Today Georgetown celebrates a tradition five years in the making, a tradition that beckons every Hoya outside to the fun and games that Healy and Copley lawns have to offer.
Georgetown Day is the single largest student celebration of the year, beating out such recent university appreciation days as Traditions Day, Fountain Day and Homecoming. To celebrate the end of classes and the arrival of warm weather, students will indulge themselves with food and drinks, cotton candy, ice cream and smoothies. They will ride a mechanical bull, go rock-climbing, dunk a favorite professor in water, watch cultural performances and even dine with the Jesuits.
Campus leaders created Georgetown Day five years ago in response to a series of negative incidents at Georgetown. Students, administrators, faculty, staff and alumni all come out for this fun day of activities and diversions. On no other day does the Hilltop witness such a celebration of school spirit. So, why do we have to wait until the end of classes for only a day-long explosion of spirit? Why doesn’t the Georgetown community profess this kind of spirit more regularly?
Georgetown spirit is certainly lacking in many areas, namely athletics. Students are uninterested in the success of fellow Hoyas. The club rugby team made it to the national final four, yet few people would even acknowledge that Georgetown has a rugby team. any blame the lack of interest on the fact that most sporting events take place off-campus. Baseball, track and field, and men’s basketball are living examples of programs that sustain themselves despite never playing a true “home” game.
But students neglect the sports that are played on campus. Turnout at football, soccer, lacrosse and women’s basketball games typically amounts to little more than cheerleaders and the pep band – if even that. Georgetown lacrosse teams are perennially in the national top 10. Despite ranking among the nation’s best, these clubs are denied the home-field support they deserve. Students need to get out to games and show that they do indeed bleed Hoya blue.
There are other measures of school spirit that need some work. Organizations like GUGS and Groove Theory bolster huge amounts of enthusiasm lacking in most other groups. Inviting GUGS to barbecue or Groove Theory to perform at every event is not a practical way to pique student interest.
All Hoyas must take a more proactive role in inspiring school spirit, beginning the minute freshman arrive for New Student Orientation. We need more inspiration and support from organizations like Hoya Blue and our student government.
There are things each student can do. Instead of complaining about the apathy, get involved with a club or intramural sport. Learn the fight song. Go to an athletic event. Play Frisbee on Copley Lawn. Talk to a Jesuit. Walk Jack the Bulldog. Immerse yourself in the spirit and community that is Georgetown.
Through the years, the university has promoted Georgetown Day as a way to celebrate our campus community. Today should not be the only day we celebrate being Hoyas. We must take the next step and realize that every day should be Georgetown Day.