If you want to fit in at Georgetown, you have to speak the language. And no, I’m not talking about Arabic or Spanish or Chinese — I’m talking about acronyms. So much more than collections of letters, they’re more like a way of life.
I’m talking more than the standard OMG, LOL here. From schools to clubs to buildings, our campus is full of acronyms. Some of them are fairly straightforward, like NSO, VCE and GUSA. While the B in MSB can stand for either “Business” or “Bros,” either way it wouldn’t be too hard for an outsider to figure out what you were talking about. ICC is another one of these. Although, since it’s the Bunn Intercultural Center, shouldn’t we refer to this building the BIC? A question for the ages.
But then we have a crop of more confusing acronyms. GUASFCU? The pronunciations of our dear credit union’s acronym vary. Some give it a hard C, while others say it with a Ch sound. And some people say the GUA- then resort to mumbling incoherent syllables. And since when does GUGS rhyme with jugs? There’s some linguistic trickery going on there.
I know, I know. All the GUSA people will hate me for this. For every word I write, there is an angry SFS student or government major wagging their finger at me and muttering about civic responsibility and how ‘a vote is your voice’….etc., etc.,.
BUT (and this is a big but) part of journalism (err…blogging) is giving voice to the voiceless. And if you could’t tell, there’s an underrepresented majority that have been silently enduring the GUSA campaign shouts.
All the hullaballoo this year has been off-putting. Straw polls? Vice Presidential candidate debates? Really? Why can’t all that time and organization be used for something….that, um, actually helps the campus?
A good friend of mine even told me today that a person campaigning in Red Square forced a flier into their pocket, after they had refused to take one. Uncalled for if you ask me.
So, I’m abstaining from the vote this year on the moral grounds that I think there are more important things students should be doing besides running campaigns that are, in my opinion, really just ego and resume padding.
Here are 10 things you can do today and tomorrow (in lieu) of voting that will actually benefit the universe. And a bonus? They’re good to do even if you DO want to vote in the GUSA election.
Now that GUSA elections are in full swing, the walls of Red Square are three layers deep in campaign flyers and candidates are releasing their campaign videos. Past classics have ranged from 2007′s Vote in a Box to last year’s Most Interesting Man at Georgetown. So what does this year have to offer? With seven official tickets in the race (plus Chicken Madness’ inevitable write-in campaign), we’ve got a lot of videos to look at.
Murph and Mike We were surprised by Murphy Kate Delaney’s rap skills – she’s not the next Kanye, but she’s decent (and VP Mike Appau is pretty solid too). The lines, “Who’s Murphy my dude?/Match my bows with my shoes/Mikey’s straight out of Ghana/Like a Georgetown Obama” were a moment of genius. And we were honored by the shoutout in the beginning – “So I ball so hard, everybody’s trying to vote me/But first the Hoya needs to quote me.”
Sax|Crouch Tyler Sax and Michael Crouch’s campaign emphasizes the voice of the students, and their video shows them joining quite a few of Georgetown’s clubs, from WGTB to Groove Theory. While we get the impression that these guys spend literally all of their time together (besties!), they’re showing off a fundamental aspect of their campaign platform. Also, they’re not the best dancers in the world.
John and Lauren It’s “halftime at Georgetown,” and this sendup of Chrysler’s Super Bowl commercial features John Morris and Lauren Weber for only 9 seconds of a 2-minute video. Instead, we get a voiceover from a deep-voiced stranger, talking about how “this campus can’t be knocked down with one punch.” The sweeping panoramas of campus are pretty, but we’re left wondering what their campaign is actually about. (Ed note: Lauren Weber is a member of The Hoya’s board of directors.)
Clara and Vail This is one of the few videos that clearly states the candidates’ campaign platform. Clara Gustafson and Vail Kohnert-Yount outline their goals for GUSA over some peppy flute music. The freeze frame after they jump off a bench in the Observatory garden is a nice touch.
Colton and Maggie Speaking from Gaston Hall, Colton Malkerson and Maggie Cleary also outline the points of their platform. They also give a thorough record of their experience on GUSA. It’s a clear video, but we wish it had some music, dancing or panoramas of campus – something to spice it up a bit.
Dan and Markel A parody of a Hermain Cain ad, the campaign manager for Dan LaMagna and Markel Starks boasts about how his team will “put the student back in Georgetown University Student Association.” The music is a bit loud, but it’s a line for line sendup of the original (minus the “We would NOT f***ing be here right now.”). Bonus: They’re the only ticket with a video solely dedicated to the VP candidate.
Tisa WalshWhile Nate Tisa and Shelia Walsh don’t appear to have released any video campaign just yet, we’re hoping it’s because there’s something epic in the works. We’ll update if/when that happens. Nate Tisa and Sheila Walsh released their campaign video yesterday, adding a Georgetown-centric video to the “Sh*t ____s Say” meme. While we’re a little confused by the fixation on peer advisors (is reforming that program part of their platform?), the “last night at Brown House…” line made us laugh.
Wednesday night? Nothing to do? We here at The Fourth Edition would like to spice up the night (for those of you who are 21 or over) by offering up a drinking game to play during the GUSA VP debate! Hurry up and get yourself a 30 rack from Towne, curl up on the couch with your laptop and enjoy the show (we think it’s viewable here, but we aren’t actually sure). Rules after the jump.
The team over at GUSA has released a series of videos advertising the SAFE Referendum, voting for which takes place January 24-26 (in those polling booths they’re setting up in Leo’s). The videos feature interviews with student leaders from Georgetown Energy, the SIPS Fund and the New South Student Center Plans.
Changes to the plans for the New South Student Center (video featured above) include a new terrace on the south side and changes to the first floor, funded by a $2.05 million gift. Design plans for this terrace included in the video show everything from a game room, dance studios, fire pits and “possibly a pub,” according to Taylor Price (MSB ’10) who is featured in the video. Construction is scheduled to be completed by August 2014, according to GUSA. If this student center turns out to be as exciting as this video makes it seem, we might consider sticking around for a couple of years to take advantage of it.
Georgetown Energy’s part of the referendum would allocate $250,000 towards making our campus just a little more green via the addition of solar panels to 37th St townhouses and the creation of a “Green Revolving Loan Fund” that would support eco-friendly projects. Their video features Issei Nino (COL ’12) in his breakthrough role as a dancing sun (check out the video at 0:54 if you don’t believe us).
The SIPS Fund, according to their website, wants to use the SAFE money as “an innovative use of our collective resources to help improve our community and world by investing in … our fellow Hoyas.” With a $1.25 million endowment, SIPS would student projects based on Jesuit ideals. Their video outlines the possibilities for social change via student and alumni projects that could be funded by SIPS.
