility of the state that can only be investigated by the International Court of Justice.” During the event, Albanese also said Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel constituted crimes in international law. “There is no way to say that what See ALBANESE, A7
@ETHANDARIUS4GUSA/INSTAGRAM
The Editorial Board reluctantly endorses the Henshaw/Wagner ticket, expressing disappointment with their lack of concrete plans.
To Georgetown University’s student body, exhausted by or indifferent to the prospect of yet another Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) executive election that seems to prioritize ideological standing over pragmatic change, we have bad news. After careful consideration, The Hoya’s Editorial Board reluctantly endorses the Ethan Henshaw (CAS ’26)/Darius Wagner (CAS ’27) ticket for GUSA executive office. While their policy platform is laden with ideas, it lacks pragmatism and will be difficult at best to implement; still, the candidates’ proven track record and deep understanding of GUSA operations make them the stronger choice. The Henshaw/Wagner policy platform is expansive. The 11-page document proposes a large number of far-reaching goals: abolishing legacy admissions, launching a “campaign to normalize and regularize conversations around inclusivity and accessibility,” removing programs that send new transfer students to the Capitol Campus and increasing the frequency of Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) services. “What we see is a platform where we are able to be strong advocates and where we know the work that goes into accomplishing many of these goals,” Wagner told The Hoya. Those goals — if you ask the ticket — are the result of their See ENDORSEMENT, A7
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
BellRinger
Cut GUSA’s Grip On Media
Rooting for the Anti-Hero
Basketball Previews
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The third annual BellRinger bike ride raises more than $1.5 million for the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center,
The Editorial Board calls for GUSA to relinquish its financial control over the Media Board and student media funding.
Though it lacks the same heart as previous installments, “Venom: The Last Dance” still won over Jasmine Criqui (CAS ’26).
With coaches Ed Cooley and Darnell Haney entering their second seasons, Georgetown basketball looks to improve.
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The Fairytales We Tell
‘Pachinko’
Player Spotlight
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The D.C. pizza chain sparked outrage and protests with a dessert mocking the late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry’s drug use.
Dylan Goral (CAS ’28) critiques society’s perpetuation of toxic masculinity and calls for normalizing men’s mental health.
The second season of the drama portrays both sweeping scale and intimate details beautifully, says Grace Ko (CAS ’27).
Published Fridays
Sophomore guard Malik Mack discusses his transfer from Harvard, hometown return and vision for the Hoyas’ basketball revival.
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