Welcome current and future Hoyas alike! As you may know or will soon find out, here at Georgetown, we speak in code. Conversations are permeated by acronyms, phrases, and nicknames known only to Georgetown students, and are expected to be understood by all Hoyas on campus. All in all, it can be a bit overwhelming to try to keep up with at first. Lucky for you, 4E is here with the first edition of the Georgetown Dictionary to help you navigate these tricky waters, be it on your GAAP weekend, during New Student Orientation, or late in your junior year, too embarrassed to ask where Maguire Hall is.

The Schools

1. “MSB“- The McDonough School of Business. “MSB” also is colloquially used as a location. You don’t go to the  Rafik Hariri Building, where the “McDonough School of Business holds classes; you go to the “MSB.” You can see how this gets confusing.

2. “SFS“- The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Sadly, the school=building logic of the MSB does not follow in the SFS, as the Walsh Building located outside the front gates on 36th Street is not called the “SFS.” The SFS is the school Bill Clinton was in when he studied here.

3. “NHS“- School of Nursing & Health Studies. Repeat after me: not every student in the NHS is a nurse. Non-nursing majors in the NHS are adamant about this. Keep it in mind!

4. “The College“- This is Georgetown College, the largest of the four schools for Georgetown undergrad. Unlike the other three schools, it is not known by its acronym “GC.” Don’t make this mistake. I tell you from experience.

Places to Know

1. “Yates“- Yates Field House, aka, the gym on campus. It has a smell of stale sweat and chlorine. You’ll love it! In fact, the administration knows you’ll love it so much that they’ll include your gym membership to Yates in your tuition! Yahoo!
   
   2. “Lau“- Lauinger Library. It’s the giant grey slab of cement on the south side of campus. You may have first heard of Lau during NSO where they’ll promote “Club Lau” as one of the nighttime activities. Without giving anything away, I’ll tell you that you may meet your best friend at Club Lau (I did) and/or you may not ever be able to look at the third floor quiet room the same way ever again (or maybe that’s just me).

   3. “Wisey’s“- Some hotshot with an older brother who graduated from Georgetown 10 years ago will try to impress you this GAAP weekend by saying he’s “skipping the catered lunch in Gaston and heading to Wisey’s for a Hot Chick.”
   Let’s clear this up. “Wisey’s” is Wisemiller’s Grocery & Deli, found on 36th Street across from the Walsh building. This is not to be confused with the other “Wisey’s” (a sister take-out location) on Wisconsin Ave., which is known as “Healthy Wisey’s.” Wisey’s is home to a smorgasbord of great sandwiches, but is best know for two game-winners: the Hot Chick and the Chicken Madness. These sandwiches are so well-known at Georgetown that they had their own ballot on this year’s GUSA election. I wish I were joking.

   4. “Tombs“- Has a Georgetown student’s experience even begun without a meal at The Tombs? I don’t think so. The Tombs is a Hilltop classic, an dimly lit American style restaurant you will frequent as a freshman for Saturday lunch, as a sophomore for birthday dinners, as a junior for a hungover Sunday brunch, and as a senior for Trivia Night and 99 Days of Tombs.

Sayings & Phrases

1. “NARP”- Non-Athletic Regular Person. Were you on a varsity sport high school? Are you a marathoner? Or are you one of those people who have you never swung a bat, ran a lap, or kicked a soccer ball? Congratulations! You are all the same. If you are not a Varsity athlete at Georgetown, you are a NARP. Case closed.
2. “an athlete“- An athlete is anyone who is employed by a student of Georgetown University and is additionally a member of a Varsity sports team. If you are “an athlete,” you have special privileges on campus, like getting away with wearing a full sweatsuit to class, and showing off the exclusive Blue & Gray Nike sneakers around campus.
3. “Hoya Saxa“- This is the official cheer of Georgetown University. It literally translates to “What Rocks” from its Latin roots. Show off this fun fact at your next party with this banner joke:
   “Hey friend, do you know what “Hoya Saxa” translates to?”
   “No, you dork, what?”
   “Exactly!”
   Also, it’s always “Hoya Saxa!” and never, ever, EVER “What Rocks!” Don’t do the translation. Just don’t.

Photos/Gifs: giphy.com, nowikinow.com