The Hoya: February 13, 2026

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026

Federal Pressure

In 2025, GU Nearly Doubled Government Lobbying Amid Increased

Ajani Stella and Opal

Kendall

Senior News Editor and Senior Features Editor

Georgetown University nearly doubled its lobbying expenditures in 2025 amid a congressional hearing and cuts to federal programs, according to data reviewed by The Hoya

Georgetown spent $380,000 lobbying the federal government last year, the most since 2007 and a 90% increase from 2024. The increase mirrors similar moves across higher education institutions in response to the Trump administration’s education policy changes. In mandated federal disclosures, lobbying firms cited issues related to Interim University President Robert M. Groves’ July testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, a university-administered international education program and other federal appropriations.

Thomas Holyoke, a political science professor at California State University, Fresno, who researches lobbying trends, said Georgetown’s

spending reflects universities’ efforts to protect their priorities amid funding losses and threats to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

“There’s a long tradition of this proactive lobbying, but the Trump administration has put universities in the position of doing a lot of defensive lobbying — lobbying to maintain what they have and to resist pressure from the administration for major structural changes,” Holyoke told The Hoya

“The gap between 2024 and 2025 is really quite extraordinary,” Holyoke added.

A university spokesperson declined to comment.

Between April and December, Georgetown paid law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer $90,000 for issues related to Groves’ July testimony before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where he was questioned on the university’s policies for handling antisemitism.

See LOBBYING, A7

OPAL KENDALL/THE HOYA

Georgetown University nearly doubled its lobbying expenditures from the previous year in response to federal pressures.

GU Community Organizes for Khan Suri

Nora Toscano and Ethan Herweck

Executive Editor and City Desk

Editor

Formerly detained Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri is seeking relief from an immigration court’s November ruling that he is deportable, spurring renewed community support and fundraising efforts for his legal fees.

Student organizers held a benefit concert Feb. 8 that raised more than $4,000 for Khan Suri in

GU Postpones Class Trip to Colombia Following US Offensive in Venezuela

Jacqueline Gordon Academics Desk Editor

Georgetown University postponed an experiential learning course that included a spring break trip to Colombia until 2027 following the U.S. military’s capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to email correspondence obtained by The Hoya The Magis Immersion Seminar, titled “Reconciliation in Colombia: A Pilgrimage,” a justice and peace studies course, was set to examine Colombia’s approaches to transforming conflict and the grassroots movements’ roles in peacebuilding. The trip’s cancellation came just three days after the United States captured Maduro and his wife Jan. 3.

Magis Immersion seminars consist of a three-credit course that concludes classes with the trip over spring break, followed by a period of independent study for the remainder of the semester. On the Colombia trip, students would have worked with local organizations and communities in Bogota and Cartagena to understand how their societies have moved from cycles of violence to coexistence and peace.

Andria Wisler, the course instructor, and Ryann Craig, Georgetown’s director of academic initiatives for mission and ministry, informed students enrolled in the course of the postponement through two emails Jan. 6 and Jan. 9. In her email to students, Craig said the postponement followed a consultation with the university’s international safety and security team.

Wisler said U.S. operations in South America and the Caribbean prompted the university to postpone the trip.

“I’m writing quite heart-broken with disappointing news,” Wisler wrote in her email to students.

“The JUPS 2290 Magis Colombia Pilgrimage will be postponed for a year until Spring 2027. I am sure that I do not have to tell you all that the volatility of the Caribbean context due to the actions of the US government, and the lack of clarity and consistency on these actions, creates a new set of circumstances.

I’ve found these next to impossible to mitigate at the moment.”

Wisler did not respond to TheHoya’s request for additional comment.

Georgetown monitors the U.S. Department of State’s assessments of travel advisory risks to promote safety within its international trips, as per the university’s International Travel Policy. Colombia is currently assigned a travel advisory risk level of 3, corresponding to what Georgetown considers an “elevated risk region,” which prompted additional review and authorization of the trip. Craig said the decision to postpone the trip was made to ensure student safety.

“The safety of our community is our top priority,” Craig wrote to The Hoya. “University staff monitors the world for events that may impact Georgetown travelers and programs and works closely with on-campus and other partners to ensure the safety and well-being of our community overseas. We continuously discern safety and security for all Magis trips.”

Following the postponement, the Office of Mission & Ministry offered students three options. Graduating seniors could be placed on a different Magis trip or enroll in a one-credit independent study about reconciliation with Wisler, in which more than half of the students enrolled. Nongraduating seniors, juniors and sophomores were told that their spot would be held for the trip next year.

Abigail Assadi (CAS ’26), who is now participating in a Magis trip to Spain, said the university handled the postponement well through its early communication before the Spring semester began.

“My only criticism is maybe it was a little premature, but I understand why they canceled it, and I don’t think that it was handled without thinking,” Assadi told The Hoya. “I think it was a very hard decision to make, and they just had to make it for liability reasons. So I don’t blame them.”

Mia Deschapelles (CAS ’28), who planned to take the course, said she was disappointed the trip was postponed and that she could not take a different Magis trip, so she sought other opportunities through the Office of Mission & Ministry.

“I was like, ‘Ooh, maybe I could,’ but no, because all they did was just postpone our spot until next year,” Deschapelles told The Hoya. “For seniors, they had more flexibility. I was disappointed because it’s sad that my education has to come at the cost of the politics that’s going on in the world right now.”

See MAGIS, A7

addition to about $40,000 raised on a GoFundMe page that Khan Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh (GRD ’26), launched in late November. As Khan Suri’s legal team seeks relief from deportation, other foreign scholars are also challenging federal deportation attempts in court on First Amendment grounds.

Nick Hasbun (CAS ’28) — one of Khan Suri’s former students who performed in two bands at the concert — said taking Khan Suri’s class inspired him to begin organizing.

“His class was not only extremely fascinating and engaging, but he is also simply an astounding person,” Hasbun wrote to The Hoya. “I figured that we as a community and as a school with so much wealth have to find a way to support him in his legal fight to keep his visa.”

About 50 community members attended the concert, during which six student bands performed and organizers sold baked goods and clothing. Students also held bake sales in the Leavey

Center throughout the week for additional fundraising. Federal immigration officials detained Khan Suri on March 17, 2025, alleging he threatened U.S. foreign policy. The government released him May 14 following a federal judge’s ruling that his detainment unconstitutionally targeted him for protected speech and familial associations, violating the First Amendment. According to Nader Hashemi — director of the Alwaleed Bin

See KHAN SURI, A7

GU Plans to Raise Undergraduate Tuition for Fifth Consecutive Year

Noah De Haan Campus Life Desk Editor

Georgetown University will increase undergraduate tuition rates by 4.75% for the 2026-27 academic year, marking the fifth consecutive year the university has raised undergraduate tuition costs.

Undergraduate tuition will increase to $74,520, up from the 2025-26 academic year cost of $71,136, with total cost of attendance expected to increase approximately 4.6%. In the Feb. 9 email announcing the change, the university said it anticipates dedicating $278 million to financial aid for the 2026-27 academic year and expressed a commitment to affordability.

Interim Provost Soyica Diggs Colbert (COL ’01) and Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Norman J. Beauchamp Jr. said the tuition increase resulted from rising costs.

“The tuition rate reflects a balanced approach to managing rising costs, as well as providing the resources needed for academic and student priorities, efforts that expand the value and reach of a Georgetown education, and our commitment to minimizing additional fees,” Colbert and Beauchamp wrote in the email to students.

Over the past three decades, higher education tuition has steadily increased and is the fastest growing household expense. Total federal student loan debt rose at an annual rate of 15.7% from 2006 to 2023.

Alazar Teffra (CAS ’27) — a student-athlete in the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), which supports first-generation and low-income students — said tuition increases are detrimental to first-generation students and the university needs to be transparent with students receiving financial aid.

“I expected this to happen, but it’s still difficult for students,” Teffra told The Hoya

“I think they need to speak to first-generation and low-income students one-on-one and discuss their parents’ income,” Teffra added. “Aid is based on a year before, and a lot can change within that time frame.”

Evan Cornell (CAS ’27) — a senator in the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA), Georgetown’s student government — said rising costs, compounded with previous delays in financial aid packages, may deter students from attending the university.

“I think when people are looking at Georgetown — and they’re excited about the possibility of coming to the Hilltop — when they see a price tag that’s nearing $100,000 a year, that’s rather concerning, especially without the promise of solid financial aid because of course, that might not come until the summer,” Cornell told The Hoya. “So there are going to be people who are really waiting until that financial aid package comes.” The average tuition cost for a private nonprofit college is $45,000 per academic year, but many highly ranked private universities charge between $55,000 and $75,000 in tuition.

Mikenzie Hapworth-Eldridge (CAS ’28), a GSP student, said she is pleased with the amount of aid she currently receives but fears

OPINION

Protect Free Speech Zones at GU

From the rallies in support of a detained postdoctoral researcher to protests against the annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference, Red Square, as the largest dedicated free speech zone, has long played a critical role in preserving our community’s free speech.

However, upcoming construction plans in this area could threaten support to students’ free speech.

Georgetown University’s Office of Planning & Facilities Management sent an email to students Jan. 30 alerting them of future renovations to the Intercultural Center’s (ICC) roof and solar panels.

The Editorial Board recognizes that the obstruction of Red Square may be necessary in light of the construction taking place in the area. However, if the primary designated free speech zone on the Hilltop campus will now be crowded by scaffolding and distracting noise, it is imperative to temporarily designate an additional free speech zone for the Georgetown community to ensure students’ expressive rights are not diminished in practice.

Basia Panko (SFS ’29), a student who admires Red Square’s mission, said the area serves as a place where students can freely express their opinions regardless of university views.

“It gives students a centrally located shared space to express themselves, whether through posters, tabling or writing on the ground,” Panko wrote to The Hoya. “From what I know, not many universities have a space quite like Georgetown’s Red Square.”

The university outlined that it will place a temporary bulletin board in Red Square for continued flyering, but the Editorial Board believes that this is not the only solution. Our broader concern is how the ongoing construction may minimize student time spent in Red Square. While supporting flyering efforts is admirable and aligns with the university’s mission to protect students’ expression, it is not enough to preserve and embolden the Georgetown community’s free speech.

Free speech is not protected merely by maintaining a space for posters — it demands a visible, accessible and physical space to gather. Universities are often the first places where social justice movements take place, and these movements are dependent on having a central, recognized place to convene.

Thus, given that the project is planned to end in Spring 2027, we call upon both the university administration and students to come together and temporarily designate another large and central free speech zone.

A Georgetown University spokesperson said Red Square is not the only free speech zone on the Hilltop campus.

“The University has several designated public squares. While the east area of Regents Lawn between Regents Hall and Tondorf Road will be closed during construction, Red Square will remain open as a public square during construction,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “The Leavey Center Lobby, a portion of the patio in front of the Healy Family Center and the pergola area between Dahlgren Memorial Library and the Basic Science Building will remain open as well.”

HOYA HISTORY

While we recognize that these other locations are forums for expressive activity to take place, they come with their own set of problems.

For one, construction projects are simultaneously occurring in at least one other free speech zone, eliminating another viable option to Red Square. Moreover, these alternative spaces are limited physically. A mere portion of the Healey Family Student Center patio is not a large enough space to accommodate the dozens of students and faculty members who protest in Red Square.

Many students also remain unaware of these alternative spaces’ function as a designated free speech zone, given Red Square’s popularity. Furthermore, the majority of protests at Georgetown have taken place in this very square, giving the space its reputation as the place for free speech.

Mira Banker (CAS ’27) said she is concerned about Red Square’s closure and the lack of awareness about other free speech zones on the Hilltop.

“I was concerned because there’s really no other highly publicized free speech zones on campus,” Banker wrote to The Hoya. “Red Square is a really central part of campus where students can feel heard, and it sucks that they’re shutting it down when students don’t even know that there’s alternatives.”

It is hard to envision another space on campus that can suitably replace Red Square without paling in comparison. After all, Red Square is one of the most travelled through spots on campus and widely recognized as the Hilltop’s center of student expression. Nonetheless, it is critical that the university creates a space that attempts to fulfill this same function.

While bringing attention to these existing designated public spaces is a step in the right direction, we believe that it is not enough. The community, including university administration and students, should collectively decide on a new temporary space.

The Editorial Board believes the university should survey the Georgetown community, asking students which campus location should be designated as the temporary free speech zone. Students should then take this opportunity to make their preferences known seriously.

While some may view this construction as a minor logistical issue or an inconvenience, the Editorial Board believes the construction is not this simple. Free expression is not an abstract principle that must be protected; it is dependent on action and requires a physical space where students can gather and speak. At a time when free speech is being restricted in our country, Georgetown must take proactive steps to ensure student expression is encouraged and protected.

The Hoya’s Editorial Board is composed of six students and is chaired by the opinion editors. Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.

Breaking The Morning Grind

October 22, 1996

If you’ve ever rushed through Red Square on a Friday morning, five minutes late for your next class, you might have missed a table attended by two students, chatting, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper and just... chilling.

Jonathan Fallin (SFS ’99) and Oleg Nodelman (SES ’99), who share an apartment in Henle, started this new tradition about six weeks ago because, as Fallin said, “We have nothing else to do between 10 [a.m.] and 12 [p.m.] on Fridays.”

Nodelman and Fallin set up their table by the overhang of the Intercultural Center, where they offer fruit, coffee, tea, bagels, gum and various other food items free to the general public. It costs the two housemates about $7 to $10 a week to provide the food but Nodelman said, “It’s totally worth it.” Also campus newspapers, the Washington Post and the City Paper are available at their table for passers-by to browse through. This past Friday, the table had electricity for the first time. “We were able, by using a really long extension cord, to plug our coffee pot into the Red Square outlet,” Nodelman said. They don’t keep a count of how many people come by, he said, but there are some regulars. For example, one student comes and gets the crossword puzzle from the Washington Post at 11:15 each morning.

Another regular, Mario Hernandez (SFS ’99), goes to the table every Friday morning on his way tso class. “I knew Jonathan and Oleg before [they set up the table],” he said. “I think their idea is pretty cool. You sit there, watch people walk by, many of whom you sort of know, read, eat, chit-chat, tell stories about the night before or about what you’re going to be doing that night, and you usually meet a different person every week. I thought it would be more exclusive at first, but it’s a great way to meet people and [especially] girls.” Nodelman and Fallin said their table is unique because, unlike many of the other tables in Red Square, they are not trying to sell or promote anything.

“Too many people in Red Square have an agenda,” Nodelman said. “We have no agenda.” There have been a variety of reactions to the table. Fallin said, “Some people at first are a bit taken aback,” Fallin said.

“They’re like ‘What are you doing?” He said members of a campus tour group passed by and called the table a “bake sale.”

“We don’t serve anyone; we’re just there,” Nodelman said. “We are not a public service. We’re not promoting anything, such as Goodwill, although Goodwill is good. We’re not running for office.” Sarah Segal (COL ’99), who also comes by nearly every Fri-

day, said she thinks the table is fantastic. “Everyone thinks they have an ulterior motive and they don’t. It’s fun to gauge the reactions of everyone. People ask them what group they are from and they reply, ‘None. We’re just trying to give you food.”

“People stop by, asking what the catch is,” Hernandez said. “There is no catch.”

Fallin added, “This table is like our kitchen — but outside. We’ve given some food to people who work in Red Square, but we have nothing to do with the administration. We thought about making a club out of this, but then we realized that we had nothing to talk about.”

Some of the more interesting occurrences at the table, according to Nodelman and Fallin, include having a priest bless their table’and a group of businessmen take their picture.

Nodelman said, “We have met a number of people through the table. Sitting at the table is a great way to end the week and start the weekend.”

According to Segal, “It’s fun and relaxing at the table. I get to see my friends and I love Oleg and Jonathan. They are very friendly, sincere and have no ulterior motives for anything. With this table, they are nuts ina sense, but in a wonderful way.”

Heather Burke

IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

Free expression is not an abstract principle that must be protected; it is dependent on action and requires a physical space where students can gather and speak.

The Editorial Board “Protect Free Speech Zones at GU” thehoya.com

On Jan. 30, Georgetown University’s Planning & Facilities Management sent an email to students alerting them of upcoming renovations to the Intercultural Center’s roof and solar panels, obstructing access to Red Square. This area is one of the university’s free speech zones the Georgetown community uses to table for clubs, post flyers and

gather for protests. While it is not the only free speech zone on campus, it is arguably the most recognized and accessible one. In order to gauge student opinion, students were asked if they were aware of the location of all the free speech zones on campus. Of the 100 respondents, 52% said no, 35% said yes and 13% said they were unsure.

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VIEWPOINT • HICKEY

Justify GU Tuition Changes

Once upon a time, you could pay your college tuition with a part‑time job, grad uate without debt and maybe even buy a car or a starter home on an entry‑level wage. However, that world is long gone — it’s prac tically folklore now. It’s the kind of story parents mention right be fore reminding you that going to college and being in debt is your choice. Nonetheless, the moral of these stories never changes. Col lege has become punishingly ex pensive, and Georgetown Univer sity has so graciously decided that the burden should fall squarely on the backs of its students.

On Monday, the university announced a 4.75% tuition increase for the 2026 27 academic year, the fifth consecutive yearly hike. Administrators have routinely justified these hikes in previous years, pointing to rising costs and a balanced response supported through financial aid growth. That framing makes it sound as if the central question is whether Georgetown is worth its price tag, which in many ways it is. But the problem has never been Georgetown’s value to students. The problem is that Georgetown is predatory in the way it makes students absorb rising costs, even as students shoulder unprecedented financial burdens in our hollowed out economy.

If Georgetown insists on justifying its greed through balance, it owes its students detailed balance sheets.

At a glance, these increases seem like the natural byproduct of inflation, construction projects and administrative expenses. After all, similar universities — like Columbia University, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania and Emory University — have raised their tuition at comparable rates. But when every peer school hikes its cost year after year, it seems less like an unavoidable necessity and more like a business pact, carried out through emails that read like weather reports — detached, fluorescently polite and steeped in Jesuit phrasing. And all these niceties come with the assumption that financial pain for students is acceptable as long as the university’s image and facilities continue to expand.

Personally, I came to Georgetown as an Army veteran with both optimism and realism, not expecting any special treatment. I anticipated the fair shot that programs like the GI Bill are supposed to guarantee. I served, saved and planned carefully, believing that those efforts would make an undergraduate degree

attainable. They haven’t. Even after applying the benefits I’ve earned, I still have paid over $45,000 from my own savings in less than two years to stay in school. This is not a complaint, but a statement of fact, one that says more about Georgetown’s price tag than about me. You can do everything right — work, save and plan every step of the way — but it still will not be enough. The cost catches up with you, and for some students, the burden is impossible to escape.

However, what finally broke my patience wasn’t my bank balance, as I still believe that an education from Georgetown is worth its immediate cost. Instead, it was the moment I tried to talk about my financial troubles with a Georgetown financial aid representative. I explained the situation, not with resentment, but with fatigue, and got what I assume is Georgetown’s standard response. A tight, corporate smile and four words: “Well, this is Georgetown.”

That sentence landed harder than any tuition bill. It was said plainly, as if it were explanation enough, as if being at Georgetown excused everything. In those four words lies the school’s entire philosophy: this place is special, therefore its cost is justified. Not hostile, these words were casual, practiced and perfectly at ease. No apology. No recognition. Just a shrug dressed in school pride.

“This is Georgetown” was the entire institution summed up in a single phrase: confident in its virtue, unbothered by its cost.

Georgetown must show exactly where our money goes. A university that preaches justice should never be ashamed to show its finances. If Jesuit values mean anything, the leaders of this school should extend beyond flowery mission statements.

Georgetown cannot claim moral leadership while operating like a luxury brand. You can’t preach service by exploiting sacrifice, and you don’t model justice by hiding the bill. Until Georgetown aligns its finances with the values it so proudly recites, its Jesuit phrases like “cura personalis” — which means “care for the whole person” — are nothing more than polished lies. Unfortunately, I foresaw what would happen this year. Another email, effortlessly polite. Another assurance that the tuition increase is responsible. The tuition hike from our fearless leaders has arrived, and when you read that charming email in your inbox, remember exactly how little they cared when they sent it.

Matthew Hickey is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.

INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR ILLS

Don’t Dismiss

Georgetown University’s Philonomosian Debate Society announced the topic: “Resolved, the state of immigration in the United States warrants the severity of ICE’s response.” Importantly, resolved does not indicate the position of the Philonomosian Society, but is instead the conventional way to publish a debate resolution title. This debate was planned in response to both the general severity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) actions since President Donald Trump’s inauguration last January, as well as the reignited debate after Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Almost immediately after the topic was announced, Fizz erupted. Anonymous posts from students called the debate topic “really insensitive” and “cruel,” arguing that it would give a pedestal to people who believe ICE’s response is justified. When others countered that students should debate current events, users responded that these debates legitimize pro ICE arguments and that Georgetown should move beyond “inflammatory conversation.” These concerns are understandable. The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are a disturbing turning point in our country’s history; both ICE’s killings and the federal government’s response to them signal a descent into fascism. At the very least, they show ICE’s willingness to kill protesters and the federal government’s scramble to lie about it. Beyond these deaths, the violence of ICE’s deportation scheme reveals the alarming reality that our country’s administration would rather spend time causing reckless harm than on effective immigration reform. It can be difficult to spend hours in a room being reminded that half of the country voted for this. But that is precisely why we need debate. Georgetown students should

CALLING IN WITH WITH CAROLINE

Ditch Valentine’s Day Drama, Embrace the Holiday

Welcome back, advice lovers. This week is our special Valentine’s Day edition, and it’s coming just in time: I’m here to rescue you from regrettable rendezvous, planning fatigue and potential first-date failures. As always, if you have a question I didn’t answer, submit it to the anonymous form on The Hoya’s website, and I’ll help you out next time.

I’ve been seeing someone casually for a while now, but I don’t know whether or not I should keep pursuing it. I like him as a person and I enjoy hanging out with him, but the idea of telling my friends that I’ve been spending time with him makes me feel so embarrassed because of the way he acts around other people. I feel bad about that, and I do genuinely like seeing him, but I don’t know how to get past feeling so uncomfortable.

It’s difficult to be compatible with someone you’re embarrassed to be seen with. If you don’t feel comfortable introducing this person to your friends, there probably isn’t a great path forward for you two to start a

Debating Controversy

seek out forums that allow us to stand up to opposing viewpoints, regardless of the discomfort that comes with ill informed or insensitive rhetoric.

There are people across the country who wrongfully believe that Good was a domestic terrorist and that Pretti was planning to massacre law enforcement. I’ve heard arguments from Georgetown students who believe the same. I understand the hesitancy to platform extreme opinions, but believing ICE was justified is not a fringe opinion. Thirty six percent of Americans approve of the severity of ICE’s operations as of Jan. 22, and over half support Trump’s mass deportations. These beliefs will not disappear, especially if we refuse to confront them.

Liberal students are no longer in the position of ignoring views we do not want to hear. The sentiment that we can merely cancel and ignore opposing views is fundamentally incompatible with constructive political resistance. Both within and beyond our campus, we cannot afford to cover our ears and turn a blind eye while the federal government encroaches on basic civil liberties.

This is especially urgent because conservative groups do reach out to college students. Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative youth organization, for example, has built its model around campus engagement, and its membership has continued to surge despite — or perhaps because of — the Trump administration’s controversies.

TPUSA may not be interested in constructive dialogue, yet its influence is effective, especially when no one is debating them back. Young voters, especially white men that groups like TPUSA cater to, shifted right in the 2024 election. Without a liberal counterpart, conservative groups are free to misrepresent current events, convincing other

students of a distorted reality that justifies ICE’s actions.

By not engaging in debate, liberals put themselves on the defensive. If liberal students don’t debate back, we are both conceding the fight and leaving the people in the middle with no alternative to hearing only conservative perspectives.

Good deserves to be defended. Our country deserves people directly fighting back against the bad faith arguments that are destroying the United States from the inside. It is our job to educate others and debate with people who hold opposing political views. College campus debates may seem futile, but universities are the hub of intellectual diversity and free discourse. From UC Berkeley’s Free Speech movement and 1960s student led Civil Rights demonstrations to present day climate divestment campaigns and Israel Palestine protests, college campuses have consistently demonstrated how integral students are in shaping political movements. Georgetown’s proximity to the federal government makes our debates and dialogue all the more necessary and influential.

I am confident that the state of immigration in the United States does not warrant the severity of ICE’s response. I know this not just because of Good and Pretti, but because of the immigrants who have been intimidated and harassed, the families who have been torn apart, the law that has been disregarded and the country that Trump’s reckless mass deportations have eroded. That is why I attended the Philonomosian Debate and challenged the arguments that desperately tried to justify state violence and the killing of Americans. I encourage anyone else who wants to change minds to do the same.

Zadie Weaver is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

relationship. This split between how you feel about him in private and in public seems like it’s been causing you a lot of stress, which is important to pay attention to.

A relationship should make you happy, not constantly worry you! If he isn’t fitting into how you envision your life right now, then it’s best to be upfront and end things before either of you have invested too much time in the budding relationship. It’s not fair to him to continue spending time together if he thinks your current relationship is going to progress further, and it’s not fair to you to feel constantly anxious to be seen with him. On a side note, if most of your stress about this has come from a fear of how your friends will react, it’s also worth taking a second to think about how they generally treat you. Good friends should make an effort to be supportive if you’re introducing them to someone who makes you happy — you deserve that!

I really love my girlfriend, but I feel like I’m planning all of our dates and it’s been getting tiring. For Valentine’s Day I want to do

something special, but I’d really like it if she contributed to the planning so it wasn’t just me putting in the effort. How do I bring this up without making her think that I’m annoyed with her or that I haven’t enjoyed the last few dates we’ve been on?

If this isn’t something you’ve ever discussed with your girlfriend, she probably isn’t aware that you’re feeling date planning burnout. Have a quick conversation with her the next time you’re together, and mention that you’d love to hear some of her suggestions for Valentine’s Day activities or restaurants. If she’s receptive, great! You can lean on her input more and take a break from your constant planning. But if she’s noncommittal or passes the planning back to you, it’s worth having a longer talk about how you’ve been feeling lately. It’s entirely fair to ask her to take more of an equal role in organizing your time together. Relationships go both ways, and you deserve to feel as special as you make your girlfriend feel.

LIFE ON THE HILLTOP

I want to find my Georgetown man, but I refuse to download any of the dating apps my friends keep telling me to get. Is there any hope for me? Yes! It’s completely possible to meet someone organically; it just might take a little more effort than swiping on an app. Putting yourself out there is the best way to start talking with someone new, and this can develop into a genuine connection. Take a risk and try something you wouldn’t normally do, whether that’s a new sport, activity or social event. Seeking out new situations, even if they feel a little daunting, can lead to a connection that might surprise you! Is it a good idea to go on a first date on Valentine’s Day? Absolutely not. If you can’t wait until next weekend, do yourself a favor and make a reservation for Feb. 15 instead. Caroline Brown is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. This is the ninth installment of her advice column “Calling in with Caroline.”

Update ‘Race, Power and Justice at GU’

Since its inauguration in the 2024 2025 academic year, all new undergraduate students are required to take a one credit seminar titled “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown.” The seminar was created to encourage conversations around race and to advance Georgetown University’s Jesuit values by confronting instances of injustice both within and beyond campus.

However, many of the assigned readings and videos required for class discussions are outdated, failing to represent recent and more pressing social justice issues we have seen in Washington, D.C., and around the world. To truly uphold values like “faith that does justice” and “people for others,” Georgetown must ensure the “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown” curriculum is updated regularly to reflect changes and progress in the pursuit of justice.

For a pass fail seminar, “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown” is structured in an efficient manner to expose students to primary sources, testimonials and dialogues related to social justice, all within a six week time frame. Weekly discussion questions and reflection assignments are simple yet effective ways to ensure students are engaging with the material. Seminar faculty excel in providing students with various opportunities in or around campus for the course’s culminating Experience assignment, which asks students to participate in an event related to the course content and share their reflections.

While the class emphasizes Georgetown’s legacy of slavery

through the GU272 Memory Project, a project aimed at telling the story of the over 270 enslaved men, women and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University, it does not claim to cover the entirety of the institution’s history of social justice. Rather, the goal of the course is to equip students to engage in meaningful dialogues surrounding pressing issues of justice both at Georgetown and beyond. However, the impact of these conversations is weakened given the relevance of the content students are expected to engage with. For example, week three of the curriculum requires students to watch the 2005 Living Wage Campaign documentary, a more than 20 year old video that highlights student led activism that achieved livable wages for campus workers at Georgetown. While it is important to learn about the history and legacy of activism on campus, the curriculum fails to recognize current issues pertaining to labor rights and employment at Georgetown. Most notably, this includes recent proposals to subcontract Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle bus drivers to third party vendors and efforts taken up by student organizations like the Georgetown Coalition for Workers’ Rights to combat these changes. Omitting recent developments provides students with an incomplete picture of pressing social justice issues at Georgetown, rendering the mission of “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown” unfulfilled. Similarly, week four of the curriculum delves into Georgetown’s global connections and the responsibilities our institution has worldwide.

One of the assigned readings is School of Foreign Service Dean Joel Hellman’s statement on Georgetown professor Badar Khan Suri’s detainment. Yet, assigned discussion items fail to address any developments in Khan Suri’s case, including his experience in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers and his ongoing immigration case. The choice to omit this information feels particularly consequential, especially given the current precarious state of immigration both in D.C. and the United States as a whole. Khan Suri’s story is one worth mentioning and would provide students with invaluable insight into the rapidly changing nature of citizenship in the United States and what that means for Georgetown students and faculty. None of this is to say “Race, Power, and Justice at Georgetown” is a poor class. It is certainly a justified graduation requirement and succeeds at offering students a short yet comprehensive overview of injustice in D.C. and around the globe. However, the seminar curriculum must be updated prior to the start of each iteration to reflect changes and ongoing developments in discourses surrounding social justice and advocacy at our university. For a course directly centered on tackling systemic issues, its content must incorporate a balance between the past and the present; only then can students truly engage in “faith that does justice.” Talia Arcasoy is a first-year in the School of Foreign Service. This is the second installment of her column “Life on the Hilltop.”

SFS Students, Faculty Feel Language Proficiency Lacks Structure, Limits Global Education

The requirement varies by language, with some departments offering additional exam time, access to external resources and alternate paths to proficiency.

Serene Pai Deputy Features Editor

Patrick van Eyck (SFS ’28) intended to study Russian or Persian at Georgetown University. After three semesters of classes, he instead earned proficiency in Spanish, which he learned attending middle school in the Dominican Republic.

Van Eyck said the School of Foreign Service’s (SFS) proficiency requirement, which demands advanced linguistic and cultural competency, discouraged him from initially pursuing a more difficult language.

“Assuming that I had just gone right into Farsi from the beginning, it’s simply a much more difficult language and the proficiency exams are quite demanding,” van Eyck told The Hoya. “I would have been committing myself to way more study, like six semesters versus potentially two.”

A university spokesperson said the proficiency requirement is essential to providing a well-rounded education.

“The goal is to prepare students for professional discussions in a modern language other than English that occur in public, private and non-profit sectors of international affairs,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya “Thorough language study builds both linguistic competency and develops cultural literacy — a goal of the SFS curriculum.”

Georgetown has seven modern foreign language departments and offers proficiency in more than 20 languages, ranging from French to Chinese. Because they share certain linguistic features, however, English speakers can most easily acquire Latin-alphabet languages, whereas non-Latin-alphabet languages may require more hours of study.

To address this imbalance, Georgetown often requires non-Latin-alphabet language students to take intensive introductory classes that meet every weekday, while most Latin-alphabet language classes meet three times a week.

Despite these measures, Kyle Shernuk, the East Asian language coordinator, said language acquisition remains slower in non-Latin-alphabet languages.

“Four years of Chinese, Japanese or Korean is not going to get you to the same point that four years of Spanish or French will, assuming you’re a native English speaker to begin with, but you’ll still come pretty close,” Shernuk told The Hoya. “It’s just there’s a different script to learn. There’s a lot more. There’s not as many analogous words that you can just look at and know what they are. You have to learn everything, and so it just takes a bit more time.”

Students may obtain proficiency by graduating from a secondary school where the language of instruction was not English. Alternatively and more commonly, students can earn proficiency by passing a standard set by a Georgetown language department, which ranges from studying abroad at a pre-approved university to taking the department’s Oral Proficiency Exam (OPE).

Language departments have adapted the proficiency standard to suit their individual needs, resulting

in a lack of cross-department cohesion. Within each program, however, students report limited flexibility on the path to proficiency.

Van Eyck said the Spanish department offered few personal accommodation options.

“There is a very structured, entirely pre-planned set of three to four classes or more that you slot into,” van Eyck said.

“I’m still going to take that other language next fall, I guess,” van Eyck added. “But whatever language I do take, I will not be able to go as far into because I had to do these first three semesters of Spanish.”

Lost in Translation

Though the SFS does not officially define proficiency, the school requires students to demonstrate linguistic and cultural fluency.

In the past, SFS faculty groups have worked to further structure the requirement, but Anna Steinhelper, an academic dean who served on various language committees over the past decade, said it remains unstandardized.

“Each language is so different, so we wouldn’t expect it to be the same,” Steinhelper told The Hoya. “Because of the history, the politics, the culture, even the curriculum, the high school preparation that students come in with is just very different.”

Sylvia Önder — Georgetown’s small programs language coordinator, who supports Basque, Catalan, Greek, Hebrew, Persian, Polish, Swahili, Turkish and Ukrainian faculty — said the language programs are largely autonomous and have little administrative oversight.

“There’s a top-down emphasis on languages, and there’s also a reluctance from the top to interfere too much in what individual departments are doing, because every department is its own world,” Önder told The Hoya

Some languages, including Persian, Arabic and French, only allow students to fulfill the requirement by passing the OPE, while others, like Spanish, Chinese and Portuguese, also grant proficiency to students who earn at least an A-minus in two 3000+ level courses.

Cristina Sanz, the director of the Spanish language program, said the OPE places unnecessary pressure on students, likening it to the “espada de Damocles,” or Sword of Damocles, a symbol of impending doom.

“Having the exam is like espada de Damocles hanging over the students’ heads that makes the students push themselves in the language courses,” Sanz told The Hoya. Sanz, who saw students excel abroad and later struggle with the OPE, said offering a curricular path to proficiency takes some pressure off students.

“I know how they speak, I know how they write,” Sanz said. “I see them during lunch, during dinner, dancing.”

“When they sit for the exam, they sound like a different person. It can only be anxiety, nothing else,” Sanz added. Still, Johann Le Guelte, the French proficiency exam coordi-

nator, said elective classes do not guarantee the same degree of cultural competency as a formal test.

“They pass that class, and then they have the proficiency on their SFS report,” Le Guelte told The Hoya “I’m not sure they can sustain a complex conversation on international affairs, economics, trade — things that we’re really trying to get.”

The OPE itself also varies from department to department.

Students in Latin-alphabet languages, for example, receive less preparation time and have access to fewer external resources than students in non-Latin-alphabet languages.

Drew Zacharias (SFS ’27), who is studying Chinese, said the Chinese OPE is far more accessible than other, easier-to-learn languages.

“In Spanish, they don’t mess around,” Zacharias told The Hoya “You get like 15 minutes to look at it and then 15 minutes to do your exam. But I get three, four hours to sit there with my dictionary and open it up and look up things I don’t know and be ready to talk.”

The standards for measuring fluency also vary across language departments, ranging from intermediate-high to advanced-mid on the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale, an organization that measures oral and written proficiency.

Shernuk said these inconsistencies are a result of differences in how long it takes for students to learn different languages.

“If you finish your third year in Korean, the kind of content that you’ve covered in terms of grammar structures and vocabulary should be the same as if you finished third year in Chinese or third year in Japanese,” Shernuk said. “Relative to Spanish or French or Italian — something that has a bit more overlap with English — at the end of the second year, you’re still not at the same level that you would be if you’re learning a romance language.”

Brooke Duncan (SFS ’28), an Arabic student, said Arabic proficiency is more flexible than in non-Latin-alphabet languages.

“I do view the Arabic proficiency exam as being a realistic, if not high-reaching, representation of truly how much you can learn in those three and a half years,” Duncan told The Hoya. “If I was taking that much French or that much Italian, my level would be higher by a factor of already knowing Spanish, but also the alphabet, the structure of the language, it’s read from left to right, that kind of thing.”

“I think that it’s more important that the proficiency exam is an accurate representation of what can be learned, and how much of the language you can learn in three and a half years, versus it being a one-to-one comparison between languages,” Duncan added.

For languages not formally offered at Georgetown, students can obtain proficiency by passing an ACTFL exam, which assesses language and grammar but does not evaluate cultural competency.

Sanz said this path to proficiency does not uphold the requirement’s original intent, referencing Spanish vocabulary like “usted,” which translates to a formal reference “you.”

“All they care about is, ‘Can you use usted?’” Sanz said. “But they don’t ask you to show that you understand.”

“That’s not what we want,” Sanz added. “We want you guys to have this conversation in a way that your grammar and vocabulary allows you to do in a professional way.”

It’s All Greek to Me Students also say the proficiency process is overly rigid within individual programs.

To qualify to take the Spanish OPE, for example, students must earn at least an A-minus in both advanced language classes and an A on a mock exam. If students do not meet these requirements after finishing the language curriculum, they are directed to take a capstone class before taking the test.

Duncan, who also learned Spanish while living abroad in high school and placed out of the department’s language classes, said the department recommended she take additional classes before attempting the OPE.

“You can pass all of that, speaking the language fluently, and they still want you to take the class, which I understand, but it wasn’t necessarily the right thing for me in my situation,” Duncan said. “But they still want you to take it because it prepares you for the exam.”

Language policies also impact heritage speakers, who grew up speaking a language at home but may not have a formal educational experience.

Jenny Su (SFS ’28), who grew up in China, said being required to take the OPE, despite her cultural and linguistic fluency, was frustrating.

“I am Chinese,” Su told The Hoya “I grew up in China. I spent the first 15 years of my life there, and the fact that I have to complete a proficiency exam to prove that I can speak Chinese is a little insane to me.”

Su — who scored highly on the Chinese placement exam, which matches students’ foreign language mastery to a class level — said she wished the school would make the language requirement more individualized.

“Different people’s backgrounds and their ability to speak multiple languages should be considered in a more holistic context in terms of language proficiency,” Su said. “If they are proficient, or if they are bilingual or if they speak language at home, perhaps consider that they do not need an SFS proficiency to tell them if they were qualified or not qualified to speak a language.”

This inflexibility has forced students to seek individual accommodations.

After studying abroad in Shanghai last fall, Jon Plummer (SFS ’27) said he wanted to retake the Chinese placement exam, but struggled to find a proctor because he was not registered for a language class.

“You’re supposed to do it with the professor that you’re registered for, but if you’re not registered for a pro-

ILLUSTRATION BY AVELYN BAILEY/THE

Students say they chose to study familiar languages over those of interest, citing concerns about earning the proficiency requirement and graduating on time.

fessor, then you have to email them,” Plummer told The Hoya. “A few of them said no, but one of them said yes, so I proctored under her.”

After registering for the appropriate Chinese class a few weeks into the semester, Plummer said he was denied the opportunity to submit missed assignments and had to elevate the issue to the department chair.

“Only by going to the chair of the Chinese department was I able to override the professor’s devotion to the syllabus and going by the rules,” Plummer said. “I had to explain what an extreme circumstance it was for her to finally relent and let me retake the quizzes.”

Unlike Latin-alphabet languages, most non-Latin-alphabet languages operate on a year-long schedule, meaning that entry-level courses are only offered in the fall.

Van Eyck said this structure delayed his pursuit of Russian after obtaining his Spanish proficiency.

“Because they’re on a year-long schedule, and I was taking Spanish in the fall, I can’t take it this spring unless I was to personally study to get up to that sort of beginning level,” Van Eyck said.

Tongue-Tied

Georgetown’s language offerings are designed to prepare students to be global citizens.

Though other schools require some language study, Steinhelper said proficiency is particularly important in the SFS.

“It’s very important for SFS students, career-wise, if they’re thinking about diplomacy, to think of what Georgetown offers in terms of languages as a real benefit, something that really makes them stand out,” Steinhelper said. “Most universities cannot offer Polish and Turkish, modern Greek, Ukrainian and Hindi.” Students, however, say the requirement has led them to continue studying languages they are already familiar with rather than those they are genuinely interested in.

Van Eyck said the proficiency requirement pushed him to continue studying Spanish before fulfilling his cultural interests.

“If I didn’t have to take the proficiency exam, I definitely would have just started straight into Russian or potentially Arabic, because those languages are really tough too,” van Eyck said.

Duncan said earning Spanish proficiency gave her the flexibility needed to pursue Arabic, which she was genuinely interested in studying.

“Georgetown has a high bar, at least in the SFS, for second language proficiency,” Duncan said.

“It’s absolutely a benefit to know a second language coming in.”

To address this issue, Shernuk said the East Asian studies department is working to recruit more students into its language program by expanding cross-listed language electives.

“We’re trying to make sure we identify them with the social justice requirements or with the HALC requirements, so that students who may not have a predisposition to come to East

Asian studies will see this course fills another requirement for them, and then they can come and see what we have to offer,” Shernuk said.

The U.S. State Department prioritizes the study of non-Western languages, including Persian, Russian, Chinese and Korean, through its Critical Language Scholarship Program, a federally-funded scholarship focused on 15 less commonly taught languages to boost national security and other national issues.

Iwona Sadowska, Georgetown’s director of Polish studies, said Polish uses the Latin alphabet, but its complex intonation and unfamiliar sentence structure make the language difficult for English speakers to learn.

“This is an inflected language; it’s a different structure in English,” Sadowska told The Hoya. “You rely heavily on the order of the words. You have the subject, verb, direct and indirect object. I can start from the indirect object. It’s completely different.”

Because of its relative difficulty, Sadowaska said students learning Polish often develop a strong passion for the language and pursue postgraduate opportunities.

“We are the smallest program with the biggest number of Boren recipients,” Sadowska said. “We are strategizing what to do with those languages, looking at them as a very strategic asset for the future. It’s not just communication.” In 2025, 32 of 41 Boren Award recipients, a State Department program that sends students overseas to learn critical languages, hailed from non-Latin-alphabet languages, seven of whom came from Georgetown.

Farima Mostowfi, the Persian studies program director and a French professor, said she sees greater linguistic passion and curiosity from her Persian students.

“For Persian, they ask other questions, they know more,” Mostowfi told The Hoya. “Sometimes I learn from them because they found something interesting that I didn’t know.” Duncan said students in the Arabic department have a genuine passion for the language that she did not see elsewhere.

“I think that there’s a lot of crossover between kids that are taking Arabic and kids that are interested in the intersection of Arabic and politics and culture, politics in the Middle East, or security in the Middle East, or development in Northern Africa,” Duncan said. “There is interest in continued education, more so than in my experience with the Spanish department,” Duncan added. Önder said students should have the opportunity to explore new languages and take advantage of Georgetown’s language offerings. “Learning changes your brain,” Önder said. “It changes the way you can think, expands you as a human being. It’s not just a set of texts translated from one set to another set. It’s what makes us human, and if we can’t study it in the university, if we can’t get support from our own government to get our citizens to have a flexibility of mind, we lose out.”

Virginia Dept. of Health Confirms Dulles Airport Measles Case Report

Thejas Kumar Contributing Editor

A confirmed measles case was reported at Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan. 24, the Virginia Department of Health announced Jan. 30.

Health officials promptly issued exposure alerts and urged travelers to monitor for possible symptoms after identifying a passenger with measles who traveled through the airport. This marks the fourth case of measles identified in Virginia in 2026 and comes amid growing concerns about increasing measles outbreaks across the country.

Jason Ormsby, an adjunct assistant professor in Georgetown University’s School of Nursing with a Ph.D. in public administration and health policy, said that while isolated incidents like this one will always occur, the larger problem is the growing trend of infections in recent years.

“The bigger thing is almost 2,300 cases in 2025, the total of the previous five years combined,” Ormsby told The Hoya “And then you’ve got almost 600 cases as of the end of January 2026, so it’s not the single case, it’s the increase.”

Measles, which ranks among the world’s most contagious diseases, can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area, making

crowded places like airports particularly vulnerable to outbreaks. Airport authorities have urged travelers who passed through to monitor symptoms, including fever, rash and cough, for up to 21 days, and to contact a healthcare provider if needed.

Measles historically infected millions and killed hundreds in the United States each year prior to 1963, when the first measles vaccine was developed. The regular use of this vaccine and the subsequent development of the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in 1971 gradually led to the decline of the virus until 2000, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) formally declared measles eliminated. However, the disease has made a resurgence in recent years as vaccination rates fall.

Ormsby said that these outbreaks are mainly occurring in communities where large portions of the population are not vaccinated.

“We don’t need to worry about isolated, international travel, that type of thing,” Ormsby said. “Where you’re having the outbreaks are these kind of rural, underserved communities where many people are not vaccinated.”

Margaret Baker, an associate professor in Georgetown’s department of global health, said the measles vaccine is highly effective and the rise in outbreaks

has been largely driven by decreasing vaccination rates.

“The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that among measles cases reported in 2025 in the USA, 93% were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination history, 3% had received a single dose of the MMR vaccine, and 4% had received two doses,” Baker wrote to The Hoya. “Outbreaks in the USA in recent years have been in populations with low vaccination coverage rates allowing the virus to spread.”

Baker said a certain percentage of people must be vaccinated to protect a population, but the required threshold has not been reached in recent years.

“Coverage rates of more than 95% of the population are required to protect the whole population,” Baker wrote. “However, in the USA vaccination coverage in children has declined in recent years - from 95% during the 2019–2020 school year to 92% during the 2024-25 school year.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has attracted criticism for overseeing sweeping changes to CDC guidance, including its recommendation to revamp childhood vaccination schedules. Under the new recommendations, several vaccines that were previously suggested for all children are now advised only for those in high-risk populations.

The MMR vaccine remains recommended for all children. However, experts worry that Kennedy’s broader messaging around vaccines may decrease public confidence in them, even if most vaccines remain recommended.

Ormsby said inconsistent messaging and lack of public knowledge may be to blame for lower vaccination rates.

“Actually, the current Secretary of Health stated that MMR is effective for preventing the spread,” Ormsby said. “But I don’t think the messaging from the Department of Health has been as strong as it is with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross, the World

Annual GU Nuclear Security Summit Gathers Experts

Justin Ha Special to The Hoya

Interdisciplinary experts urged increased actions to mitigate the effects of radiation on Earth and in space at Georgetown University’s annual Nuclear Security Summit on Feb. 4-6.

Hosted annually since 2013 by Georgetown’s Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases (BHTA) program, the Nuclear Security Summit focuses on the risks and dangers of radiation, its impacts on space exploration and its effects on the planet. Graduate students and experts in attendance presented their research findings and shared key insights from their respective fields.

Tomoko Steen, BHTA’s program director and the summit’s organizer, said he began hosting these meetings following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Accident, a nuclear disaster triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan that displaced 164,000 people.

“Each year, I pick specific topics suitable for the situation in the world. Nuclear security and biological effects of radiation are imminent issues for now,” Steen told The Hoya “The main educational purpose of organizing conferences is for students to connect them to the fields of experts. This particular one I started because of the Fukushima nuclear accident, and I was asked to help the local people for scientific support.” The summit featured a wide assortment of topics, ranging from background irradiation that affects millions of people in different countries to fungi’s defense mechanisms to radiation.

Robert Volpe, a Georgetown research associate specializing in mycology, said his research revealed fungi’s ability to live off spacecraft, even under the intense stressors of space.

“It turns out fungi flourish in space,” Volpe said during his presentation at the summit. “They’re growing and digesting the plastic polymers that are shielding vital wiring of the spacecraft. And of greater concern, the organic acids secreted by fungi can actually digest metal.”

Volpe added that some fungi have mitigating effects of radiation on humans both on Earth and in space, suggesting manipulating fungi to build radiation-resistant structures in space.

“Fungi can serve as radiation countermeasures or may be a source of manufacturing protective equipment or construction materials,” Volpe said. “They’re also a great source of food, and they’re very well-suited for growing in space. If you like the taste of mushrooms … .”

Another main topic at the summit was the process behind resurrecting communities surrounding Fukushima following the Daiichi Accident in 2011.

Yoichi Tao — a nuclear physicist trained at the University of Tokyo and the leader of the Resurrection of Fukushima nonprofit organization — emphasized the importance of maintaining symbiotic relationships between nature and humans, especially in the aftermath of the 2011 accident.

Tao said main efforts have been directed at revitalizing the small village of Iitate, which was forcefully evacuated.

“The goal is to try to create a science center in Fukushima, so we can get

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Experts discussed environmental impacts of radiation on Earth and in space at Georgetown’s Annual Nuclear Security Summit.

younger people involved in the revitalization efforts,” Tao said at the summit. “We need to continue to communicate to the rest of Japan and the world about what happened in Iitate.”

Tao’s future strategy in revitalizing the Iitate village hinges on making the land habitable again to provide a return to normalcy for its population.

Tao said this strategy may be difficult because the land is still heavily contaminated and poses a huge problem to the welfare of everyone in Iitate.

“Even if it were possible to remove the contaminated soil, no site for final disposal has been found,” Tao said. “Mostly the farmlands have been cleared, but not

the forests. So the rain in the forests brings contamination back to the farmlands, and it’s a problem.”

Steen emphasized that the goal of these summits is to broaden the scope of how nuclear security is studied, saying he hopes Georgetown students and the public as a whole can appreciate the wide scope of nuclear security and its applications to society.

“I believe it is a right for each individual in society to obtain and understand accurate information on crucial issues affecting their health and safety,” Steen said. “I hope to maintain Georgetown University on the world map for each important topic.”

Project Lighthouse Initiative Peer Support Reopens

Adhithi Rajesh

Deputy Science Editor

Project Lighthouse, a mental health initiative launched by the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) mental health committee in 2016, announced it will reopen an online peer support service Feb. 3. Launched in 2016 by Benjamin Johnson (NHS ’17), Project Lighthouse Peer Support offers students a confidential space to talk through personal challenges and connect with campus resources. The chat service is run by Project Lighthouse Peer Supporters, a group of undergraduate Georgetown students trained by licensed clinicians to listen, validate and help peers navigate concerns ranging from academic and life stress to loneliness, adjustment and transitions to university life.

Hannah Corwin (SOH ’26), president of Project Lighthouse, said the organization’s work is shaped by collaboration with campus leaders and student groups.

“As president, I am super appreciative of the many campus groups and leaders who have helped advise us on how to train

our chatters and operate the chatline safely and effectively,” Corwin told The Hoya The organization’s name reflects its mission of helping students find their way through Georgetown’s mental health and wellness resources, while working to reduce stigma around seeking support. By fostering open conversations about mental health, Project Lighthouse hopes to normalize seeking help and remind students they are not alone in their struggles.

Project Lighthouse aims to provide Georgetown students with an accessible avenue for mental health and wellness support through an anonymous peerbased chatline service that will be live every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Peer supporters help connect them to appropriate resources, including Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) and other campus services.

The chatline offers a space for students to talk to trained peers outside of formal clinical settings. According to the organization, Project Lighthouse operates alongside existing campus men-

tal health resources and is intended to connect students with additional support when needed.

Sophia Kojo (SON ’28), vice president of Project Lighthouse, said peer support is especially important given the significance of mental health in college students.

“Mental health struggles are very common among students, and no one should have to deal with them alone,” Kojo told The Hoya. “Our goal is to support students and help them find the resources they need. I’m really grateful to be able to support my peers in such a meaningful way.”

Mental health has become an increasingly urgent issue on college campuses, with recent studies showing rising rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness among college students. Academic pressure, social transitions and isolation can compound stress during a formative period in students’ lives, underscoring the need for accessible, low-barrier support systems that meet students where they are.

Kathryn Castle, associate vice president for student health at Georgetown, said initiatives like Project Lighthouse make it easier for students to seek ac-

cessible, peer-based support and talk openly about their mental health during challenging moments.

“College can be both exciting and, at times, stressful, and students benefit from support as they navigate those ups and downs. Project Lighthouse is a valuable addition to the existing resources on campus and will give peers a place to reach out, connect with trained peers who can provide a listening ear when they’re feeling stressed or provide them with on-campus resources when they are unsure where to turn,” Castle wrote to The Hoya. “It’s about making it easier for students to talk about what they’re going through and to feel supported when they need it most.”

Looking ahead, Corwin said the organization is eager to reopen the chatline and continue fostering peer connection across campus.

“We are really excited to be able to open the chatline again this semester. It’s a great opportunity to build community across the university and allow students to receive support from peers who share similar experiences,” Corwin said.

Health Organization, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation.”

“The biggest issue with vaccination, and MMR in particular, is lack of timely education about it,” Ormsby added.

Summer Sardona (SON ’28), a nursing student in an introductory epidemiology course, said her coursework has prepared her to respond to cases like these.

“Measles is probably one of the most talked about infectious diseases in the School of Nursing, especially nowadays, where cases have been surging,”

Sardona wrote to The Hoya. “As a nursing student, I’ve always been taught the importance of preventing contagious diseases,

whether through vaccines or adhering to specific precautions to prevent the spread.”

Ormsby said he encourages individuals to take greater personal action on vaccine education.

“Those organizations I mentioned, if you go into their sites, like American Academy of Pediatrics, or the American Red Cross, or World Health, or WHO, or the Gates Foundation or any one of those, you will find credible and research-based information about the importance of the MMR vaccine,” Ormsby said. “I encourage everyone to do their research and to share that with others about the importance of vaccination.”

THE POLICY PROGNOSIS

MSOs Should Consider A Warning From History

Shiva Ranganathan Science Columnist

Hospital systems deal with plenty of administrative barriers when it comes to reporting expenses, managing staff, implementing technology and reducing excessive health services. That’s where Management Services Organizations (MSOs) have largely emerged — handling budgets, investments, data management and technology advancement in hospitals to alleviate physicians of these stressors. MSOs have largely drawn on their predecessor, Physician Practice Management Companies (PPMCs). PPMCs promised doctors in the early 1990s that they could reduce administrative headaches, compensate doctors with additional payment for their work (financing these raises through inconsistent stock growth), assist with contracting local businesses for health technology and ramp up efficiency in practices.

In reality, the PPMC model’s deal was too good to be true. The companies had to prove growth for investors to fund larger ventures, which meant that funding only went toward hospitals earning over $100 million per year. Firms that earned less lacked incentives to provide care without venture funding, and PPMCs eventually died down — until the recent rise of MSOs in 2021.

The history of administrative health care offers lessons worth applying to the modern corporate world of health care. However, new pressures have emerged that challenge physicians through prior authorization limitations, increased technology reliance and other spontaneous obstacles that health systems are underprepared to address, despite reflection on PPMC shortcomings.

MSO risks include jeopardizing provider autonomy, amplifying the costs of care with profit-seeking behavior and mass vertical integration, where multiple care settings like clinics and hospitals are controlled by one private firm, leading to uniformly increased costs.

In particular, physician autonomy is at high risk due to lengthy contractual agreements from MSOs that contain sly provisions limiting operations, procedures and even where providers can work after leaving the MSO.

This becomes more significant in light of MSOs’ growing dominance of the private medical practice sphere, with mass absorption of smaller practices. Around 44,000 practices were

acquired in 2024, and around 60% of practices are owned by corporations like MSOs. MSOs are not objectively good, bad or even capitalistic. They are tools that actors might utilize toward harmful ends, which is why the important question to ask is not whether or not they should exist, but rather, what protections can adequately protect hospitals from MSO exploitation? A commonly suggested answer to corporate protections is transparency. However, the simplicity of transparency is overstated. State transparency laws often rely on the information contained in the All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), which has been made largely confidential by the Employer Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in a 2016 ruling. This preemption, along with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a law dealing with health data and confidentiality, has further obscured information on patient payments and pre-negotiation prices, which are the main indicators of corporate influence on health prices. Aside from transparency, two policy angles excel at preventing price gouging: implementing antitrust laws that break apart consolidated firms and mitigating perverse financial incentives. An antitrust measure would increase scrutiny on non-disclosure agreements signed between two parties so that information is not legally bound to silence. Another antitrust measure could be taking steps to amplify reporting standards of stock portfolios and material transactions with health entities to reduce for-profit behavior. Finally, a measure to reduce financial incentives may be designating legal responsibility to the MSOs’ leading individual. Having clear accountability on one corporate individual circumvents ERISA and other clauses that protect aggregate corporate interests of the firm. Assigning those who run the investment profiles of large hospitals under a firm prevents diffusion of responsibility and promotes disclosure of tied corporate party transactions. Ultimately, MSOs need to be scrutinized, as the existing data around practice ownership, financial reports, resource overutilization and contractual oppression of physicians is scarce. Diffusion of responsibility in the health care financial space is a leading culprit of higher costs of insurance and services for patients.

Ranganathan is a Junior in the School of Health.

CAS Dean Outlines Plans for Future, Highlights New Budget Constraints

Jacqueline Gordon Academics Desk Editor

The dean of Georgetown University’s College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) addressed ongoing challenges and highlighted new projects and goals at a Feb. 7 town hall with faculty and staff. At the town hall, CAS Dean David Edelstein detailed the College’s responses to budget constraints caused by declining university revenue, including reaffirming the College’s decision to cut Ph.D. admissions for Fall 2026 and Fall 2027 and emphasizing the importance of building up undergraduate programs at the Capitol Campus. Responding to federal pressures, Edelstein also emphasized that one of the College’s main priorities is protecting international community members and staying steadfast in Georgetown’s commitment to diversity programs.

Edelstein said senior university leadership remains committed to protecting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs amid the Trump administration’s efforts to cut them.

“As a Jesuit university, one of the key principles is that we value learning from people who are different than us,” Edelstein said at the town hall. “We value diversity. We value international and global perspectives on the challenges that we face, so supporting and ensuring the presence and the safety and the security and the participation and the leadership of people who come from all aspects of ours, all parts of our society and all parts of our globe.” Edelstein said the College prioritizes safeguarding the university community as federal actions change higher education.

“As we all know, there are members of our community who have been targeted within the last year, if not beyond the last year,” Edelstein said. “That includes, but is not limited to, the international members of our community. I feel an obligation as dean — I know everybody in the senior leadership of this institution feels an obligation — to do our very best

to protect our community, those who have been targeted.”

In March 2025, federal immigration agents detained Georgetown postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri, whose detention a judge ruled unconstitutional in May, and the Trump administration has targeted international students and restricted visas since Trump’s inauguration.

John Griffin, a government professor who attended the town hall, said he appreciated Edelstein’s emphasis on community at Georgetown.

“One theme that I was impressed by is the dean’s overlapping goals to build community and to support interdisciplinary collaboration,” Griffin wrote to The Hoya. “In any large organization, including universities, there can be a tendency for each corner of the institution to see things from a zero-sum perspective — another unit’s gain is my unit’s loss.”

Edelstein also addressed the future of the College’s doctoral programs, as the university moves to dismantle the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and shift graduate programs to specific departments, some of which are in CAS.

In early December, the College directed departments with doctoral programs to significantly reduce Ph.D. admissions for Fall 2026 and Fall 2027, leaving many departments uncertain about the future of their doctoral programs.

Edelstein said that while the reductions will prove challenging, he hopes the Ph.D. programs’ work will continue.

“We all value the presence of our previous students, and I’m committed to sustaining the work that we do through our doctoral programs, even as we have had to make some changes and cuts,” Edelstein said.

“I can’t guarantee that after two years we’re going to be able to go back to where we were,” Edelstein added. “And I can’t guarantee that things are going to get better, or they may get worse.”

Edelstein also said the College will consider introducing new doctoral programs in the future.

David Collins, the chair of the history department who attended the town hall, said the history department — which had to cut its Ph.D. admissions by over 25% — was especially concerned with graduate programs at the town hall.

“We’re in an admission cycle for the graduate program, and this is exactly what’s being shrunk, and for the history department, the master’s program and the doctoral programs are just so important to our identity as a research faculty, but also as a faculty that contributes to the core curriculum,” Collins told The Hoya. “The doctoral students, in particular, play an enormous role in that.”

Edelstein said he is looking forward to expanding the Capitol Campus, though the undergraduate programs remain below the university’s targets.

“This is an opportunity for us to have more students, to have opportunities to grow as an institution, to do new and exciting things and to do it in a location, oh, by the way, which is a pretty cool and interesting location,” Edelstein said.

“I will be honest, the numbers in the public policy program and in the environment and sustainability program are not where we want them to be or need them to be,” Edelstein added.

The Capitol Campus expanded in Fall 2025 and now houses a variety of academic programs, including a semester study option and two joint degree programs in public policy and environment and sustainability.

Edelstein said sustaining the College’s values and motivation in the face of current financial challenges and federal pressures is essential to retaining the spirit of the College.

“I spend a lot of my days thinking about opportunities for exciting new things we can do even as we’re under the constraints that we’re operating under,” Edelstein said. “And I work with faculty and staff and students to identify those opportunities, and it’s something that I think has to remain important. If we lose that ambition, I think we lose our sense of mission and our sense of purpose.”

Chloe Taft Graduate Desk Editor

WHAT’S NEW ONLINE?

Gender Studies Scholar Celebrates Life of DC Labor Activist

A labor studies and employment relations professor at Rutgers University highlighted the accomplishments of a historical Washington, D.C. Black labor rights activist and feminist at a Georgetown University event Feb. 10.

All articles are available at thehoya.com

Georgetown University divided its former Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action (IDEAA) into two respective offices, the university announced Feb. 5.

The Office for Equal Opportunity Compliance (OEOC) — which will maintain the same mission as IDEAA, according to the office’s website — and the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, which aims to support the values of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at Georgetown, replaced IDEAA, a university spokesperson confirmed to The Hoya. In the last year, universities across the country have altered their policies on DEI following the Trump administration’s January 2025 executive order targeting DEI programs.

A university spokesperson said the new offices reaffirms the university’s commitment to DEI as part of its Jesuit values.

“While we have bifurcated the name of IDEAA to the Office for Equal Opportunity Compliance (OEOC), and the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, respectively, nothing has changed in the compliance processes,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya

“The retention of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion name signals a reaffirmation of our institutional commitment to our Jesuit values and our mission stays the same,” the spokesperson added. “Both offices will continue to serve all members of our community by ensuring a welcoming and inclusive environment, and our policies and practices will remain consistent with non-discrimination and other applicable civil rights laws.”

Before Feb. 5, IDEAA’s mission was to ensure university compliance with non-discrimination and equal opportunity laws by developing DEI policies, investigating and responding to discrimination, coordinating accommodations requests and offering bias training, according to the former office’s website as of Jan. 1.

Senator Durbin Urges Students to Pursue Politics

Michael Shtrom Special to The Hoya

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (SFS ʼ66, LAW ʼ69), who is retiring from the U.S. Senate at the end of his term next year, offered students advice about pursuing a career in politics at a Georgetown University event Feb. 10. Durbin — the current Democratic Whip, the second-highest party leadership position within the Senate — reflected on his time as a student at Georgetown University Law Center and encouraged students to pursue political opportunities. Georgetown University College Democrats hosted the event. Durbin said he hopes to inspire students to seek out careers in the Senate.

“I think, if they hear my story, they’ll realize that a lot of hard work and a lot of good luck gave me an opportunity to do something which is fairly unique: I served longer in the United States Senate than any other person ever elected in Illinois,” Durbin said at the event. “I never dreamed that was going to happen because I lost my first three elections.”

Durbin, who was first elected to one of Illinois’s Senate seats in 1997 and later elected Democratic Whip in 2005, served seven terms in the U.S House of Representatives prior to his position in the Senate. Throughout his tenure, Durbin was influential in the passage of consequential legislation for Illinois and the nation as a whole. He was the first senator to introduce the DREAM Act in Congress, which paved the way for so-called “dreamers,” or children of undocumented immigrants who grew up in the United States, to gain a pathway to citizenship through the executive Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Additionally, he was instrumental in confirming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022, serving as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time of her nomination. For Illinois, he worked to renew transportation infrastructure and expand Amtrak’s reach within the state.

Durbin said serving as the Senate Democratic Whip al-

lowed him to connect with senators of different states, interests and political affiliations.

“It’s a strange job,” Durbin said. “A whip is supposed to persuade members to vote what the leadership wants them to vote. Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s impossible.”

“You’ve got to realize that, even if a senator is disappointing you in the day, tomorrow’s another day, tomorrow’s another issue, tomorrow’s another world, so you don’t want to burn bridges,” Durbin added.

Durbin also touched on the issues dominating national politics, saying the recent actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota, Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, are concerning.

“To think that this is happening in America — it’s just baffling to me that we’ve reached this point in history,” Durbin said. “I’ve been in several places in Chicago where I’ve seen these ICE agents at work and it’s horrible. It’s not just policing, it’s a military force. It’s a secret

police force, a military force, as far as that.”

Chloe Barter (CAS ’28), who attended the event, said it is important for politicians to show students that the legislative process can be effective.

“I think it restores a lot of my hope in democracy to see that there are capable people,” Barter told The Hoya. “I think Congress gets a bad rep, so it’s nice to see that they can be really eloquent and that they care about the constituents.”

Zach Krivonak (CAS ’29), GUCD’s campaigning director, said that it is important for students to engage with speakers through opportunities like this.

“I hope they’ll take away that, one day, they could find themselves in Senator Durbin’s shoes, and realize that senators are not that different from any of us,” Krivonak told The Hoya Durbin said he wants to demonstrate to students that a career in politics is tangible.

“If they’re interested, I hope they’re going to realize that this is within their grasp,” Durbin said.

“This is not beyond them, and I’ll tell them exactly how to do it.”

“During these exceptional times, it is critical that we continue to make our environment welcoming and inclusive for every member of our community,” IDEAA’s former website read.

That sentence no longer appears in the new OEOC website. OEOC plans to offer the same resources as IDEAA, including guidance for filing discrimination complaints, a bias reporting system, Title IX compliance and various accommodations, according to its website. The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will oversee OEOC.

Darius Wagner (CAS ’27), Georgetown University Student Association’s (GUSA) president, said that when he learned about the change, his first concern was confirming the university’s motivation behind the split.

“I immediately wanted to figure out, sort of the motivation, why this action was made,” Wagner told The Hoya. “Because time and time again, we continue to insist to the administration that we should not be changing any values to capitulate to demands of the federal government ever.” Wagner said he approached the university’s board of directors to ensure Georgetown would not compromise its commitment to DEI programs.

“At the board of directors meeting, that was one of my main points to emphasize, we cannot capitulate, because that is a fundamental threat to our Jesuit values and our city, because our academic freedom and independence is their bottom line, and if we capitulate, then we fundamentally compromise that,” Wagner said.

Janel George, the director of the Racial Equity in Education Law and Policy Clinic at the Georgetown University Law Center, said embracing DEI fosters accessibility at educational institutions.

“When institutions embrace diversity, when they embrace equity, when they embrace inclusion and accessibility, it sends a clear message to those students

who may fall into those different categories, whether it’s students with disabilities or students who are underrepresented in the institution’s population,” George told The Hoya. “It sends a message to them: ‘Here, there’s space for you that you will ensure that you are supported in this institution.’”

In September, The Hoya reported that Georgetown had changed or removed DEI language on several university websites since February 2025, including pages for the School of Foreign Service, the McDonough School of Business and various affinity groups. A university spokesperson said at the time that the university retained its commitment to a diverse community.

Wagner said the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce DEI programs and policies do not align with Georgetown’s values.

“You see from the cultures that we all share on campus, this is sort of the bedrock of our university, and you know, it’s principle and our Jesuit values,” Wagner said. “There is no amount of data, no amount of words you can say to talk about the value that diversity brings to universities.”

Meher Jain (SFS ’29), GUSA’s director of diversity and community development, said the Trump administration’s threats to DEI undermine higher education.

“It is disheartening to see what’s the coming of American education, what it used to be, what it could be and what it is now,” Jain told The Hoya. “There are so many students, even on our campus alone — I can’t imagine all over the U.S. — that are feeling frightened of the state of the United States, and it’s definitely affecting many people’s education.”

Wagner said future changes to DEI policies based on the Trump administration’s recommendations would threaten the university’s mission.

“There is no way, shape or form that Georgetown can assume that and giving into any demands of the federal government will be best for our university,” Wagner said.

Increasing Spending, GU Lobbied for House Committee Hearing, Diplomatic Program

LOBBYING, from A1

Jodie Ferise, a higher education lawyer and former lobbyist, said Georgetown likely needed lobbying to strengthen its image ahead of the hearing.

“I think that it is absolutely to be expected to hike up your lobbying expenses,” Ferise told The Hoya “If you feel like the cannons are turning towards your institution, then yes, that’s exactly what you’re going to do, and that’s what your experts are going to recommend that you do so that you can try to dispel where you can some of the allegations that are being made.”

“In some ways, you can see how that might also be the case when you’re being accused of antisemitism and you want to try to educate folks on what you are doing instead of just what you’re not doing,” Ferise added.

Groves addressed most representatives’ concerns during the hearing, rejecting claims that Georgetown was platforming antisemitic speech while defending the university’s commitment to free speech.

Georgetown also spent $70,000 from July to December advocating for “issues related to certain English language programs administered by Georgetown University.” Georgetown administers the English Language Programs (ELP), a U.S. Department of State-sponsored diplomacy initiative that sends U.S. teachers to academic institutions across the world. In June, the State Department proposed cutting the ELP as an “ineffective and wasteful” program.

Judith Cockrell, who was an ELP fellow in Sri Lanka from July 2024 to August 2025,

said Georgetown’s support is essential for students across the world who rely on the ELP.

“They probably can tell you from their vantage point, as a person from another country who’s receiving this access and this education, just how valuable it is for them as they are studying to do more and help their country,” Cockrell told The Hoya “So I’m glad that they’re really trying to get it back.”

“I’m going to try to be very objective here, but this is a program that I feel like just got cut because of its description, not because of the work it does,” Cockrell added.

Darius Wagner (CAS ’27), the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) president who has encouraged the university to push back against new federal policies, said the expenditures were a needed safeguard.

“It’s disappointing in general because I think it’s a reflection of how much more integrated the federal government has become in the functionality of our university,” Wagner told The Hoya “As we see the federal government continue to target crucial funding and core programs to Georgetown, the need to spend more on lobbying to protect our student body from some of the effects of the federal government, I definitely recognize.”

Georgetown also spent $200,000 throughout 2025 lobbying the U.S. Department of Defense on unspecified appropriations “related to telehealth,” which it has consistently lobbied for since 2023. Between January and March,

$20,000 went to another firm for “social media transparency and research” on technology.

Georgetown’s peer schools have similarly expanded their lobbying efforts. Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, for example, increased their spending by 75% and over 105%, respectively, in 2025.

Wagner said Georgetown’s commitment to defending its programs is admirable, especially compared to other institutions that have acquiesced to the Trump administration’s demands.

“Never in America’s history have we attempted to weaken our own institutions — it’s quite literally idiocy,” Wagner said. “But working within this landscape, the university is still trying to find ways to maintain funding commitments for a lot of our central programs.”

“Georgetown community members should understand we’ve seen more resistance than capitulation, I think, compared to other universities,” Wagner added. In response to demands from the Trump administration, some universities, such as Columbia University, have entered settlements to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and institute program changes.

Ferise said Georgetown’s increase in spending was a normal reaction to the current political climate.

“I think it stands to reason that the more these kind of things come under scrutiny and come under threat, the more your institution is going to invest dollars in it because they have to invest a little more to try and save something,” Ferise said.

After US Capture of Maduro, GU Postponed Magis Colombia Trip

MAGIS, from A1

Paloma O’Leary (CAS ’28), a Colombian-American student who saw the trip as an opportunity to connect with her heritage, said the seminar’s postponement emphasized the importance of being educated and aware of international issues.

“I think this situation highlights how a crucial part of global education is acknowledging the hardships countries face and confronting ignorance of these issues,” O’Leary wrote to The Hoya. “The very reason we study international politics, development and justice is because the world is constantly changing and sometimes unstable. When conflict affects educational opportunities, it’s frustrating, but it is also a reminder of why these experiences matter in the first place.”

Brigid O’Connor (CAS ’26), who is now enrolled in the onecredit independent study, said it was rational that the decision to postpone came earlier rather than later in the term.

“I think that it’s the kind of decision where you’d rather make the choice to cancel it and have everyone be bummed, than be like ‘Oh, it’s fine, we’re gonna go,’ and then have

something happen,” O’Connor told The Hoya. “So I think it’s probably better to err on the side of safety and caution in that situation.”

“From the standpoint of what is going to be safest for everyone and what’s going to keep everyone most comfortable, I think that they did the best that they could,” O’Connor added.

Alexandra Hamilton (SFS ’28), who enrolled in a different class with Wisler’s help, said the postponement should remind students that international conflict is not separate from academic life.

“I’m kind of appreciative that it worked out the way it did, because I feel like a lot of people probably view the conflict as something very distant,” Hamilton told The Hoya O’Leary said while the alternate one-credit seminar course was interesting, it did not replace the trip.

“The Magis model is built around immersion and being present in a place, engaging directly with communities and confronting complexity firsthand,” O’Leary wrote. “While the alternative course was definitely a good-faith effort, it couldn’t fully replace that experience, and I chose not to pursue it.”

O’Connor said Wisler and Campus Ministry tried their best to make the most out of the cancellation.

“I was definitely disappointed, but I also understand where they’re coming from,” O’Connor said. “I think this school really needs to be concerned about liability, and they just want to make sure that the students are safe, and I know that Dr. Wisler was really disappointed about it, and she’s really gone above and beyond to be able to make up for the fact that it got canceled.”

O’Leary said the postponement and Magis trips overall exemplify Georgetown’s commitment to being an institution that interacts with global affairs.

“Georgetown in particular prides itself on being an institution of international discourse,” O’Leary wrote. “I think that means the university should continue and indeed increase its investment in immersive experiences like Magis, which underscore our Jesuit values and principles, even when they’re complicated to execute. There should be more room for more students to participate and allow for adjustment and accommodation when things like this happen.”

Khan Suri Seeks Judicial Relief

KHAN SURI, from A1

Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), the academic program that employs Khan Suri — Khan Suri’s legal fees may cost up to $100,000 this year as the case proceeds. The cost is in part because the application of the law used to originally detain Khan Suri and other foreign scholars is being challenged in court.

Khan Suri’s request for relief comes less than a month after an immigration judge ruled that the federal government cannot deport Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student who was detained after writing a proPalestinian opinion article in her college newspaper.

Marc Van Der Hout, one of the immigration lawyers representing Khan Suri, said the ruling in favor of Öztürk bodes well for Khan Suri’s case and that his legal team will cite the ruling to the immigration judge (IJ) as they seek relief.

“We will be raising that in his case,”

Van Der Hout wrote to The Hoya

“The IJ was and is obligated to allow development of the record and consider constitutional claims,” Van Der Hout added.

In September, a different federal judge also ruled that the Trump administration unconstitutionally targeted noncitizens, including Öztürk and Khan Suri, for proPalestinian speech by detaining them and revoking their visas.

Van Der Hout said that while Khan Suri is not a member of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the plaintiff in the September ruling, the decision will still support the legal team’s free speech claim.

“He wasn’t a member so is not covered by that,” Van Der Hout wrote. “BUT the decision is still very helpful to his case as it found the retaliation we claim for 1st Amendment protected activities.”

Khan Suri is currently a party in two separate cases. Parallel to his

immigration case, his legal team is also challenging his original arrest and detention in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Virginia, in Suri v. Trump.

Hashemi said the uncertainty surrounding Khan Suri’s dual cases has forced Georgetown community members to put their lives on hold to rally behind Khan Suri.

“We’re worried about other people getting picked up and deported,” Hashemi told The Hoya. “Everyone is busy with their teaching commitments, their research work, mentoring students, living their lives when something like this hits in terms of an arrest.”

“If there’s a new development where we have to raise a massive amount of money in a short time to file a legal application, what it does is it throws all of our lives up in the air because we have to stop what we’re doing in terms of our teaching, our research, our work with students and focus on this immediate task at hand,” Hashemi added.

Ian Crowley (CAS ’28), who hosted the benefit concert, said Khan Suri’s steep legal fees require the Georgetown community to come together in his support.

“We’ve seen it hit very close to home here in the Georgetown community with Dr. Suri’s kidnapping, extra-judicial imprisonment, and thankfully his return,” Crowley told The Hoya. “But still, the fact that he faces litigation around whether he can be in this country over what is, frankly, just bullshit legal standing, and he’s forced to work out $70,000 in legal fees because the Trump administration doesn’t like what he said — it’s been a complete violation of his free speech.”

“But it’s great to see that the Georgetown community is out here and standing up for a member of our faculty, a member of our community,” Crowley added.

“It shows that people still care,” Vogt told The Hoya. “I know there’s a lot of other stuff on the news right now, but I think it shows that there are still people who really want to stand up for our local community, here at Georgetown, and our professors and our faculty, and I think that’s actually really good.”

Hasbun said the severity of Khan Suri’s situation requires people to help his family however they can.

“Especially in times like these, when you hear about the very evil things that this government is doing, you often tend to think to yourself, ‘How can we do something to help fix this?’” Hasbun said at the concert.

“In this case, with Dr. Suri’s situation, there is something very tangible that we can do to help out, and that’s coming together, being in community, and, more importantly, raising money for his GoFundMe so that he can fight his case in court. So it’s beautiful to see everybody here.”

Hashemi said the federal government’s continued efforts to deport Khan Suri represent a dangerous moment in the country’s history.

“This is a moment, as a faculty member living in the United States, that I never thought that we would have to live through,” Hashemi said. “Universities and institutions in civil society, in Russia, in Egypt, in Saudi Arabia, in other authoritarian regimes — they have to live with this uncertainty and constant fears of the state imposing their will on society.”

“The fact that it’s happening in the United States today tells us something about this dark moment in American history that effectively, we are passing through an authoritarian transition in this country from democracy to authoritarianism, where universities are subject to an incredible amount of scrutiny that shockingly feels like a nightmare,” Hashemi added.

David Vogt (CAS ’28), a concert attendee, said the benefit concert showed the Georgetown community’s commitment to supporting one another amid federal actions impacting higher education.

For Fifth Consecutive Year, GU to Increase Undergraduate Tutition, Disappointing Students

TUITION, from A1 potential changes due to the tuition increase.

“I live below the poverty line at home, and coming to a university like Georgetown is a bit scary,” Hapworth-Eldridge told The Hoya. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to afford it when coming to campus, but I was honestly surprised in a positive way. When I was a first-year, Georgetown offered me the most financial aid out of any university that I applied to and got into.”

“But, as someone who does rely on that financial assistance, it can just be a touchy subject whenever it changes, because you just never know how it might impact you or other students on campus,” Hapworth-Eldridge added.

Roan Bedoian (CAS ’28) — a GUSA senator who chairs the Financial Accessibility & Equity Committee, which works with the university to improve financial aid — said the committee plans to collaborate with the

Office of Financial Aid to assess the impacts and benefits of the rising tuition.

“I’m looking to meet with the financial aid office as soon as I can to talk to them about how these tuition increases are going to hit their budget, and see how this is actually going to impact their budget,” Bedoian told The Hoya . “Raising their budget is great, but if tuition is going up as well, we need to see that there’s actually going to be a net positive and how much they’re able to allocate.”

Grey Ni (CAS ’29), who relies on financial aid to attend Georgetown, said they question the university’s commitment to diversity in light of the cost increases.

“If you go back to what Georgetown always says about how they value diversity of thought and students from diverse backgrounds and everything, it makes you wonder how much they’re really dedicating themselves to that promise,” Ni told The Hoya. “Because if they keep increasing the tuition like they

consistently have been, then it just gets harder for students to actually attend Georgetown and to think of it as a viable option.”

“When I came here, I had to promise my mom that if I didn’t get enough financial aid, I would transfer,” Ni added.

Caroline Bush (CAS ’28), GUSA’s director of labor and financial accessibility, said middle-class students who do not receive financial aid from the university could face the harshest impacts of the price increases.

“We talked about just now how this is going to primarily hit students who are not on financial aid, but cannot necessarily afford fully to attend Georgetown, the hardest,” Bush said. “We’re mostly concerned about just finding ways to support those students right now.”

Bedoian said her committee will also consider how to support students of different backgrounds affected by the tuition increase.

“There’s different ways in which students are going to be

impacted by this, depending on their exact financial situation, and they need to be handled differently,” Bedoian said.

“That’s what we’re trying to kind of brainstorm right now, is how can we support all of these different groups of students best, and how can we make sure that this isn’t placing an undue strain on any student to the best of our ability.”

Ni said the university should be more transparent with students about expenditures and budget deliberations before raising tuition.

“They should be transparent about where your tuition money really is going and let students know why exactly they increase the tuition every year, what they need it for, what their other options were and what the deliberation process was honestly like,” Ni said. “At least let the students know that maybe increasing tuition wasn’t the first option anytime they need more funding for anything.”

Restaurant Discovery App Founder Analyzes Social Media Landscape

Yixi Zou Special to The Hoya

The CEO and founder of a social restaurant rating application charted her career and warned against excessive screentime at a Georgetown University event Feb. 10.

Judy Thelen — the CEO and co-founder of Beli, a social media application where users rate and bookmark local restaurants — shared her journey of building the app, elaborated on the use of feedback in the creation process and warned of excessive phone usage. The event was hosted by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund, a student organization that aims to bring a diverse array of prominent speakers to campus.

Thelen said her personal frustration with existing restaurant platforms inspired her to create Beli.

“We realized that people trusted their friends and family more than anonymous reviews,” Thelen said at the event.

“But there was no central place to track restaurants together in a way that felt personal. Many people had also never written an online review in their lives.”

“It was never about how much money I can make, but how we can do this right,” Thelen added. Beli, founded in 2021, allows users to publicly rate restaurants and their dining experience, with the platform amassing over 75 million reviews to date.

Sarah Liang (MSB ’27), a student who is passionate about trying new restaurants, said she was drawn to the event because of her interest in food and technology.

“I’m a big foodie,” Liang told The Hoya. “So it’s such a cool opportuni-

ty to meet a founder in such a fast growing space in the world of tech, but also something that’s so close to home with restaurants and food.”

Thelen said her inspiration for founding Beli stemmed from personal frustration with existing restaurant platforms not reflecting her personal taste.

“We’d go to restaurants a lot and try new places, but when we went to many restaurants that had, for example, five-star ratings that we thought we would love, we just weren’t that happy,” Thelen said.

Thelen said the skills she used when developing Beli were fostered in consulting and business school.

“I did a lot of data analysis and strategy work at McKinsey,” Thelen said. “Not letting emotion come in too often is very important when building a company. You need to build what people want, not just what you want.”

“If I didn’t know how to be a founder, I’d take the class,” Thelen added. “If I didn’t know machine learning, I’d do an independent project with an expert. As a student, you can email anyone and people would respond. Being surrounded by people building things matters.”

Aashvi Bist (SOH ’27), who uses Beli, said Thelen’s journey resonates with students.

“I’m an avid Beli user, so hearing how she built the company by identifying her own need in the market is inspirational,” Bist told The Hoya. “It’s so powerful to see how she used her education to build a product that changes the landscape of how a lot of restaurants are approached now.”

Thelen said feedback was important in shaping the platform, but cautioned students to be selective when applying it.

Howard Leases Former SCS Building from GU in Move Downtown

Liv Sanchez Hoya Staff Writer

Howard University subleased a property in downtown Washington, D.C., from Georgetown University to house its College of Pharmacy, a Howard spokesperson confirmed to The Hoya on Feb. 11. Howard’s College of Pharmacy plans to relocate to the nearly 100,000 square-foot building at 650 Massachusetts Ave. NW by July 1 to grow the program, in a similar move to Georgetown’s efforts to expand to Capitol Hill. The downtown D.C. property previously housed Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS), which offers academic and professional degrees to a range of students throughout their careers, now located at the university’s Capitol Campus at 111 Massachusetts Ave. since August 2025.

Howard’s Office of University Communications said the lease is an investment in the university’s medical research.

“The relocation of the College of Pharmacy to 650 Massachusetts Avenue on July 1 will represent a strategic investment in the future of Howard’s pharmaceutical education and research mission,” the office wrote to The Hoya. “The new location positions the College among Washington, D.C.’s premier medical and research institutions, offering expanded capacity to support our students, faculty and community health initiatives.”

Howard’s College of Pharmacy, currently located on Howard University’s main campus in northwest D.C., offers doctoral and master’s degrees in pharmaceutical sciences and a doctorate of pharmacy, a professional degree required for licensed pharmacists.

A Georgetown spokesperson said Georgetown subleased the property to a new tenant following the SCS’s move to the Capitol Campus.

“Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies, which previously occupied space at 650 Massachusetts Avenue NW, has relocated to 111 Massachusetts Avenue NW, the newest building on Georgetown’s Capitol Campus,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya

“The university is working with the management of 650 Mass. Ave. and a new tenant to facilitate a sublease of the previous space,” the spokesperson added.

Georgetown had signed a 15year lease for the property in 2012.

Judy Thelen, the CEO and co-founder of Beli, a social media application where users rate local restaurants, chartered her career and the social app’s creation at a Georgetown event

“Feedback is incredibly important,” Thelen said. “But you also need to know how to filter it because it’s not always correct.”

Unlike social platforms with tailored algorithms, Thelen said Beli is not designed to entice users to spend lots of time on it, nor does it track the time spent

in the app as a success metric.

“If you track time spent in the app, you’ll maximize it, but that doesn’t mean it’s good,” Thelen said. “If someone is spending too much time on the app, maybe we didn’t give them an answer fast enough.”

Thelen said Beli is exploring ways to generate revenue

through partnerships, reservations and tools to enhance the dining experience without compromising authenticity when it comes to monetization.

“We won’t do feed-in ads. Trust matters too much,” Thelen said. “We’re exploring subscriptions and ways to connect

restaurants and users in ways that add value.” Thelen said Beli’s goal is not to maximize screen time, but to encourage real-world connections.

“We’re not trying to get you scrolling all day,” Thelen said. “We want to help you decide where to go and then go there.”

GU Students Displeased with Congress Advancing Resolution to Block DC From Ending Federal Tax Policy

Joshua Lou Hoya

Staff Writer

Absalom Bolling, who is pursuing a doctoral degree at Howard’s College of Pharmacy, said the move brings new opportunities to the student body and faculty.

“The hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C. — that’s where it is centralized and localized,” Bolling told The Hoya. “Having your student population be there, be closer to the action, if you will, where a lot of networking, socialite events, conferences are based in that corridor, I think it’s a good move for both Howard and Georgetown.” Bolling, a D.C. resident, said he thinks Howard’s current facilities do not adequately support the doctoral program.

“As a native Washingtonian, I’ve always known Howard University’s facilities, from an administrative point of view, have been a bit limited in their capacity,” Bolling said. “So, going to the College as a first-year and now a second-year, I’ve noticed that there have been some technical difficulties, some capacity issues and some outdated technology there on campus and just overall, not a really robust feel for a graduate or doctoral-level program.”

Shadi Abouzeid, an SCS professor who taught at the 650 Massachusetts Ave. building, said the location met all of the school’s needs.

“It’s an amazing location which has everything you can think of,” Abouzeid told The Hoya. “The classrooms are there, the auditorium, the offices, all of the equipment in terms of cabling.”

“The facility really has a lot of things to offer,” Abouzeid added. “We used to take advantage of all that it gave us.”

Bolling said he hopes that the location will better support Howard students.

“It’s a new building for us, so I am expecting that the facilities will be a little bit more up-todate, and that we’ll have more room overall,” Bolling said.

Bolling said Howard’s new building will connect pharmacy students to more opportunities.

“If you plan to continue your journey after graduation in D.C. proper, you are going to be frequenting the downtown area,” he said. “Being accustomed to it, knowing where to go, you might have networking opportunities, so I think it’s a good move.” Abouzeid said he hopes Howard’s students enjoy the space during the remainder of its lease.

“I hope that they will enjoy it for the remaining few years,” Abouzeid said.

The U.S. Congress passed a resolution Feb. 11 to repeal Washington, D.C. tax decoupling laws, potentially costing the D.C. government $600 million in revenue and delaying the 2026 tax filing season for months.

The resolution, passed by both the Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate along party lines, would prevent the District from rejecting tax cuts specified in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), an omnibus federal spending bill that passed in July. Georgetown University students are displeased with congressional Republicans’ decision, criticizing it as a threat to the District’s autonomy.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) criticized the measure, saying it was an attack on the District’s sovereignty.

“This resolution is nothing short of unprecedented and deliberate administrative and fiscal sabotage of D.C.,” Norton said in a press release.

“D.C. is hardly an outlier in decoupling parts of its local tax code from the federal one. Congress has never overturned a revenue-raising law for D.C., and doing so now threatens D.C.’s credit rating and will inject chaos in the middle of tax filing season.”

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure into law.

Decoupling refers to a state or other jurisdiction choosing to deviate from federal tax provisions, maintaining separate tax laws. D.C. formally divorced from some tax provisions in the OBBBA in December, including tax cuts on tips and overtime.

The choice was projected to save the city about $600 million — approximately $239 million of which D.C.’s Council committed to funding a local child tax credit and earned income credit for low-to-middle-income families. The rest would fund D.C. public works and institutions, like public schools and parks.

Nehmiya Erkelo (CAS ’29), a lifelong D.C. resident, said the congressional resolution is troublesome for District families such as his.

“I grew up in a house of three siblings, and these tax benefits would really help me and my family a lot,” Erkelo told The Hoya. “I don’t think this is a good decision because losing $600 million can affect important public services like schools, transportation and safety. Everyone in D.C. is hit by this.”

The OBBBA is a federal law signed by President Trump in July 2025 that includes significant tax cuts, including tax exemptions with relation to tips,

car loans and business expenses. Victoria Perry, a Georgetown University Law Center professor in the Graduate Tax Program, said decoupling is common among states, but D.C. is vulnerable to Congress’s will because Congress has the authority to overrule the District’s local legislature.

“States frequently change tax provisions,” Perry told The Hoya. “But D.C. is different because it’s not a state. Congress usually doesn’t interfere with D.C. tax policy, but it is certainly within its legal rights to do so.”

Perry said most of the tax provisions in OBBBA relate more to businesses rather than individual wage earners.

“A lot of the costly benefits that D.C. is decoupling from are actually more business-related than individual income tax,” Perry said. “Deductibility of business interest is one example. The costs and revenue are certainly not all being taken from individual taxpayers.”

At-large D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (D) said Republicans are more concerned with supporting President Donald Trump’s tax cuts than the potential effects on D.C. residents.

“Not a single congressional Republican has asked a question about what this resolution will mean administratively or what it will do to

the D.C. budget,” Henderson told The Hoya. “They are only concerned about preserving tax cuts that President Trump champions. That’s it.” Julian Higgins (MSB ’29) — a resident of the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) area and member of Hoya Taxa, a student volunteer organization aiding DMV families with their taxes — said he is also unhappy with congressional Republicans’ interference with D.C.’s tax policy.

“It’s really quite hypocritical of the GOP, which frames itself as supporting working families,” Higgins told The Hoya. “These tax cuts are not really helping the working classes.” If the bill becomes law, the District would have to suspend tax filings for months to create new systems in compliance with federal law. Henderson said she believes Congress is making a decision based purely on party alignment and is improperly equipped to handle D.C. politics.

“It’s poor policy to change the tax code in the middle of the tax season,” Henderson said. “Any jurisdiction would say, ‘That’s crazy.’ People would say, ‘What do you mean I have to go back and file my taxes again?’ Congress is charging ahead, not from an impact standpoint, but for purely ideological reasons. Common sense and courage is lacking on Capitol Hill right now.”

Experts Call for Increased Attention on Iranian Protests

Andrew Jiang Hoya Staff Writer

A panel of experts on Iran urged the Iranian diaspora and Georgetown University community members to increase their support for Iranian pro-democracy protestors at a Feb. 11 event amid ongoing state violence and an internet blackout across Iran.

Protests in Iran began in December 2025 following high inflation and poor living conditions, prompting a widespread government crackdown that illustrated the country’s escalating political instability. Four experts — a journalist, two human rights lawyers and a researcher — chronicled the evolution of domestic opposition to the Iranian regime and called for more support for protesters at the event.

Gissou Nia — human rights lawyer and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank — said the high death toll estimates from the government crackdown distinguish the ongoing demonstrations from previous protests.

“Let’s just even say it’s at the low point — a 10,000 number, low double-digit-thousands,” Nia said at the event. “That was just in this period of

two days, and it wasn’t through the use of explosives or bombs, where you would have deaths at scale all in one fell swoop. It’s really through individualized killing with guns or machete, and so that kind of scale is not only unprecedented for Iran’s contemporary history, that’s also historically significant globally.”

Khosro Isfahani — research director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), an Iranian-American nonprofit — said the Iranian diaspora can help develop channels of communication that evade the internet blackout via satellites and virtual SIM cards.

“We are in positions of power. We can buy virtual SIM cards for people inside the country who can connect directly to satellite internet that would break the regime’s blockade on the internet,” Isfahani said at the event. “Almost every modern cell phone can turn into a device for breaking that blockade. It’s possible.”

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, an academic research center, held the event in partnership with Georgetown’s Iranian Cultural Society (ICS), a student affinity group.

Aarman Khayat (SOH ’27), an ICS member who attended the event, said the event made him optimistic

about Iran’s democratic prospects.

“As someone who is Iranian, it makes me feel proud that we do have a community coming behind to cause this change, and I’m very optimistic about the future of what could happen,”

Khayat told The Hoya

Nazenin Ansari (GRD ’83), an Iranian journalist, said the Mesbah district in Karaj, the epicenter of the protests, illustrated the unanticipated level of discontent toward the regime.

“What made those days so unresting was not only the scale of the violence, but where the protests appeared,” Ansari said at the event.

“The Mesbah district was not considered to be a natural state for descent. Many of the residents came from deeply religious families,” Ansari added. “The neighborhood has government and security officials, including figures with longstanding ties to the state ideological apparatus, especially Qassem Soleimani.

For years, people there believed that proximity to power would protect them from the unrest that flared elsewhere. They were wrong.” Shahin Milani, a lawyer and the director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, said the regime’s internet blackout created an informa-

tion void in Iran that makes judging the true death toll difficult.

“We still don’t have a lot of information from many smaller towns,” Milani said at the event. “There are other people who are missing, who might have been killed, and then their bodies might have been dumped in a mass grave.”

Gabby Streinger (CAS ’27), who attended the event, said she was glad the university community sought to understand the protests in Iran.

“It made me feel enthusiastic that Georgetown is facilitating rhetoric around the events in Iran, given a relative deficit in response from the global community,” Streinger told The Hoya. “And I’m very proud to be a part of the Persian studies program and be alongside wonderful Iranians in discourse around what a proper future for Iran looks like, given the bravery of their people protesting at this moment.” Milani said human rights groups need to amplify stories of abuses imposed by the Iranian government. “We are human rights organizations. We post their pictures on

DC Grants Historically Black Cemetery

Public Funding for Preservation Efforts

Noah De Haan Campus Life Desk Editor

A foundation preserving a historically Black cemetery in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood will receive a grant from the D.C. Office of Planning to assist preservation efforts, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Feb. 2.

The Mount Zion and Female Union Band Cemeteries, founded in 1808 and 1842, respectively, have been cared for since 2005 by the Black Georgetown Foundation, the nonprofit organization that oversees the cemeteries due to their historical significance. The $125,000 grant comes from the Paul E. Sluby, Sr. Historic Burial Grounds Preservation Program, an initiative of the D.C. government that, starting this year, provides grants to preserve sacred spaces of Black history in the District.

Anne Brockett, a historic preservation specialist from the Office of Planning who focuses on the District’s cemeteries, said the grant program is the result of community activism for cemetery preservation.

“From my understanding, this was really a community-driven effort, directly to the D.C. Council,” Brockett told The Hoya. “The council passed it and recognized the need and the importance of preserving this history and enacted this law that provides the Paul E. Sluby Historic Burial Grounds Preservation Program, which is the source of the grants.”

Lisa Fager, the Black Georgetown Foundation’s executive director, said the foundation worked with D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie to advocate for the fund-

ing, citing similar programs in neighboring jurisdictions.

“We documented the site’s needs, brought those issues to City Council, worked with Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s office and submitted a proposal through the Office of Planning,” Fager wrote to The Hoya. “Around the country, including Maryland and Virginia, we were seeing public dollars redirected from Confederate monument maintenance toward preserving Black cemeteries, but D.C. hadn’t made that same investment yet. So we met with local and federal leaders, shared what we were seeing on the ground, and made the case for support.”

The Mount Zion Cemetery was founded by the Montgomery Street Methodist Church in 1808 and later leased to Mount Zion United Methodist Church in 1879. In 1842, a group of women from the Female Union Band Society, a group of freed Black women, purchased the adjacent plot for their members.

Kelsey Moore, a professor of Black studies at Georgetown University who researches historically Black cemeteries in South Carolina, said Black cemeteries are often overlooked because many contain the remains of enslaved people.

“Oftentimes those cemeteries are not seen as having any kind of historical importance,” Moore told The Hoya. “Especially depending on how old the cemetery is, many Black cemeteries, older ones, are cemeteries of enslaved people. Being part of the legacy of once having been property is that people do not see those resting places as such, because those folks were not considered human in many ways.”

The Mount Zion Cemetery is believed to hold the remains of enslaved people.

Brockett said that because new bodies are not buried in the cemeteries, they lack funding for preservation and improvement.

“It’s always going to be a matter of funding,” Brockett said. “The challenges of maintaining a site that has no income and are huge properties are fairly substantial. That’s why these grants are so important, because they provide dedicated funding to do work that makes the sites more accessible and gives them a more public face, so that people can appreciate them and understand their history.”

Fager said the foundation plans to use the grant for preservation and educational projects, including a full survey of the land and enhanced educational resources.

“The funds are going toward very specific preservation priorities: a full tree and land survey, vault stair replacement, conserving the historic iron door, stabilizing headstones and improving overall site conditions,” Fager wrote. “We’re also adding better interpretation and educational tools so visitors and students can understand what they’re seeing when they walk the grounds.”

Moore said the grants are an important step in ensuring that Black cemeteries do not fall to commercial development.

“It’s important because as developers across the country are looking to build whatever infrastructure that they’re looking to build, black cemeteries are often on the chopping block,” Moore said. “I think D.C. giving grants to these different organizations is a step in the right direction, and I think it’s a positive.”

GU Students Praise Conservation Efforts Following Birth of Elephant at National Zoo

Sasha Wolfson Special to The Hoya

An Asian elephant was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute for the first time in almost 25 years, exciting Georgetown University community members passionate about elephant conservation.

Born Feb. 2 to Nhi Linh and Spike, the unnamed female calf marks significant conservation progress because the species is endangered, counting fewer than 52,000 in the wild. Georgetown students praised the birth as an important part of the National Zoo’s preservation efforts.

The National Zoo said it is aiming to prioritize the important relationship between mother and her calf.

“Asian elephants are an intelligent, sensitive and social species, so building these bonds is critical to the calf’s development,” the National Zoo wrote in a statement.

Alexandra DeCandia — an assistant biology professor at Georgetown and research associate at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute — said the birth carries both emotional and scientific weight.

“I was genuinely thrilled,” DeCandia wrote to The Hoya. “It’s rare to witness a birth of an endangered species, and this one felt especially meaningful given that it’s been nearly 25 years since the zoo last welcomed an elephant calf. Moments like this are so full of joy, but they’re also a reminder of why long-term conservation and animal care are so important for the preservation of species.”

The birth has been almost two years in the making, with Nhi Linh and Spike breeding in April 2024 after an

initial recommendation in 2022 from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP), a long-term breeding and management project designed to sustain genetic diversity among captive populations of threatened species. Following a 21-month pregnancy, Nhi Linh began showing signs of labor on Jan. 25.

DeCandia said genetic diversity plays a central role in managed breeding programs like the SSP.

“In managed populations, we track genetic diversity very carefully,” DeCandia wrote. “This is the raw material for evolution, and generally speaking, the more genetic diversity the better. If certain genetic variants are rare, we prioritize breeding those individuals to promote more genetic diversity. This ultimately gives the species a better chance at long-term survival.”

Jack Geithman (CAS ’28), a neurobiology student interested in mammalian physiology, said the National Zoo’s attempts to repopulate and protect endangered species is important.

“If the wild population of elephants are in danger, and then you take the elephant to a protected space, where it has medical care, and you’re able to monitor the pregnancies with the development of ultrasound imaging technologies, you could look at elephant pregnancies, and track them, and try and treat them the same way that we do for humans,” Geithman told The Hoya

The Asian elephant is classified as endangered on an international watchlist, with populations declining more than 50% over the last century as a result of habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and poaching. Global conservation efforts, which the National Zoo helps lead, include tracking wild elephants

After NOTUS Report on Disclosures, DC’s Delegate Election Intensifies

Anne Lindsay Special to The Hoya

Councilmember Robert White Jr., a Democrat representing Washington, D.C. at-large who is running to be D.C.’s non-voting delegate to Congress, criticized opponent Brooke Pinto (LAW ’17) following an incorrect Feb. 4 report from News of the United States (NOTUS) that claimed he improperly submitted federal financial disclosures.

White, who is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, aims to succeed Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), running on housing, affordability and local autonomy. NOTUS, a nonprofit political newsroom, reported Feb. 4 that White did not include mortgage debt and his role as an adjunct professor on mandated candidate financial disclosures filed in November, although neither appeared to be required under federal election law.

Drew Godinich, a Pinto campaign spokesperson, said in a statement to NOTUS, which the news organization later removed, that White leaving information off the disclosure was misleading D.C. residents.

“The least we can expect from our elected leaders is transparency and adherence to the law,” Godinich said. “Repeatedly lying on official federal reports is at best careless, and at worst, an attempt to deliberately mislead the public. Neither is acceptable for an elected official, and District residents deserve better.”

White said NOTUS’s reporting was disappointing given the incorrect information.

“It was a sad example of politics and people not being truthful and some reporters not doing due diligence,” White told The Hoya. “So they had to retract the story and issue an apology, because what they criticized me for not reporting my own mort-

gage is not required for candidates for Congress. It’s required for members of Congress.”

Under federal election law, candidates are required to disclose sources of income that exceed $5,000 from a single source. White amended his report Feb. 5 to include his $1,500 income from Georgetown Law and the NOTUS reporter apologized to White the next day.

The exchange between the White and Pinto campaigns marks the latest escalation in the race to succeed Norton, who announced she would retire at the end of her term this year, capping a 35-year tenure in Congress.

William Mead-McCaughan (CAS ’27), a D.C. resident, said he does not think the NOTUS report will affect his vote.

“It doesn’t sound like it was like an intentional scandal, nor is he making very much money from Georgetown,” Mead-McCaughan told The Hoya. “I don’t think that that would affect my vote.”

White said his campaign prioritizes affordable housing across the District.

“I’m also going to fight to increase money for public housing, because the federal government created this housing experiment, but now has dumped it onto the states to maintain, which states in D.C. can’t afford,” White said.

“The federal government has cut back on other housing funding that D.C. and other states need,” White added. “So I’m going to fight for the broad federal housing money, but also for federal property that the federal government isn’t using, that D.C. can use to build affordable housing.”

White also said he is proud to be a Georgetown professor and speaks often about teaching at the Law Center.

across Southeast Asia and partnering with local communities to mitigate poaching and protest habitats.

DeCandia said the National Zoo’s initiatives are comparable to a modern-day “Noah’s Ark”, meaning in the most extreme scenario, the Asian elephant avoids extinction.

“Wen conditions in a species’ natural habitat put them at risk (threats include factors like disease and poaching), maintaining animals under human care acts as an insurance population,” DeCandia wrote. “Animals can help us better understand elephant health and behavior, serve as ambassadors to garner public support and perhaps even be reintroduced to the wild if conditions improve.”

The National Zoo will supervise the calf to ensure she remains healthy, and she will not be available for general viewing for at least a month.

Zoe Griffin (SFS ’28), a frequent visitor of the National Zoo interested in animal behavior, said she was eager to see the zoo’s newest member up close.

“Do you know what’s the craziest thing?” Griffin told The Hoya. “How close you can be to an elephant and how quiet it is when it’s moving. They move like they’re so light.”

DeCandia said the calf’s arrival presents an opportunity for public engagement with conservation.

“A high-profile birth like this creates a powerful connection for people to engage with the natural world,” DeCandia said. “When people feel emotionally invested in an individual animal, they’re more likely to care about the species as a whole and the ecosystems it depends on. That emotional engagement is often what motivates people to support conservation action.”

Jacqueline Gordon Academics Desk Editor

A Georgetown University biology professor launched an international society dedicated to investigating infectious disease dynamics, the department of biology announced Feb. 2.

Shweta Bansal, a biology professor and principal investigator of an infectious disease lab, served as chair of the founding committee for the Global Society for Infectious Disease Dynamics (GSIDD), which aims to create an international network of key researchers invested in the field. Alongside Bansal, Eric Mooring (CAS ’13) and Elizabeth Lee (GRD ’17) helped found GSIDD, which will officially launch at an event Feb. 26.

Bansal said the COVID-19 pandemic exemplified the need for GSIDD in order to better provide directions to slow the spread of diseases.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted both the critical importance of infectious disease modeling and the need for strong professional networks that can rapidly mobilize expertise and share knowledge during public health crises,” Bansal wrote to The Hoya Practitioners of infectious disease dynamics examine how diseases spread in populations of humans, plants and animals through mathematical and computational approaches, in order to predict potential disease scenarios quantitatively and make recommendations to prevent disease. The society aims to amplify global efforts in infectious disease dynamics through conferences, seminar series, advocacy and increased communication.

“It’s deeply personal in some ways, because D.C. and its residents face very unique and very pressing challenges,” Nikolic de Jacinto told The Hoya. “And I think D.C. residents both deserve and need to be able to trust that their candidates have their best interests at heart and that their personal motivations align with the public interest very truly.” White’s said his campaign is grounded in his lifelong determination to pursue a career in law and public service.

“In 10th grade, my guidance counselor told me I wouldn’t go to college, which was not the plan I had for my life,” White said. “But it was a realization that the supportive adults I needed around me weren’t there, and I needed to find a different school that didn’t have the baggage of my reputation and start over, work harder than everybody else, and pursued my dream, which was to go to law school and to one day get into politics. So I put my head down. I quit almost all the extracurricular activities. I dedicated myself to studying and just kind of learned how to push through.” White said he hopes to be a voice for local communities across D.C. if elected, citing threats to the District’s autonomy.

“What has become clear over this past year is that the attacks on D.C. are relentless, and they’re not stopping,” White said.

“I realized that the most important thing I could do for my city, to protect the city, is to run for our congressional seat, because that’s, frankly, where our biggest fight is right now,” White added.

“I get to bring a different perspective for my students, about law, about policy and about the things that shape those policies, both academically and in the real world,” White said. “And my students are consistently engaged and thoughtful. I get to push them. They push me.” Alix Nikolic de Jacinto (SFS ’28), another D.C. resident, said transparency is most important for D.C.’s delegate because representation in the District is limited.

Biology Professor Launches International Research Society for Infectious Disease

Bansal said the most important part of the launch was an extensive consultation process with infectious disease researchers, modeling networks and consortia around the world.

“Through this, we’ve got to gather feedback about the gaps that exist in our community and what the role of a professional society could be for us,” Bansal said. “Often professional societies start up when the field is just getting started, and so it grows with the field, whereas for infectious disease dynamics, we’re about a 50-year-old field at this point, so there’s a lot in place already.”

“So it was really important to us to have that listening phase to figure out what’s missing and whether this is indeed useful, and that’s been invaluable in shaping the mission and goals of the society,” Bansal added.

Ronda Rolfes, biology department chair, said Bansal’s achievement is novel, as it approaches diseases in a new way.

“Dr. Bansal is in a unique position to form a new society, with new methodologies and new approaches to studying these infectious disease dynamics,” Rolfes told The Hoya. “So pulling in expertise from other fields and adding to that, I think, is what’s remarkable about this, is that it’s new and she’s a leader in this new society.”

Bansal said two of the main values she has pushed for during the initial phase of GSIDD are belonging and integration, as she found it difficult to feel accepted as a graduate student in the field.

“When I was a graduate student, I really struggled to find a sense of belonging in the field,” Bansal said.

“I loved the work that I did; it was so impactful, it was quantitative, it

was applied. I loved all aspects of it, but really it was tricky to feel a sense of belonging, and I don’t just mean that because I’m a woman of color in science, it was mostly because it’s a highly interdisciplinary field.”

Sophie Maretz (CAS ’26), an undergraduate student researcher within Bansal’s lab, said she expects the society to act as an international community, providing training opportunities for students interested in infectious diseases on a global level.

“Just being in this lab, I’ve met people from around the world that work with infectious diseases and are working on similar projects and can give really, really good insight into what they’re doing,” Maretz told The Hoya. “It makes sense because our lab requires the connections with those people because if not, then the study of infections, it’s not just ‘Oh, what’s happening on this petri dish?’ It’s ‘What’s happening in the world?’ It’s a very people-focused discipline.”

Bansal said she hopes GSIDD’s launch will spark an interest in infectious disease dynamics among Georgetown students and young academics.

“I’m really hoping that a dedicated professional society for infectious disease dynamics means that we won’t just expand opportunities globally, but it’ll also be a chance for Georgetown global health students and early career researchers to learn about this field and to find their place in it, because we are always needing more help,” Bansal said. “We need more people involved. It’s a really important and critical field, and so getting young people excited about it is really the key.”

TRACK AND FIELD

BASEBALL

Matsatsa, Marchan Grab Records GU Ready to Make Postseason History

Madeline

Wang Senior Sports Editor

The Georgetown University track and field team has smashed records to start the Hoyas’ indoor season, which kicked off Dec. 6 and swung into weekly action Jan. 17.

Record-breaking performances are nothing new for the Hoyas. Instead, the performances represent the strength of the program, especially in the mid-distance events.

Last season saw former graduate middle-distance runner Abel Teffra come away with the NCAA indoor mile title, and the 2024 outdoor season saw former graduate distance runner Parker Stokes capture the NCAA 3000-meter steeple chase title. Junior middledistance phenom Tinoda Matsatsa and sophomore long-sprint specialist Jaden Marchan are the newest generation of Hoyas to climb the national ranks.

Last season, Matsatsa captured the Big East indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles and placed fourth in the 800-meter at the NCAA indoor championship. Matsatsa also owns the NCAA 1000-meter record, which he captured as a first-year. Marchan competed at the 2024 Olympic games for Trinidad and Tobago in the 4x400-meter relay and was part of a team that placed twelfth in the distance medley relay at the 2025 NCAA indoor championship.

This indoor season, Matsatsa and Marchan have come out swinging, with the rest of the team following suit. At the Penn Opener on Dec. 6, Marchan finished first in the 600-meter with a time of 1:17.12, besting his record from the year prior. That same day, Matsatsa took

first place in the 1500-meter with a time of 3:40.92 and finished second — which at the time was also second in the country this season — in the mile with a time of 3:56.26, earning him the Big East men’s track athlete of the week award.

Junior short-sprinter and transfer from Lafayette College Ida Moczerniuk led the charge at the Penn Opener on the women’s side, setting a new meet record and shattering a nearly 30-year-old Georgetown record in the 60-meter with a time of 7.36 seconds.

After a six-week racing break, Georgetown returned to action Jan. 17 at the Nittany Lion Challenge and Jan. 24 at the Penn Elite meet, capturing many top-ten finishes. By the end of January, the recordbreaking season was in full swing at the Penn State National Open.

Matsatsa kicked off the recordbreaking, smashing his own Georgetown record in the 800-meter with a time of 1:45.12 to place second in the event and record the thirdfastest time for the event in NCAA history. The 800-meter record was broken by NAU’s Colin Sahlman the following day, pushing Matsatsa down to fourth on the list.

Marchan continued the record smashing, setting a new Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 500-meter with a time of 1:00.62 and writing his name into the NCAA record books as second-fastest ever.

Matsatsa was awarded his second Big East Weekly Award of the season Feb. 3 for his performance in University Park, Pennsylvania.

After the Penn State National Open, Alton McKenzie, Georgetown’s director of track and field, said he

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

was impressed by both Matsatsa’s and Marchan’s performances.

“Georgetown’s rich history in middle distance running has certainly provided some special moments, and the performance by Tinoda Matsatsa on Friday at Penn State surely adds to that story,” McKenzie told Georgetown Athletics. “His 1:45.12 ranks third best all-time at the collegiate level; with so much more running left in the season, we’re excited to see what’s to come.”

“Also, a special weekend for Jaden Marchan as he ran an incredibly fast 500-meter, second best alltime collegiately, and an impressive solo effort with the challenge being the clock,” McKenzie added.

“Breaking a national record of the legendary Ian Morris makes it that much more special.”

Georgetown traveled back up to Pennsylvania Feb. 6-7, this time competing in Philadelphia, in the Penn Classic. Marchan broke his third Hoya record of the season — in a third event — going 45.78 in the 400-meter.

Marchan picked up the win, set a facility record, notched a Big East weekly track accolade and ran the fastest time in the event by a Big East competitor this season. Moczerniuk set another meet record and placed first in the 60m with a time of 7.39 seconds.

The Hoyas will head back to Boston for the BU Valentine Invitational Feb. 13-14 as they continue gearing up for the Big East Indoor Championships Feb. 27-28 and NCAA Indoor Championships March 13-14. Marchan will turn his attention to the 400-meter as the season heads into championship territory, as both the 500-meter and 600-meter are not contested at the Big East or NCAA championships.

Hoyas Unable to Withstand Late Villanova Surge in Narrow Loss

Finn

Balon Staff Writer

After losing to Villanova University early in the season Dec. 4, the Georgetown University women’s basketball team failed to split the season series, falling to the Wildcats again Feb. 7 at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Hoyas (12-12, 5-10 Big East) lost 67-55 to the Wildcats as Georgetown’s defense struggled against the Villanova offense at both the beginning and end of the game. Although the game was competitive until the final minutes, Villanova’s offensive production was too much to withstand. Georgetown started the game on a good note, winning the tip off with graduate forward Brianna Scott scoring the first points of the game on a driving layup after each team had one possession. After a score by Hoya junior guard Khia Miller in response to a layup by guard Kennedy Henry, Villanova evened the score at 4-4 with a layup by forward Carter Denae.

Georgetown never took the lead afterwards, with Villanova capitalizing on the Hoyas’ turnovers and missed shots throughout the rest of the first quarter. 3-pointers by guard Jasmine Bascoe, guard Kelsey Joens and guard Ryanne Allen contributed to the Wildcats’ offense,

giving them a lead of 19-6 with 2:17 to play in the first quarter. However, the Hoyas surged late in the first quarter to make the score 19-12. At the start of the second quarter, junior forward Bryanna Byars and sophomore guard Destiny Agubata each made a 3-pointer, shortening Georgetown’s deficit to 6 points. However, with 6:08 to play in the second quarter, Villanova started pulling away. Allen drained another 3-pointer on top of more offensive production to pull the Wildcats further into the lead 2617. Georgetown kept the deficit manageable, though, with jumpers by sophomore guard Summer Davis and scores by Miller helping to reduce the Wildcats’ lead to 30-24. Layups by Bascoe, Joens and Henry extended Villanova’s lead to 12 early in the third, with Georgetown graduate guard Laila Jewett halting the run with a 3-pointer to make the score 36-27. This sparked a huge 13-2 run by the Hoyas, with Miller and sophomore guard Khadee Hession largely contributing to cut Villanova’s lead to 38-37 with 2:49 left before the final quarter. Despite this, the Wildcats recovered from the Hoyas’ surge and ended the quarter leading 45-39. To start off the fourth, Jewett continued to shape the game, scoring a 3-pointer

and a layup to keep Villanova’s lead at 3. However, after this, the game turned quickly. The Hoyas began to slump offensively while their opponents started to surge for their largest and most important run of the game, with the Wildcats outscoring Georgetown 19-2 over the next 5:18, led by two 3-pointers made by Henry and another basket by Joens.

A score of 65-46 with 3:21 left to play ultimately was insurmountable for Georgetown, with the final score ending at 67-55. While the Hoyas went on a late run, time was against their side, and they had little chance to mount a comeback. The shooting statistics for both teams were similar, with Georgetown’s 34.5% only being slightly lower than Villanova’s 37.9%.

Turnovers, however, were an issue for the Hoyas, who saw 20 compared to the Wildcats’ 13. Villanova’s 10 steals outmatched Georgetown’s 6.

Miller and Jewett were leading scorers with 12 and 10 points each.

Miller also recorded 4 blocks, helping Georgetown on the defensive end. For the Wildcats, Boscoe’s 19 points were the most by an individual player, and Henry’s 4 steals contributed to the Hoyas’ offensive mistakes.

The Hoyas will look to end their 4-game losing streak back at home Saturday, Feb. 14, in a pivotal game against the Providence College Friars (11-14, 4-10 Big East).

After a relatively forgettable 2025 with a 16-40 record and 3-18 Big East record, the Georgetown University baseball team enters this spring with a retooled lineup, an experienced new coach and aspirations for the Hoyas’ first postseason berth.

The Hoyas’ 2025 graduating class, which saw particular success in the last four years, was headlined by all-Big East first-team catcher Owen Carapellotti (CAS ’25). Carapellotti signed with the Athletics organization July 16, 2025, and will join the organization’s rookie-level minor league team in Phoenix. He is the third Hoya in the past three years to sign with an MLB club, following right-handed pitcher Jake Bloss in 2023 and left-handed pitcher Everett Catlett in 2024.

Georgetown has played baseball for over a century, but is one of a small group of Division I baseball programs to never have qualified for the NCAA tournament. The Hoyas have also never won the Big East championship, and reached that game for the first time in 2024.

Head Coach Edwin Thompson took over command for Georgetown at the start of the 2020-21 school year from Eastern Kentucky University. Since then, Thompson has guided the Hoyas on some of their most successful campaigns in their long history. That 2024 season, which ended in a narrow championship loss to St. John’s University, set the Georgetown record for wins in a season at 36. Georgetown fell short of that goal last year, but is looking to finally compete in the postseason.

Despite losing his best player in Carapellotti, Thompson said he is confident in the Hoyas’ ability to rebound.

“The key for this offseason was to try to replace our needs,” Thompson told The Hoya

The Hoyas did exactly that.

Looking to add older veterans to the roster, Georgetown acquired four key position player graduates in the transfer portal: infielders AJ Solomon from Butler University, Connor Peek from the College of the Holy Cross, Dante Pozzi from Catholic University and infielder Brett Blair from Stanford University.

Thompson said he hopes the four position players along with graduate catcher Connor Price, who received an extra year of eligibility after playing four years at Long Island University, will bring experience to the 2026 roster.

Georgetown’s offensive improvements are not just limited to on-thefield additions. On Jan. 12, the Hoyas named Errol Robinson as the team’s

new assistant coach. Robinson, who brings more than 10 years of professional experience as a player throughout the minor league ranks, will coach hitting and infield and serve as third-base coach.

Thompson said Robinson’s older presence has already made a mark during preseason workouts.

“It’s been an immediate impact,” Thompson said.

On the pitching side, the Hoyas will once again be led by graduate JT Raab. Raab, who sported a 3.63 ERA in 2025 and earned unanimous all-Big East preseason honors ahead of this season, started 14 games last year with a 4-3 record.

Thompson said he views Raab as one of the better collegiate pitchers in the country.

Behind Raab, senior relief pitcher

Andrew Citron hopes to build on his strong preseason performance and leave his 2025 season behind. In an uncharacteristic contrast to his strong 2024 — in which he boasted a 2.45 ERA over 25 games — Citron appeared in 16 games last season and pitched to an inflated 18.29 ERA.

Georgetown opens the 2026 season in South Carolina with a three-game road series against Winthrop University beginning Feb. 13. The Hoyas will then begin their home schedule against Saint Peter’s University on Feb. 20.

The Hoyas will play their home games under the Metro’s Silver Line at Capital One Park in McLean, Va. The team also plays a 56-game regular season before entering Big East Championship play May 20 at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. While Georgetown does not have a series against a College World Series contender

in the non-conference this year, the Hoyas have three premier non-conference matchups. Georgetown visits the University of Maryland on Feb. 17 and the University of Virginia on March 17 and faces Maryland again, this time at home, April 28.

Despite Georgetown’s lukewarm 2025 season, the Hoyas appear optimistic about their chances to finish highly in the Big East in 2026.

“We played our best baseball at the end of the year,” Thompson said. The box scores do not quite agree: The Hoyas ended the 2025 season on a three game losing streak, but they did score wins over Maryland, Seton Hall University and The George Washington University in between long losing streaks. Still, a number of players made meaningful improvements this offseason. Thompson pointed to the sophomore class, in particular, saying he expects outfielders Dylan Larkins, Jackson Thomas and Christian Hamilton, catcher Ashton Seymore and right-handed pitcher Ethan Rucker to play frequently in 2026 after a strong summer showing. Ultimately, the Hoyas are still figuring out what their full potential is. Their poor showing last year was uncharacteristic — it is the outlier of the last four years, during which the Hoyas won more games in the history of their existence than in any previous four-year period.

The Hoyas hope that last year represented a speed bump — not a downhill slide. Despite that long pedigree, Thompson said he has his sights set on making history.

“We want to compete in the championship,” Thompson said. “That’s always my goal.”

PITTMAN/GEORGETOWN ATHLETICS Graduate pitcher JT Rabb was named to the preseason all-Big East team and will be the Hoyas’ ace entering the season.

Hoyas Split Weekend Trip to Midwest Despite Struggles in Doubles Matches

The Georgetown University women’s tennis team traveled to the Midwest for matches against the DePaul University Blue Demons and Marquette University Golden Eagles on Feb. 7-8. The Hoyas narrowly succumbed to the Blue Demons 4-3 in Chicago, but redeemed themselves Sunday with a commanding 6-1 win over the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee, in which Georgetown won all six singles matches.

To begin the DePaul (5-3, 2-0 Big East) match, the Hoyas (2-2, 1-1 Big East) were outclassed in doubles. First-year Ruhika Bhat and junior Katie Garofolo-Ro quickly fell 6-1 at no. 2. Although first-year Julia Chu and junior Emily Novikov were in a tight battle at no. 3, tied 3-3, they did not get a chance to finish their set. The Chu/ Novikov pairing were interrupted after the senior duo of Paige Gilbert and Ashley Kennedy fell 6-3 at no. 1. That loss clinched the decisive doubles point for the Blue Demons. In singles, Georgetown went toe-to-toe with DePaul. The Hoyas took an early lead when GarofoloRo decisively beat Clara Nilsson 6-0, 6-2 at no. 3 and Bhat came out victorious 6-4, 6-3, at no. 6, putting Georgetown up 2-1 in singles early.

The seniors could not follow up their teammates’ successes, however. DePaul first-year Yasemin Pehlivan dispatched Kennedy 7-5, 6-3 at no. 4 to tie the match, before Gilbert fell 6-1, 6-4 at no. 5, giving the Blue Demons a 3-2 lead.

The last two matches both went to a third set. After comfortably taking the first set of her match at line one, Novikov dropped the next two,

losing 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Her loss clinched the match for DePaul. Regardless, Chu kept fighting at no. 2, ultimately winning a multi-tiebreaker nailbiter 5-7, 7(7)-6(1), (10)-(5). Head Coach Freddy Mesmer applauded his team’s efforts despite the narrow loss, saying the Hoyas’ energy powered them to the win.

“A close battle on Saturday night with a tough DePaul team, but our group brought great energy and pushed the other team to the limit!” Mesmer wrote to The Hoya

The next day, in Milwaukee, the Hoyas again failed to find a spark in doubles. Bhat and Garofolo-Ro dropped their set 6-2 at no. 2. Despite playing Marquette (2-5, 0-2 Big East) close, Chu and Novikov also fell by a score of 7-5, at no. 3, before the Gilbert/ Kennedy pair could finish their match at no. 1, marking the second day in a row the Hoyas were swept in doubles. Something snapped after their subpar doubles performance for Georgetown, however. Mesmer tweaked the singles lineup slightly from the previous match, moving Bhat up to no. 4 after her commanding win at no. 6 against DePaul and taking Kennedy out of the lineup after her straight-sets loss the day prior.

Mesmer also put sophomore Carolyn Schaefer, who grew up in Milwaukee and attended high school just seven miles from where the match on Sunday was held, into the no. 6 slot to make her season debut.

“Our group bounced back strong with a 6-1 dominant singles performance across all courts,” Mesmer wrote to The Hoya Sunday marked only the second time in three seasons the Hoyas have swept a team in singles, the other against Providence College on Feb. 15, 2025. While doubles was a struggle this weekend, Georgetown showed promise in singles, with a 9-3 record overall. If they can polish up their doubles game, the Hoyas could become difficult to beat. Mesmer said he was happy with his team’s play throughout the road trip and is looking forward to their continued development.

“Our team played great this weekend,” Mesmer wrote to the Hoya. “I’m excited for the next couple weeks as we continue to grow and improve as a group!” Georgetown will take the next week off before traveling to Annapolis, Md.

and

The adjustments worked. Novikov finished first at no. 1, avenging her loss against DePaul with a straightforward 6-1, 6-4 victory. Bhat, bumped up in the lineup, had no problem at no. 4, following Novikov’s lead with a 6-2, 7-5 win. Next, Garofolo-Ro came out of a tight three-setter victorious at no.3, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, before Chu prevailed in her own three-setter at no. 2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, to clinch the match for the Hoyas. Gilbert and Schaefer played their individual matches despite the overall match already being won, and they did not disappoint. Gilbert breezed by her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-1, before Schaefer capped her homecoming with a 6-4, 6-2 win to give Georgetown the sweep at singles and a 6-1 victory overall. Mesmer said his team’s commanding performance on the singles court against Marquette was a strong response after their loss to DePaul the day prior.

Get the Students Involved

COLUMN, from A12

the arena on a weeknight is a real pain. The shuttle buses from the Hilltop to the arena are infrequent and require students to choose between classes, homework or the game. For the non-students, choosing to go to the game after work is often difficult.

The Jan. 28 weeknight game against DePaul University (12-12, 4-9 Big East) drew 3,422 in an arena that seats 20,356. Your columnists were some of the lucky few there to see the Hoyas’ victory, but with the stadium so empty, it was hardly that exciting. It felt pathetic and sad. The ideal solution, although a long shot, is to play games somewhere else. Renovating McDonough Arena seems like the easiest fix. McDonough likely does not meet the Big East’s minimum capacity requirement. McDonough can currently hold only 2,000 fans, but crammed 4,620 in the 1980s when safety regulations were more laissez-faire. The Grateful Dead played before 7,000 people at a 1970 concert (whose raucousness led to a multi-year ban on concerts in the gym).

McDonough used to be the soul of the Hilltop campus, but has been relegated to a sideshow, considering the university did not even sell tickets to McDonough games this year. The team restricted those two games to students and season ticket holders alone, despite not having either at capacity.

Recently, the men’s basketball program has made an effort to schedule a handful of midweek non-conference games there each year. Despite the lesser competition, in the columnists’ opinion these are among the livelier atmospheres of any Georgetown athletic event.

The Lehigh University game at McDonough in November 2024 was also particularly memorable because of the number of students who attended and the energy they brought. However, fundraising woes and neighborhood opposition make a revitalized McDonough an unlikely solution.

The website for Georgetown Master Planning, which outlines new university construction projects through 2036, mentions neither as possibilities, so it looks like we will be stuck with Capital One for the foreseeable future.

The Jan. 17 University of Connecticut (22-2, 12-1 Big East) game had the best atmosphere of any game we have attended in the Cooley era. There are tangible efforts the men’s basketball program and university administrators can make to recreate that vibe at more games, even if a new location is impossible.

First and foremost, the student section needs to be rowdy, loud and teeming with excitement. At

every great program, when the TV cameras pan to the student section, it captures all three criteria. Signs, costumes and traditions create the kind of atmosphere students want and ultimately motivate them to attend more games and participate more actively.

Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on your stance), these are all inextricably linked with alcohol.

Last season, some entrepreneurial students began a $1 beer night promotion, which was a huge success, as it drew a large student turnout and injected life into the student section.

At the University of South Florida, Head Coach Bryan Hodgson funded a “first beer on me” promotion for the first 500 students of legal drinking age. Cooley should spare the money for a few tall boys, especially if it could help the Hoyas eke out a big win. Crowd traditions also motivate students to attend games, as it makes participating in crowd activities feel like an indispensable part of the student experience.

Hoya Blue recently brought back the practice of turning our backs to the court during opponent introductions, which is a solid first step. However, there needs to be more substantial calls to action throughout the game to maximize the crowd’s impact on the Hoyas’ on-court performance. Some ideas include a signature entrance theme akin to the Virginia Tech football team’s introduction to “Enter Sandman.”

Another tradition that could be implemented is the singing of the Georgetown alma mater at every game. In the columnists’ experience, very few people know the lyrics, but if singing the song could be consistently implemented, there is the potential for it to become a longstanding practice. In our eyes, it is the hallmark of any self-respecting fanbase to know and sing the fight song of the university you support at every game.

Finally, the athletic department needs to make the games into can’tmiss events. Attendance should depend not only on the Hoyas’ chances for victory or the opponent’s national ranking, but also on historic rivalries against consistent opponents. The first priority should be to restore annual matchups against Syracuse University, one of college basketball’s most storied rivalries. Additionally, in recent years, many of the most vitriolic matchups have been scheduled while students are away on break, such as St. John’s University and Providence College this year. While scheduling is the Big East’s job, Georgetown should also be pushing to bring those games into primetime spots for students, not just for the conference’s television partners. There is no better time than now to bring back “Hoya Paranoia” for the student section.

Iwuchukwu Embraced the Adversity of Injuries

IWUCHUKWU, from A12

Iwuchukwu, who says he takes inspiration for his game from the offensive prowess and defensive versatility of Giannis Antetokounmpo, looks for ways to support his teammates and raise the Hoyas’ level of play when entering the game.

“I expect to just raise the level that we’re already playing at,” Iwuchukwu said. “What do we need in this moment, this possession?”

Coming in as a transfer from reigning Big East champion St. John’s University, Iwuchukwu has continued to establish himself as a formidable anchor in Georgetown’s defense and a productive player offensively in the paint. Iwuchukwu averaged 11.4 points and 6 rebounds per game as well as 15 blocks over the course of the season.

Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley outlined some of Iwuchukwu’s unique assets on the court when speaking to reporters Thursday, saying he brought key low-block production to the squad.

“Length, athleticism, physicality, scoring punch,” Cooley told The Hoya “When you’re playing against somebody who has an interior offensive package like Tarris, you’ve got to use everything in your arsenal,” he added, referring to University of Connecticut center Tarris Reed Jr.

It’s a style of play that has made him a feared defensive obstacle for opponents and put the rest of

the conference on notice.

After Hoyas fought UConn to the wire in a 64-62 January loss, UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley effusively praised the center, who played 30 minutes and recorded a doubledouble. Hurley said the Hoyas were a more challenging opponent to face when Iwuchukwu was on the court.

“Just how different of a team they are with Big Vince in there,” Hurley said in the post-game press conference. “Teams were very fortunate to play them without Big Vince in. He gives them, obviously, a starting caliber, high-major center. It allows Julius to play backup minutes as a talented young big, and I think they’re a much different team with Vince in there.”

Creighton University Head Coach Greg McDermott was another voice in the choir singing Iwuchukwu’s praises. Iwuchukwu recorded another double-double in 30 minutes as the Hoyas took down the Bluejays on Feb. 4. McDermott said Iwuchukwu’s presence made Georgetown a far more competitive team.

“As I told Coach Cooley, you look at how Georgetown played before Vince went out and how they played since he’s been back,” McDermott said in the postgame press conference. “He impacts the game so much on both ends of the court.”

But for Iwuchukwu, the most crucial ingredient for success — on and off the court — comes not from tangible skills or tough defense, but from the intangibles.

“Vince the player wants to be a winner,” Iwuchukwu said. “A lot of times, people base their performances off stats. I feel like I base my performances off of wins and the success of the team. If we don’t have team success, that means I’m not doing my job to the best of my ability.”

Iwuchukwu says he takes inspiration from LeBron James’ communication on the court and Kobe Bryant’s “mamba mentality” off the court. He said the importance of communication especially shines when playing in raucous environments on the road, like the Hoyas’ upcoming matchup against No. 6 UConn in Storrs, Conn., on Saturday, Feb. 14.

“We’re always having constant communication about how to get better,” Iwuchukwu said. “Everything’s all about connectivity, going to environments like that.”

“You can’t create a winning culture if you’re not aligned,” he added. It was Cooley’s reputation for building a winning culture that influenced Iwuchukwu’s decision to transfer. Iwuchukwu had observed the way Cooley turned around his former program at Providence College and transformed former Georgetown standout Micah Peavy from an under-the-radar prospect to a defensive stalwart and NBA player. Iwuchukwu said he wanted to play a leading role in bringing a former powerhouse back to glory.

“For me, it was a choice of ‘where can I go to make an

impact?’” Iwuchukwu said. “I’ve always preached to myself that I want to be the best defensive player in the country. Not just in the Big East, not just on the team, in the country. So I felt like coming here was the best ability I had, my best chance to do that.”

“Coming here for me, it’s just, I want to build a winning culture. Every single day, going hard, every single day, making sure guys are held accountable every single day on the court,” he continued.

“Habits are what create DNA, so that’s all I’m trying to bring here.” And although he’s focused on building a winning program that outlasts his time at Georgetown, Iwuchukwu’s focus remains on the next game and the game after that. While speculation builds over his next move after the Hoyas’ season, Iwuchukwu blocks out the noise, setting the Feb. 14 game against UConn as his next target. If the lessons he’s learned from each successive comeback are any indication, it’s that Iwuchukwu views success as earned — with a “here and now” mentality — rather than a given. He said he aims to foster this mentality in rebuilding the Hoyas’ culture for the next generation.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned throughout my years of playing basketball is you have to do your best every single day — just have the opportunity to win,” Iwuchukwu said. “You’re not guaranteed to win.”

Post College Basketball Coverage Was Legendary

POST, from A12

Post Sports became legendary in part because of its coverage of D.C.-area college basketball. In the 1980s, at the height of Georgetown men’s basketball, Michael Wilbon, who now co-hosts ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” covered the Hoyas as a beat reporter while the equally legendary John Feinstein was on the University of Maryland beat.

Wang said Georgetown basketball’s ascendance under Thompson Jr. was huge for D.C., and The Post played a major role covering the team through those years.

“There’s a big connection. John Thompson was a Black man, the first Black coach to win an NCAA title, and in a city that is so important to that community. The Georgetown team became so important in that community, as told through Washington Post stories,” Wang said.

“Georgetown became a national brand, and obviously that’s what John Thompson built,” Wang added. “But the story was told in many ways through the Washington Post, and so it was a very symbiotic relationship that I was glad to be a part of as a reader growing up, and then eventually, maybe in some small way, covering the team in the 90s after I started at The Post.”

When the Hoyas won the national championship in 1984, The Post ran, at the very top of its front page, the declaration of victory. The Metro section, which also saw substantial cuts recently, led off with the celebrations on M Street, declaring it was “The Hoyas’ Night to Howl,” while Sports dedicated its top spot to the Hoyas.

One of Wang’s first assignments for The Post was at the Kenner Summer League in McDonough Arena in the summer of 1994, where he said he and the Georgetown faithful watched Allen Iverson play for the first time, before his freshman season.

“It had to have been a fire code violation. There had to have been thousands of people there, more than any game that’s ever been played there,” Wang said. “You could tell from right away that this guy was going to be just something extra special that we’ve never seen.”

When Wang was hired at The Post’s sports section, it had a reporter assigned to each major local university. Over time the section was cut down until Wang had to cover D.C. college athletics virtually alone. Wang said although The Post had been downsizing its sports coverage for years, the idea that the entire section could be shut down was unfathomable.

“We’d been hearing rumors for months. I thought, ‘These are just rumors from other reports, there’s no way they could dismantle an entire section that has meant so much to the city,’” Wang said. “We were incredulous that that circumstance could even exist, and then when it happens, your jaw obviously hits the table.”

Wang said he was in shock for days after being laid off.

“The first few days for me were surreal,” Wang said. “You thought it was a dream that you would wake up from, but I never woke up.”

Although Wang does not know what he will do next, he said he would support a new online platform where former Post sports writers could contribute and keep the tradition of D.C. sports coverage alive.

“I’d love to see a platform where post writers, post writers, especially, who have some connection to DC, can write and continue digitally,” Wang said. “There might be some investors, from what I understand, who might want to get a group of us together. and see what comes of it.”

“It’s very obviously still in the very early stages. I don’t know anything concrete yet, but I know there are a lot of people who value sports journalism in D.C. and would want to continue on in some way.” Wang said The Post’s sports coverage is often intertwined with how people celebrate and remember moments in D.C. sports history, and that without a Post front page to commemorate these moments, something is missing. “I would ask the question, ‘If we have another championship in the city, what are you going to hold up to celebrate?”’ Wang said. “There’s no hard copy of the Post to be able to frame.”

SOFTBALL, from A12

to buy in with you, it’s going to create that trickle effect,” Ross said, “It’s important to have a goldfish memory, taking things one pitch, one at-bat, one inning at a time.”

“I’ve been coaching for 14 years, and have only coached one other team that has the chemistry and culture of this program now,” Ross added.

Ross said culture can push a team past one with greater raw talent, and she has emphasized bonding between Hoyas across class years.

“You can be the most talented team, but if you don’t have chemistry and culture, you’re always going to fall short,” Ross said. “And I truly believe that’s what’s going to get us over this hump: We have a great upperclass group, and we have first-years that are following in their footsteps.”

First-year pitcher Catherine Larson said the team’s culture stood out immediately when she first joined.

“As a first-year, my teammates

were amazing, welcoming me in,”

Larson told The Hoya. “They reached out during the summer, even before we came here. They offered to answer any questions and help us make our schedules, and once we got here, there were so many planned team bonding activities and efforts made towards that team culture.”

Larson began playing softball at age seven and concentrated on pitching in high school, leading her team to their sixth state championship before heading to Georgetown as a premedical student. Larson highlighted the variety of experience and guidance on the team.

“You can meet some people your age who are in the same situation as you, maybe a little bit nervous, but also people who are older and more mature, who have been through what you’re worried about, and can help lead you through it,” Larson said.

Senior outfielder Claire Turner, from Palo Alto, Calif., echoed the strength of the team’s culture,

saying she trusts her teammates wholeheartedly going into her final season of eligibility.

“Not just one person can win the whole game by themselves,” Turner told The Hoya. “We know that even if you get out, the girl behind you is there to support you, and your teammates will have your back no matter what.”

Turner said she intends to create an uplifting and welcoming culture for recruits.

“We want people to love the team,” Turner said. “Even when the recruits come in, we want them to know that they’re coming into a family and that this is going to be their home for the next four years.”

Junior utility player and campus captain Abby Kozo said she’s looking forward to taking on a leadership role and doing everything she can to help the team win, especially after a long wait to start this spring.

“The hardest part about the spring and being in season is the anticipa-

tion and lead-up,” Kozo told The Hoya Throughout January, the team practiced through snowy and below-freezing conditions, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to compete. Kozo said she found that experience key to being prepared before the season.

“It is the most rewarding experience when it does pay off, and you think, ‘that makes so much sense, why we did all that conditioning, or all those reps’ — to be able to win the game,” Kozo said. Larson said the general low expectations around the team are motivating the Hoyas. “We’re ranked pretty low in preseason rankings, but that just means there’s so much room for us to grow as a team and as a community,” Larson said. “I’m really excited,

Georgetown vs. Providence

Feb. 14 @ 2 p.m.

McDonough Arena

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026 BASEBALL NUMBERS GAME

Ahead of the start of the season, Georgetown baseball is looking to finally reach the NCAA tournament.

See A10

Next Round Is On Ed Cooley

S.H. Ratliff III and Luke

Neumann Sports Columnists

College basketball fans have long waxed poetic about the chills sent down opposing players’ spines when confronted with the haunting “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk, KU” chant in Allen Fieldhouse. Visiting teams struggle to run basic inbound plays while subject to jeers from the Cameron Crazies at Duke University. The most feared teams in college basketball share a common denominator: Their fans will go to great lengths to influence games. While many current Georgetown University students could not fathom a campus culture centered on Georgetown men’s basketball, there was once a time during the John Thompson Jr. “Hoya Paranoia” era when Georgetown was arguably the most feared team in college basketball. So, how does Capital One Arena become a place that opponents loathe playing at? The most obvious answer is an “if you build it, they will come” approach: If the Hoyas start winning, students and Washington, D.C. residents will come out to support them.

During a Dec. 15 press conference, Head Coach Ed Cooley said he believed fans owed a duty to the team to support the Hoyas in person, and the results would follow.

“I cannot state this enough,” Cooley said, “how important it is, not to have our faculty, students and staff members come to the game, but the entire community. Everyone says, ‘Well, win first or do this,’ but we have to do this together. That’s what unity is about.” It is not infeasible to believe that a raucous environment can precede, and help create, a nationally-contending team.

The largest barrier for students and other fans who live outside downtown D.C. is that getting to

See COLUMN, A11

TALKING POINTS

If we have another championship in the city, what are you going to hold up to celebrate?

Former Post Reporter Gene Wang (CAS ’91)

Georgetown women’s basketball scored 42 bench points in their loss to the Villanova Wildcats.

As he finishes his senior season, Georgetown center Vince Iwuchukwu reflected on his collegiate career, revisiting his health scares, the recovery process and his time on three different teams. Iwuchukwu now prides himself on his comeback mentality that allows him to live in the present.

Caleigh Keating Contributing Editor

Talk to Vince Iwuchukwu, and you’ll soon find out he is planted firmly in the here and now.

The senior center from Nigeria firmly believes that a buildup of small, granular successes, rather than lofty goals, are the recipe for winning.

“Game by game, day by day. I live by that motto,” Iwuchukwu told The Hoya. “I try to live in the now.”

That’s a mindset that has fueled Iwuchukwu through injuries, health scares and three different teams in a college basketball

career that has forced him to be more resilient than most.

Iwuchukwu’s collegiate career almost ended before it began. In a 2022 practice before his first year of NCAA basketball, Iwuchukwu suffered a cardiac arrest on court.

After initial doubts over whether he’d be able to play basketball again and a lengthy recovery and clearance process, Iwuchukwu returned six months later, going on to play 14 games in his first season.

Iwuchukwu said the rehab process was both physically and mentally tough but forced him to be patient and take things one day at a time.

“As much as it is physical, it is very much mental,” Iwuchukwu said. “You have to wake up every single day and be like, ‘Damn, I’m not where I was before.’ I have to work every single day to get back to this point.”

This season, Iwuchukwu underwent a “scheduled medical procedure” after the Nov. 15 game against Clemson and was out until early January. The Hoyas’ strong early start dissipated in that period, going 5-5 in the 10 games he missed.

Iwuchukwu said he maintained a positive mindset during those rehab periods.

Post Sports Cuts Leaves City, Writers Reeling

Sam Fishman

Deputy Sports Editor

Summoned to a long-rumored all-staff Zoom meeting in the early hours of the morning, reporters for The Washington Post heard words they had been dreading.

“First, we will be closing the sports department in its current form,” Will Lewis announced. Lewis, then-chief executive of The Post who has since resigned, announced a long-rumored and dramatic restructuring of The Post at a Feb. 4 Zoom meeting. Lewis said The Post would reduce its editorial staff by 300, a third of the paper’s journalists, and completely eliminate its Sports section to focus on politics coverage. The news sent a shockwave through the city and journalistic circles, both of whom had cherished the paper’s extraordinary sports coverage for decades.

One of the laid-off sports writers was Gene Wang (CAS ’91), a Washington, D.C. native who attended Georgetown University and covered sports for The Hoya. His 35-year tenure covering a wide array of athletics at the Post began while he was still at Georgetown in 1990. On his final beat, Wang covered college athletics with a specific focus on D.C.-area college football and basketball.

Wang said his love affair with Post Sports began in his youth.

“When I was in school, the first thing we did was run to our doorstep, back when they put The Post right there, and turn to the sports page every single morning,” Wang told The Hoya. “I know it sounds like a cliche, but I’ve heard over and over again

from folks disappointed about what’s happening at the sports department — that they learned to read in large part by reading the sports section of the Washington Post.”

“I can say I was one of those people,” he added. Wang said he was naturally drawn to sports writing by his dual love for athletics and The Post.

When he got to Georgetown, Wang said, he started writing for The Hoya right away, jumping headfirst into covering press conferences with titans such as Georgetown men’s

basketball coach John Thompson Jr., whose “Hoya Paranoia” spawned from his legendary hostility towards the media.

“I remember the first time I was trying to ask John Thompson a question. It was the most intimidating thing,” Wang said. “He had a reputation of not suffering foolish questions. Obviously, when you’re a student reporter, you don’t have the experience and sometimes you don’t frame the question the way it should be.”

“He would call you out on it,” Wang added. “It wasn’t rude, he would just

say, ‘I understand the question. Let’s ask it in a different way.’”

Years later, when Thompson Jr. left coaching and moved to the broadcast booth and Wang was writing for The Post, Wang said the two grew close.

“After John retired and went to our side, we became really, really good friends. He would always ask about my family, and I would always tell him, ‘You know, I was so scared of you,’” Wang said. “He would always say, ‘that made you a better reporter, though, didn’t it?’”

POST, A11

“I understand what I’m going through is difficult in the moment, but the next day will be better,” Iwuchukwu said. “The next day will be better. And then when all those days accumulate, they become something that’s — you have a finished product.”

Four years later, Iwuchukwu looks back on the twists of his collegiate career, grateful that the adversity he’s faced provided him with a new perspective.

“I think young Vince was always thinking so far ahead about things. I wasn’t where my feet were,” he added.

“I definitely appreciate the moment, appreciate life, in its rarity.”

“You just never know what’s going to happen or when things are gonna change. Really appreciate the moment, being in the moment, not thinking too far ahead.” Iwuchukwu’s relentless focus on the present moment has proven key for the Hoyas this season as the senior center shouldered an impact role, sharing minutes with sophomore center Julius Halaifonua. Iwuchukwu proved himself to be a key difference maker in late-game situations, making an immediate impact coming off the bench.

Lily Saal Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown University softball team will open its season with a threegame series at the University of Delaware on Feb. 13-14, marking the Hoyas’ first full year under Head Coach Karla Ross. The Hoyas will host Drexel University for their home opener Feb. 28, followed by another game on March 1, and open Big East play at Providence College from March 6-8. Last season, the team recorded 11 wins in a year defined by transition. In January 2025, Karla Ross stepped into the vacant head coach role, only a week before the season began, leaving little time to shape her team.

Ross said she primarily focused on evaluating and getting to know her team in her first year. “As hard as it is to hear, yes, I wanted to win, but it wasn’t about the wins and losses,” Ross told The Hoya. “It was ‘how does this person receive feedback?’ ‘How does this person do in certain situations?’ I was getting to know my team as people and as athletes.”

Ross played collegiate softball at the University of Wisconsin and went straight into coaching after graduation. After volunteering at The George Washington University, she moved into the junior college ranks in Florida, where she founded the softball program at Florida Southwestern State College in 2016. Now, Ross said returning to the Washington, D.C. area was a “full circle moment” for the Ashburn, Va. native.

“I learned who I was, what I wanted to be, and how I wanted to coach,” Ross said. “Every year, you’re learning something about yourself.” Ross attributes much of her coaching methods to her parents, who were both educators; her father was a high school principal, and her mother was a first-grade teacher for 40 years, saying coaching is about belief.

“At the end of the day, with coaching, you’ve got to get them to buy in,” Ross said. “If your players don’t buy in and believe in your vision, then the program will never grow. And I believe the girls are starting to buy into the vision.” Amelia Lech, the team’s new assistant coach, joined the program in January after playing at the University of Maryland and Auburn University.

“She played at the highest level, SEC ball, and brings passion, drive, energy and willingness to work,” Ross said. “The girls have been really receptive to her.” To get players to buy in, Ross said she remains direct, focusing on Sabermetrics.

“I tell them, ‘stats don’t lie.’ That’s a big thing in our sport,” Ross said. Last year, she instituted a strict schedule of practice: five to six days a week and weightlifting three times a week. Ross said she and Lech lift weights with the team during team lifts to model the standard they expect.

“I tell my girls: If you take one person with you to hit, or get one person