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Since 1920 FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2026
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Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 107, No. 16, © 2026
Falling to18th in Ranking, GU Law Center Students Praise Academic Culture Chloe Taft and Ethan Herweck
Graduate Desk Editor and City Desk Editor
Georgetown University Law Center dropped out of this year’s list of the top 14 (T14) law schools in a prominent annual ranking published April 7. Georgetown Law dropped from 14th to 18th place in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings of law schools, the first time in recent years it has ranked outside the T14, a designation that refers to the most prestigious U.S. law schools. After the rank drop, law students criticized the ranking’s methodology and reaffirmed the Law Center’s academic standing. Aryaman Sharma (LAW ’27), who applied to Georgetown Law through the early assurance program during his junior year as a Georgetown undergraduate, said he thinks the Law Center will not lose prestige despite this year’s ranking.
“I think Georgetown will be stable,” Sharma told The Hoya. “When it comes to clerkships, when it comes to firms, when it comes to whatever, Georgetown is consistently always in the mix of one of the top schools to send individuals everywhere.” U.S. News & World Report has ranked Georgetown Law in the top 15 every year since the survey began in 1990. According to U.S. News, the Law Center ranks first among peer institutions in part-time law and clinical training, which are hands-on workshops that allow students to practice law before graduation and also scores highly in international law, tax law and healthcare law. A spokesperson for the Law Center declined to comment. Eyram Gbeddy (LAW ’27) — president of the Law Center’s Student Bar Association (SBA), the center’s student government — said Georgetown See RANKING, A7
THE HOYA FILE PHOTOS
Georgetown University Law Center fell from 14th to 18th in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings released April 7.
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) students and faculty are denouncing the Iran War and praising GU-Q’s assistance to international students in leaving the country and providing a pass/fail option.
GU-Q Students, Faculty Denounce Iran War Noah De Haan
Campus Life Desk Editor
Following the campus’s move to remote learning, Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) students and faculty are criticizing the Iran war while applauding the university’s response. After threats from Iran to target U.S. universities in the region, GU-Q first moved online in early March and later announced April 1 that campus operations would remain remote for the remainder of the Spring 2026 semester. GU-Q has also assisted international students in leaving the country
and provided students with a pass/fail option in their courses. Rima Isaifan, a science adjunct lecturer at GU-Q, said higher education can adapt and continue educating students despite challenges such as remote operations. “I think this moment underscores the importance of flexibility and preparedness in higher education,” Isaifan wrote to The Hoya. “It highlights that while delivery modes may shift, the core mission, supporting student learning and development, remains constant. It also offers an opportunity to reflect on how
institutions can build more resilient and inclusive models of education in the future.” The United States and Israel initially launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, leading Iran to launch retaliatory strikes on Qatar and other U.S. allies in the region. On March 29, Iran threatened to strike U.S. universities in the region following strikes on Iranian universities. The threatened strikes never occurred, and on April 7, the United States and Iran reached a temporary ceasefire. Yasmin Ahmed (SFS-Q ’28), vice president of GU-Q’s student government association (SGA), said
the student community appreciated the quick responses and measures taken by the university. “I’d like to stress how amazing the administration has been,” Ahmed told The Hoya. “GU-Q and GU, the amount of support that we have had during this time, I genuinely didn’t even know was capable. A lot of us were thinking, ‘I don’t know how they even managed to organize all these departures. I don’t know how they managed to pass/fail.’ At every announcement we’ve had, we’ve genuinely been amazed at and grateful for the See QATAR, A7
GU Student Named Goldwater Dining Hall Cited for Food Safety Scholar for Disease Research Violations in DC Health Report Jacqueline Gordon Academics Desk Editor
A Georgetown University junior and neurodegenerative disease researcher won the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious annual grant for research-based careers, the university announced April 2. Ishaan Sharma (SOH ’27), who has studied neurodegenerative diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since his first year at Georgetown, received the $7,500 award to cover academic expenses and professional networking opportunities. The Goldwater Scholarship, founded in 1986, rewards sophomores and juniors who will pursue research in engineering, mathematics and the natural sciences. Sharma is Georgetown’s 51st Goldwater Scholar. Sharma, who will join this year’s cohort of 453 other scholars, said previous scholars’ work inspired him to apply. “These are the guys on the front lines, they’re running active clinical trials, they’re advising the president, they’re really on the forefront of most of the major advances we have,” Sharma told The Hoya. “It’s a really important community to be part of and being able to actually meet these people and learn from them, and you’re assigned a mentor — that’s important for me, because you can’t do things on your own.” At the NIH, Sharma investigates how spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), a rare
neurodegenerative disease, develops and degenerates by examining and marking tissue samples, aiming to help identify a treatment. At the Georgetown Pak Lab, Sharma researches memory formation and preservation, as well as memory disorders and loss. Sharma said he hopes his current research on neurodegenerative diseases will fill a gap in current treatment pathways. “We have treatments for infectious diseases, we have treatments for cancer, we have treatments for all sorts of other types of diseases, but we haven’t made significant advances in the neurosciences, and, especially with our aging population, that’s going to be a significant industry in the next couple of years,” Sharma said. “So that’s what drew me to it,” Sharma added. “I’ve always been surrounded by scientists my whole life, so I recognized the need early on, and that’s what interested me in the field, that we have a lot of people working on it, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, and someone needs to do it.” Christopher Grunseich, an NIH investigator who works with Sharma, said he has enjoyed mentoring Sharma. “Ishaan has been very much a quick study and picking up a lot of the techniques, so we’ve been working together in interpreting and understanding the significance of the findings that he’s been characterizing
in the lab,” Grunseich told The Hoya. “We’ve been brainstorming different next steps to take, so we’ve been working together to come up with a plan for how we’re going to systematically characterize a number of these protein targets and the tissues.” Sharma said his novel approach to research is a credit to the variety of research experiences he’s had. “What’s unique about the opportunity that I was very fortunately given was that at Georgetown, I get into the nitty gritty details — very narrowminded looking at why things happen — but then, at the NIH, I get to look at a more holistic perspective,” Sharma said. “I work with patients, so we get to see the actual people that we’re studying, and I also had a chance to work at Emory and Baylor College of Medicine, so it hasn’t just been Georgetown and the NIH; I’ve seen multiple perspectives.” Daniel Pak, professor of pharmacology and physiology and the Pak Lab’s principal investigator, said Sharma’s initiative in the lab will aid him in future research. “I think he’s going to do really amazing things in the future,” Pak told The Hoya. “He is probably one of the most ambitious students I’ve had, because he’s never really satisfied, he always wants to do more and also one of the most persevering students as well because he was trying to do something
Annie Quimby Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown University’s primary dining hall was cited for 14 health code violations in a Washington, D.C. food establishment health inspection report reviewed by The Hoya. The February citations include improper food storage, cross-contamination and sanitization issues, lack of hot water and unapproved sushi rice preparation. According to the report, the inspection followed the filing of a complaint with the Washington, D.C. Department of Health, which oversees food safety. A university spokesperson said the violations in the latest inspection were corrected as instructed by the Department of Health, and Georgetown considers food safety a top priority. “Hoya Hospitality, which is managed by Aramark, has rigorous cleaning protocols as part of its daily operations,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “While issues are occasionally present at specific stations, we have not seen any system-wide concerns. All items listed in initial city inspection reports have been corrected, either on the spot or promptly thereafter.” “Our food safety measures include a food safety orientation before associates start work, ongoing manager and associate food safety training, and job-specific training to continually reinforce safe
MATTHEW GASSOSO/THE HOYA
The D.C. Department of Health cited Georgetown University’s Leo See LEO’S, A7 O’Donovan Hall for 14 health code violations in a February report.
See GOLDWATER, A7
NEWS
OPINION
GUIDE
SPORTS
GU Childcare Center Raises Tuition
Reform Course Registration Process
Thundercat Far From ‘Distracted’
A Lacrosse Brotherhood
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Previously limited to Georgetown affiliates, the Hoya Kids Learning Center opened to outside applicants and raised its rates.
The Editorial Board advocates for Georgetown to upgrade its course registration system and to streamline student experiences.
Thundercat explores loss and irony through psychedelic, jazz-infused funk on new album “Distracted,” Juan Almanza (CAS ’29) writes.
Liam and Rory Connor, two brothers on the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team, are a dominant force for a nationally-ranked team.
GU Honors Long-Serving Faculty
Reshape GU’s Iran Conversation
A ‘Pretty Lethal’ Watch
Women’s Lacrosse Trounces Xavier
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Georgetown honored faculty who have served the university community for more than 20 years with vicennial medals.
Noor Afshar (SFS ’27) argues that Georgetown must pay greater attention to Iranian politics, culture and history amid the ongoing war.
“Pretty Lethal” has an interesting premise but lacks emotional depth and fails to keep viewers engaged, writes Valentina Zamudio (SFS ’28).
Published Fridays
The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team dominated Xavier University, beating them 19-1 in their third consecutive Big East win.
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