William Peter Blatty Files Exorcising Law Suit Against Georgetown University
• June 10, 2013

The 1973 film “The Exorcist” has come back to haunt Georgetown University. William Peter Blatty, class of 1950 Georgetown graduate, and author of the 1971 same-name novel “The Exorcist” is filing a lawsuit against Georgetown University in regards to its supposedly fading Roman Catholic identity.

According to Blatty, his alma mater has not been adhering to its Catholic identity. Georgetown University, founded in 1789 and the oldest Catholic and Jesuit University in the U.S., is having the rug pulled out from under it by a well-known alumnus. The Catholic university, Blatty and others contend, has defied church doctrine on issues such as homosexuality and abortion.

Blatty is speaking for 1,200 university alumni, parents, students, faculty and other Catholics through his petition, calling for Georgetown to comply with Ex Corde Ecclesiae in defending the university’s Catholic roots. Blatty is calling for more Georgetown University Catholic students and alumni alike to arms in the form of a canon suit against the university.

Georgetown University officials disagree with the allegations by Blatty and other of not being as true to Catholicism as it once was. “Our Catholic and Jesuit identity on campus has never been stronger,” said Rachel Pugh, university spokesperson.

The university maintains its academic standards of requiring theology and philosophy courses. Students of Georgetown University have numerous ways to expand their knowledge of Catholicism and strengthen their faith, including the opportunity to attend one or more of as many seven Masses on Sundays in Dahlgren Chapel, which is only one among the five Catholic chapels Georgetown campuses.

“All undergraduate students, for example, take two semesters of theology and two semesters of philosophy before graduation,” said Pugh. “Georgetown supports the largest ministry in the country.”

Georgetown University has not yet seen the petition delivered to Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Blatty has not yet received an official response from the university.

As for how the lawsuit will go, time will only tell if the suit will “purify” Georgetown or if Blatty will tumble down the stairs.

See previous Georgetowner article

Washington State Bridge Collapse a Wake-up Call for Washington, D.C.’s Bridges
• June 3, 2013

With the May 23 Interstate 5 highway bridge collapse in Washington state, highway infrastructure and bridge safety across the U.S. are being questioned anew.

“The collapse of an interstate highway bridge in northern Washington state is a wake-up call for the entire nation,” said Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. National Transportation Safety Board inspection records state that the I-5 bridge had been struck multiple times by vehicles in the past 10 years.

“National bridge records say the I-5 crossing over the Skagit River had a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100 – a score designed to gauge the ability of the bridge to remain in service,” the Washington Times reported. Bridges with ratings of 50 out of 100 or below are eligible for federal replacement.

Around D.C., the go-to bridge for highlighting crossing that are “structurally deficient” remains Francis Scott Key Bridge, between Georgetown and Arlington, Va.; it was built in 1925. Last week, ABC News’s David Curley checked out Key Bridge and noticed some concrete was ready to fall away. “Every day Americans make 200 million trips across what are called structurally deficient bridges, that’s one out of every nine bridges,” he reported. While deemed safe, a structurally deficient bridge requires more check-ups to make sure repairs are on schedule.

With bridges around the U.S. being deemed “at risk,” Key Bridge, carrying 62,000 vehicles each day, is only one among more than 70,000 that requires repairs, the Department of Transportation reported. President Obama used Key Bridge as back-drop in November 2011 to push for his infrastructure jobs proposal.

According to the District Department of Transportation, D.C. will spend $110 million on bridge and ramp repairs in the next few years. Major work on Key Bridge is slated to begin next year, in time for the bicentennial of the Burning of Washington and the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Georgetowner Francis Scott Key. Repairs should run around $18 million.

RELATED — See Nov. 2, 2011, Georgetowner article on President Obama’s visit to Georgetown to highlight infrastructure repair jobs.

Latin-flavored D.C. Jazz Fest Begins June 5
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The ninth annual D.C. Jazz Festival is dancing its way back to the District this June with more than 125 shows across the city. Jazz will take over the city June 5 through June 16.

D.C. is still very much a “jazz town,” as it was when festival director and founder Charlie Fishman decided D.C. was just the place for a jazz festival in 2004. Nine years later, jazz is as alive as ever in D.C. This year’s encompassing concept, “Jazz Meets the Latin Classics,” highlights the Latin flavor of the classic roots of D.C. jazz.

Jazz at the Hamilton Live returns for a second year for D.C. Jazz with live jazz nightly throughout the festival. Events D.C. presents the “Jazz in the ‘Hoods” program, stretched jazz from corner to corner of the District, featuring Jazz at the Howard Theatre and the CapitolBop D.C. Jazz Loft Series. The Loft Series will wrap up with the all-night Blowout Show at D.C. Jazz Loft Pop-Up Hall on June 15.

The D.C. jazz world is buzzing about the Roots, which will conclude the D.C. Jazz Festival June 15 with a show at a new jazz fest venue, Kastles Stadium at the Wharf.

Keep a lookout for D.C. Jazz Festival tickets on Facebook and Twitter giveaways from The Georgetowner.

Visit www.dcjazzfest.org for a complete list of show times, locations, and ticket information.