Recess! ... postponed

When I came to Georgetown, I wanted an internship on the Hill. But I soon became lazy, and the prospect of a long metro ride was too daunting for me to leave my room. Therefore I blog.

Today, to make up for my past sloth, I did take the Capitol tour. And you know what? I wasn't impressed. Government kinda sucks.

Though the statues of dead Americans are rather impressive (especially look for the statue of King Kameamea, seen at right, who is, one might remark, quite gilded), all anyone goes to see is the House in session. And in session it was. Ish.

Today was supposed to be the last day before August recess (think 3rd-grade Ted Kennedy being beaten at tetherball by a demonic pre-pubescent Hillary), disputes in the House over a malfunctional voting machine caused the session to spill over until tomorrow. When my tour group finally entered the Gallery of the House, we were witness to a fight nearly as spectacular as the fabled Lincoln-Douglass or The Devil and Daniel Webster conflicts.

Instead though, a Republican "gentleman from Michigan" sought to end the frivolity that is our representative republic and go home. Upon his motion, many bald Democrats (and several haired ones) strongly voiced their "Nays."

And then it was time to go home. For me at least; Congress has at best another day.

Interning ... on M St.

As a Georgetown student, there's some pressure to intern. Joe Hoya asks, "What are you doing this summer?" Jane Hoya responds, "Oh, I'm interning." Good answer. It's the only answer to give, if you ask me, with the exceptions of a.) traveling or b.) doing a summer program/taking summer classes. Notice that these exceptions require a few grand of your parents money. Are you purposely sabotaging your resume? Just working retail or just working at a camp doesn't seem to cut it anymore, because Harvard Law isn't impressed that you managed to sell a $300 winter coat in July. Should they be... just a little?

I'm one of many Hoyas straddling the line of interning and working retail. When people ask me what I'm doing this summer, I tell them I'm interning and working retail... to pay the rent. Always say to pay the rent. Don't leave that out. The internship is supposed to be the glamorous foray into white collar work while retail is the blue collar labor you're going to college to avoid. It's almost scary for me to say it... but I think in retrospect, I enjoyed the retail more. And no, it wasn't the people (I work alone). I just liked it more. I could wear comfortable clothes and walk around when I felt like it and was surrounded by stimulating, brightly-colored clothes. It's possible that I'm overly cynical to think that fellow Hoyas frown upon retail, but it's true that to just work retail for the summer casts an ominous shadow on your future as a real person in the real world. Even so, I'm happy with my time on the (in)famous M Street. "Have a nice day."

G-UNIT

Of all my neurotic fears (earwigs, botulism, and zombies to name a few), being held-up at knife/gunpoint while walking home from East Campus at night is looking to be one of the more legitimate ones. Carrying a decoy wallet around is getting pretty annoying, so I've compiled a list of possible solutions to Georgetown's security dilemma.

Vigilantism
Georgetown University Neighborhood Intervention Task-force would be an elite security team run by students who are brave enough to volunteer. GUNIT would patrol the campus at night in groups of two, armed with bear mace and full body armor. Sniper units would be stationed on the rooftops of Village A, LXR, Healy Hall, Henle Village, and St. Mary's Hall to provide cover for ground units with rubber bullets. GUNIT would also provide walk-alongs and armored transport for people who can't wait for 45 minutes on hold with Safe Rides. I'm currently researching D.C.'s statutes regarding citizen arrest procedures but GUNIT would probably just end up temporarily detaining suspects until DPS or Metro can arrive on scene. I'm also entertaining the idea of a K-9 unit.

Security Cameras
It shouldn't be too hard to have a few security cameras in strategic locations around campus, especially considering certain areas seem especially prone to crime *cough* Lauinger steps *cough*. This might also help DPS reconstruct crimes while they canvas the area with negative results.

Bear Traps
Everywhere.

DPS Upgrade
DPS officers might not be afraid to patrol places like Lauinger steps or Prospect street if they had some form of self-defense on them like Mace or a police baton. The incident in the Fall of last year where several DPS officers were assaulted was disgraceful. If DPS officers are expected to keep us safe, they need to be able to do something to criminals besides sit on them until Metro arrives. I'm not proposing giving them guns but non-lethal weapons seem to be the only solution if DPS officers are expected to defend students against armed robbers. DPS has the legal right to arrest someone through the power vested in them through Metro, so I think they should have some force to back up that threat. I'm not going to go on for too long complaining about DPS since there's a new head of Public Safety; I'll give him some time to get DPS' act together before starting a petition for upgraded DPS officers.

Let me know what you guys think. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Shit's Getting Real

Okay, so maybe it's nothing like last summer's 14 murders in 13 days, but yesterday's DPS Public Safety Alert is beginning to freak me out again. I have been scared of the Library steps ever since my first weekend at Georgetown, when I first noticed the creepy owl sitting in the tree. And the Steps have betrayed their country on more than one occasion, most notably being where Confederate troops were able to breach the walls and clear out the Union barracks on campus (don't believe the first part, I made that up).

So I wasn't too surprised to hear of three student interns getting mugged there. But the Steps, however sinister they are, are a part of campus and should be a safe haven for Hoyas...and even the non-GU interns here over the summer. Though it seems simple, many such incidents could be avoided with more lighting on campus. That back side of Lauinger is one dark place.

The G Spot urges all Georgetown students to use the buddy system, everywhere.

OIP: Office of Inept Programs

For many Hoyas, Study Abroad has been written in our destiny since we showed up for NSO. Approximately 50% of Georgetown students will go abroad during their four year stint on the hilltop. With numbers like these, you would expect our overseas studies departments would be world class. You would be wrong. Luckily even OIP's shortcomings can't ruin it for you. I had the most amazingly experiences on my semester south of the border, but the OIP had little to do with my overall satisfaction.

My journey, like every one’s, began in the OIP resource center, poring over thick binders of poorly organized, useless information. The limitations on study abroad sites quickly produce a road block more formidable than the Great Wall of China. To add insult to injury, this is the point where you realize that “direct matriculation” does not mean you will be paying your host university’s tuition. Oh no. You still get to pay for the full $17,000 even though the University of Tanzania charges other students a whopping $500 per semester. Sound fair to you?

So you grin and bear it, you finish the application process which seems a little stressful at the time, but it’s okay. You’re done, right? Wrong again, amigo. Once you’re accepted, it’s time to prep for the trip, go to completely useless pre-departure orientations and then receive out-of-date information on visa requirements, etc. When the sheet says, “Only requires a DC background check,” it really means “This country needs to know everything you’ve ever done, including your pre-school grades (they accept nothing less than a crocodile in sharing), so go get an FBI background check like yesterday.” True story.

Your semester begins and you love the people there, everything is so new and amazing, but then you have to register for classes. Don’t expect help from the OIP when you’re confused. Instead, expect to e-mail your adviser only to find that they’re out of the country for the next two weeks. So basically, you’re on your own, suck it up.

The moral of the story is that the OIP is in need of some major reforms. Georgetown is a school renowned for the SFS and linguistic programs, yet our overseas programs are complicated, expensive and limited by bureaucracy. My closing advice: buy a big bottle of ibuprofen, because the OIP is one big pain in the…lederhosen.

Grimace and buy it

eFollett announced yesterday that textbooks are available for purchase. A cursory check shows that not all classes are accounted for, but the vast majority of books are up in the Leavey Center.

Here's a sample comparison of some of Georgetown's staple classes. Let's see how the Bookstore compares to Amazon:

Principles of MicroEconomics:
Parkin has come out with two new editions since I took that class. Must be a lot changin in the turbulent world of micro econ. The 8th Edition is $127 at the Bookstore, and a close $125 on Amazon. In the end, it's all about preferences.

Intro to IR:
While without larger textbooks, the government and history professors are known to require many smaller books (some of which sit the semester idly by) for a larger bill. GOVT-006-01 wants 4 books, totaling $181 used at the Bookstore, but $173 *new* on Amazon. How does this fit into constructivist theory? No one cares.

Orgo:
Are you one of those sophomore pre-meds that's gonna spend most of the year in the Pierce Reading Room? Then Wade's 6th Edition is right up your alley. Spend $203 at the Bookstore to buy it and the Solutions Manual used, or $133 for the same on Amazon. Oh, and do yourself a favor; don't buy the molecule model kit. You'll just spill it.

Finally, Calc II:
$116 at the Bookstore and $118 online ($64 used).

Overall, eFollett doesn't rip us off that badly with the larger textbooks. The deadly classes are the ones (like Middle East Civ I last fall) that require 7 different books, of which you are assigned 4 and read maybe 2.

What really kills the secondary market for books are the various editions with maybe 20 extra pages. Georgetown professors do a decent job letting their students buy previous editions (saving bank). But publishers need to be more sensitive to our needs. Hey, even at Georgetown some people can't afford all these $150 books. What would be more economical (for us...) is to buy the 5th edition of a book used, and buy an insert for the 6th or 7th edition. But my guess is that won't happen, unless we all band together and refuse to buy new editions. But I'm hardly an activist, and Georgetown students are reknowned for their peaceful riots.

Takeaway: See you at the Corp Book Coop.

It's not the generation gap

An eyewitness account of niche ignorance, in an elevator:

Middle-Aged Woman (to I-pod hipster): What are you listening to?
I-pod Hipster (without removing earbuds): The Who.
Middle-Aged Woman: No, what band are you listening to?
I-pod Hipster (Aware of trite irony): The Who.
Middle-Aged Woman: Oh is that the band? I can't keep up with all the new music these days. Must be the generation gap.

VirginFest...again

5 days, 10 hours, 27 minutes and 45 seconds until the start of the 2nd annual Virgin Music Festival, held at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, begins. I went to the one last year, and all my feelings and emotions can be portrayed better by this picture of Flea than by any descriptive adjectives I could pull out my ass.

Yes, the crowd-enthralling performances of RHCP and The Who encouraged a Mr. Richard Branson to extend the Festival totwo days.

This year's weekend has somewhat of a reunion theme, as The Smashing Pumpkins and The Police, who have both played a few shows as of late, headline the performance along with The Beastie Boys. For a full line-up, check out www.virginfestival.com/2007/index.html. Oh, and if you didn't get enough of Fountains of Wayne at last year's GPB concert, you can find them again at noon on Saturday. I regret to inform ya'll, however, that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Wu-Tang Clan overlap on Sunday, on opposite sides of the Race Course.

It's all good though, because I'm only going for Regina Spektor. Hott.

Alright, tickets are still available on http://www.ticketmaster.com/, $175 for both days, $97.50 for single day. I'll see you up there.