Many undergraduates flock to the Hilltop not only for the academic opportunities available but also for the experiences – namely internships – that Georgetown’s location in the nation’s capital affords. Mostin this category opt for part-time internships that they can balance with their class schedules. A select group of conscientious and highly motivated students, however, obtain full-time internships. So why does university policy preclude these select few from essential aspects of student life?
Under the current policy, a student who takes an offer to be a full-time intern is forced to take a leave of absence from his or her academic program. The student becomes ineligible for on-campus housing – with the rare option of undergoing a lengthy negotiation process to receive an exemption – and is deleted from the student listserv to which university-wide e-mails are sent (the Department of Public Safety sends Public Safety Alerts using such a listserv). He or she cannot purchase a meal plan at O’Donovan Hall. If the student is over 18 years old and is covered under the same health insurance plan as a parent, he or she may be forced to switch plans (many health insurance policies do not allow legal adults to be covered by the same plan as their parents if they are not full-time students). The student must also forgo the prospect of a federal work-study package, even if the internship offers work-study payment benefits for eligible students.
On the extra-curricular side, a full-time intern cannot serve as an officer or a voting member of any student organization.
The basic rationale behind such policies is understandable: Students with full-time internships should be able to concentrate full-time on their experience, since it’s difficult to concentrate on being a student at Georgetown simultaneously.
But this approach is flawed. While students should be able to focus entirely on their work experience without the weight of classes on their shoulders, a once-in-a-lifetime experience working at the White House or the State Department, for instance, should not exclude them from the opportunities in student life that come with attending Georgetown.
Certain students who participate in full-time internships may have no desire to become involved in on-campus life during their semester on the job. For those who wish to remain actively engaged in the Georgetown experience, however, the current policy serves as a punishment more than anything else.
The university shouldn’t force students to pay for a meal plan or live on campus if they are preoccupied with an off-campus, full-time internship. Yet if the student is willing to invest in these options, just as full-time Georgetown students do, he or she should be given the option to.
It’s time for university administrators to modify their approach to full-time interns in the student body. The ideal of cura personalis – educating the whole person – is fundamental to the Georgetown tradition. With the policy now in place, those who commit to pursuing this ideal and devoting their time to a fruitful experience off campus are left empty-handed.
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