For weeks, the university community was transfixed as Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and images of widespread destruction became an indelible part of national news coverage. Administrators decided to take action by enrolling almost 100 students from Loyola University in New Orleans and Tulane University, both of which were unable to hold fall semester classes due to the hurricane.
Georgetown students, many with family and friends affected by the storm, also did their part to help those impacted by the disaster. Student groups and concerned individuals formed a coalition, the GU Hurricane Emergency Relief Effort, to coordinate fundraising and other events on campus to help hurricane victims in the Gulf region.
As part of these efforts, students solicited donations in Red Square for hurricane relief. GUHERE also coordinated a diaper drive, a volunteer information session and a benefit concert in Gaston Hall. Members of the Interfaith Council organized a candlelight prayer service for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
During a Mass of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Phillip Boroughs, S.J., prayed for victims of the hurricane.
“In a special way, let us pray for those who have died in the tragedies of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama,” he said. “Let us pray for those who have lost their homes, their livelihood, and at this moment it seems to them, their futures. That the compassion and love of God’s people in this country and beyond will rally to support them and help them, and that we at Georgetown will find creative ways to care for our sisters and brothers in need.”
Georgetown Community Mourns Three Students
Georgetown students returned to campus this year saddened by the sudden deaths of three university students over the summer, The Hoya reported Aug. 26.
Matthew Navien, a rising sophomore in the School of Foreign Service, was killed in a June automobile accident in North Andover, ass. Navien was an active participant in ROTC during his freshman year and was remembered by family and friends as having a passion for international affairs and diplomacy.
Lydia Ngonyi, a rising senior in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, lost her long battle with cancer in July. Ngonyi had taken a leave of absence after being diagnosed with lymphoma. She had planned to attend medical school and travel to Africa to help HIV/AIDS victims as a physician.
Sumer Alvarez, a rising junior in the College, died in July in an electrical accident in India, where she was spending her summer teaching English to children. During her time at Georgetown, Alvarez displayed a passion for theater and art, especially photography.
Professor Accused in
Campus Assault
According to police accounts, Ibrahim Oweiss, an economics professor at the School of Foreign Service-Qatar, hit Michelina Bonnano in her face with a closed fist on Sept. 10 while she sat inside her car.
Bannano said that she was packing items into her car when she observed Oweiss and his wife, Georgetown French Professor Celine Oweiss, running toward her. Bannano said she was grabbed by Ibrahim Oweiss, who then yanked at her identification card and hit her in the face.
Celine Oweiss said that her husband did not harm Bannano, and that Bannano was unprovoked when she bit him.
“We have cannibals on campus,” she said. “Her car and another car were blocking the little hole leading to the library. It was urgent for us to leave and we had waited a long time.”
The police incident report said that Ibrahim Oweiss received a cut on his hand and that Bonnano suffered a cut and bruising above her left eye.
Med Center Discloses Fraud
The Medical Center unveiled further financial woes mid-month with the disclosure that a former GUMC administrator had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the university over a seven-year period, The Hoya reported Sept. 20.
Adriana Santamaria, who served as the administrator of the edical Center’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology from January 1989 to March 2002, and her sister, Maria Cabrales, pleaded guilty in August to wide-ranging illegal transactions that cost the university over $500,000.
Santamaria and Cabrales were each sentenced to 20 months in federal prison in January.
Federal court documents outlined a sophisticated evasion of Georgetown’s spending safeguards, but also said that weaknesses in the university’s financial accountability system contributed to the large-scale fraud. Administrators said that they had recently taken steps to address the problems in Georgetown’s financial accountability structure.
Healy Clock Tower Hands Stolen
Georgetown students realized the return of a long-standing tradition when they discovered that the Healy clock hands had been stolen during the last weekend of September, The Hoya reported Sept. 27.
The Department of Public Safety immediately began an investigation into the theft and a search for the missing property. Officials also issued requests for information about the crime.
Andrew Hamblen (SFS ’07) and Wyatt Gjullin (COL ’09) were sentenced to disciplinary probation by a university hearing board in January after they were found to have perpetrated the thefts.
The clock hands were last stolen in 2001, although attempts to take the clock hands were much more common in previous decades.
At the time of the incident, the side of Healy facing Dahlgren was undergoing renovations and a large scaffolding structure had been erected on the side of the building, allowing the perpetrators an avenue to reach the Healy clock.
