Where is the Outrage?

[voltahoya]

Summer has come and gone. Students are back at school. A crisp autumn breeze is in the air in DC. Season ticket applications are in. Recruiting is in full force. Soon Midnight Madness will be here. And then begins what is apparantly JTIII's final year at the helm of the beloved Hoyas.

I am sure he will go out on top, probably with another Final Four run, But let's call this season what it is--JTIII's job audition for the NBA or a big state school. When the team thrives this year JTIII will be rewarded by a 10 year $4M +/year contract by either an NBA franchise or the biggest state school with a need.

Georgetown had its chance and either never even tried, or tried and failed to lock JTIII up for the long term. Students had their chance to make their voices heard, but they were drunk with glee at the Final Four and never bothered to pay attention to the long term. Maybe if students showed half as much passion for basketball as they do for the alcohol policy , something would happen. Nevertheless, students gave the administration a pass on this, and only genuine student outrage could shame the administration to making a real investment in JTIII and the future.

All there is to do is sit back and enjoy it while it lasts. In the years to come we will have to rediscover the pain and joy that comes from rooting for a team that plays "scrappy" basketball, a team that has a chance to be "on the bubble" every few years, and once a decade has a good run to the Sweet Sixteen.

I wish it weren't so. Enjoy it while it lasts. Let's just hope JTIII imparts half of his wisdom and talent to the assistant they tap to take over next year.

[FHillsNYHoya]

Oh boy.....

[strummer8526]

Alright Volta, what do you want to do about it? And where were you with some kind of brilliant idea when I posted at least 3-4 times on this board saying "OK...what's the first step to taking action in this kind of situation?" I don't really remember your "outrage" then.

I'm as Editeded off as you are, and I think that the Georgetown administration will face serious problems if III slips away within the next year. But to blame us for not doing the job of running the University is insane. How about you take that energy and direct it towards the administration. There's no sense in...yelling, I guess...at the choir.

[CO_Hoya]

Volta,

Out of curiosity, what have you done to help?

[hoyaterp25]

You mentioned the outrage at the alcohol policy- that proves exactly that the administration doesnt care at all what students think. "Genuine student outrage" doesnt actually get anything changed- it might mean a little press conference to tell people they're working on things, but honestly, you think if there was a facebook group that would really make the university work that much harder about the contract? If we really wanted to place blame on fans, it should on all the rich alums out there who arent pressuring the university, but honestly, placing blame on anybody seems ridiculous when its clearly just the result of georgetown administration being bad at life.

[voltahoya]

Hey, I did everything I can--everything. What can others do?

How about the Hoya and Voice actually press the issue with front page articles, not just lone editorials by fringe writers. How about people stop the President every time they see him and ask him what is up? Then report what he says here and elsewhere if he won't answer simple questions. How about a table in Red Square petitioning to extend JTIII, not just one to fight the alcohol policy. How about the Corp put out collection boxes at Uncommon Grounds and Vittles to help fund JTIII's extention (not for the money but to send a message). How about GUSA pass a resolution as the voice of the students on the issue. How about the Grilling Society make a banner supporting JTIII and put it up every time they grill on Red Square? How about every "acedemic counsel" pass resolutions like the GUSA resolution expressing the voice of each college on the issue. How about business school students do a study showing the impact of JTIII on the University and the devestation of his departure. How about Admissions publishing statistics about the increase in applications since JTIII came. How about Hoya Blue getting of its ass and doing any or all of the above? How about Hoya Blue contacting the Washington Post and Times to express student outrage? That is real pressure. How about the student reps to the Alumni Board of Governors raising this issue as a concern at their next meeting. How about the next round of III shirts have as its tag line: "Show Him The Money." How about Hoya Blue start a flyer campaign on campus with quotes from Esherick and the old AD saying we should not expect to make the Tournament very year and asking if we want to return to that? There are more Student leadership posts at Georgetown than can count. Every student leader on campus should DO something. Send a letter on behalf of your organization to DeJoia. DeJoia should not be able to come to work any day and not deal with this issue from some direction. It needs to become the only thing on his plate.

There is plenty people can do, but clearly this is not a priority for people, because nothing approaching what I describe has happened. So, My Advice is sit back and enjoy one last great year. It will be a lot of fun and then we can all lower our expectations back the the Esherick era. It will be healthy for us to not expect too much of Georgetown again. Our school has proven that we don't deserve a great coach.

[strummer8526]

Have you contacted anyone from those organizations suggesting they do those things?

I'm going to venture a guess that you haven't.

[theexorcist]

Ok, you've done your due diligence on the Hoyatalk board. It's not particularly helpful, however, because everyone knows where this stands.

If you truly believe in this, however, you can still do something. You can write a letter to the Hoya or the Voice. You can organize a protest somewhere on campus via facebook or via whatever method you prefer. You can find friends on GUSA or the academic council or in campus groups and ask them to do what you're proposing here. Or you can start a study regarding the impact of III to the university. You've given yourself a great to-do list that you can at least get the ball rolling on. When you've tried all these, and if they've all failed, you can come back and complain.

If you're not going to do that, however, please do not come on here and waste our time saying that "we don't deserve a great coach".

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

If I were a student this thread would really Edited me off. There is nothing that students can do that is constructive or can force the University's hand. Writing articles and protesting may be one thing when you want someone to be fired, but its a little different when sensitive contract negotiations are going on. We've discussed this in other threads. We all want JTIII on the sidelines for a long time, name calling and devisive language isn't really going to help our cause.

[joey0403p]

Since you probably aren't going to do anything on your wish list - why not at least post this on the HoyaBlue chat board....maybe get them going.

I love that the students are outraged about the alcohol policy, I imagine that they are outraged with the JT III situation but it the alocohol policy is more immediate on their wish list.

The fact is, students can do all this but the university will in all likely hook do whatever the ____ they want.

[DrumsGoBang]

I am so Outraged!!!! I Can't belive it! I'm so angry!!!!!!

[strummer8526]

voltahoya said:

Hey, I did everything I can--everything. What can others do?
...
Every student leader on campus should DO something. Send a letter on behalf of your organization to DeJoia. DeJoia should not be able to come to work any day and not deal with this issue from some direction. It needs to become the only thing on his plate.

Maybe you had trouble making your point because DeJoia just doesn't care about Georgetown. You might have better luck reaching out to Georgetown's President, Jack DeGioia.

[JimmyHoya]

voltahoya, I'm pretty sure someone asked what YOU have done, and instead you ranted some more, so again, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Stop blaming students, tool.

[ScreamingHoya]

Volta, you know what, everyone's outraged. JTIII brought the program back to prominence, and nobody wants to see him go. I agree that the Hoya should be stepping up and investigating more (lets not get crazy with the Voice- I think they're one step away from distributing their publication via the LaRouche protesters at the front gate). But nobody needs or wants to hear your doom and gloom. I don't think anyone's expecting JTIII to jump after this season's over, and further- as far as I can tell, you have no knowledge of the matter. I guarantee you the adminstration hasn't given up on offering him a contract; they'd have a riot on their hands. So unless you have something substantive to say, stop whining about stuff that hasn't happened yet, and most importantly- stop blaming the students. They show passion for the team, and none of them want to see him go.

[JohnJacquesLayup]

stpetersburghoya said:

If I were a student this thread would really Edited me off. There is nothing that students can do that is constructive or can force the University's hand. Writing articles and protesting may be one thing when you want someone to be fired, but its a little different when sensitive contract negotiations are going on. We've discussed this in other threads. We all want JTIII on the sidelines for a long time, name calling and devisive language isn't really going to help our cause.

For the most part, I agree with this sentiment. However, I don't remember hearing/reading anything substantive proving that "sensitive contract negotiations" are actually taking place.

I admit, I'm no longer active in the GU community, but I don't think I'm missing anything on this topic. If there was a shred of an assurance that talks are ongoing, I'd be satisfied. Right now, on the face of things, it looks like negotiations are stagnant.

Edit: By "active in the GU community" I simply mean I'm not involved in the day to day goings ons on campus. I am as involved as an alumni can typically be while living slightly outside of D.C.

[youngjeezy]

as a student, i'll tell you straight up that no one's even thinking about basketball when plain-clothes officers are arresting students on a saturday night. it's one thing to be away from georgetown and have your mind on basketball, but everyone here is hoping they aren't SUSPENDED OR ARRESTED by the time midnight madness rolls around.

[dajuan]

OUTRAGE!!!!

Get JTIII a contract! (Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble)

Hey students, aren't you just outraged! (Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble)

Blame the students for the administrations (potential) failings! (Rab... Wha?)

[hoyastrong]

Clearly from what we have seen with the new alcohol policy, the university doesnt give a crap about what students think. The reason is quite logical too. We dont have any money. Maybe the alumni who spend their entire workdays on this board rather than writing to the administration about how they will stop making donations to the university would be the ones to blame if we do lose JTIII.

But hey, I dont want to be the one to start pointing fingers... oh wait, nevermind

[voltahoya]

Damn, plain clothes! OK, plain clothes officers, that is ridiculous! Forget basketball you guys do have bigger fish to fry.

But we shouldn't forget the JTIII issue totally, the only thing worse than watching a bad basketball team in a few years would be to be sober and watching a bad basketball team.

[voltahoya]

OK, so my rhetoric about students is over the top. I do not blame students for the administration's incompetence. They are the victims.

As I have said before, what differentiates students and alumni or other fans is that students have much more time, much more opportunity, and much more access to effect change (or at least stir the pot). I was something of an on campus activist for at least some of my time at Georgetown. I would take an issue like this run. I did become less active in my Junior and Senior year because I became convinced the administration was never going to change. Maybe I was right, they still seem totally incompetent. That is why I am increasingly resigned to losing JTIII.

Frankly I just wish there was a 19 year old version of myself on campus to organize a comprehensive, multi-pronged campaing to save JTIII. Maybe I don't understand teh purpose of Hoya BLue, but I thought this type of thing would be up their ally. Is Hoya Blue really a sock for the man? Are they under the thumb of the AD? Is there any other student group to turn to?