vcjack
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Post by vcjack on Feb 10, 2009 12:15:50 GMT -5
In 07 Rudy Gay apparently thought Georgetown Day was a cool enough event to bring a big crew down from Baltimore and hang out on the Rooftops.
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PhillyHoya
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Post by PhillyHoya on Feb 10, 2009 13:28:09 GMT -5
I know a lot of you 90s/early 00 alums feel meh about Georgetown Day but when it's all we've had, the very very little that we have, we want to hold onto it. The past was better yes, but this is pretty much the last vestige of fun left on the Hilltop.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Feb 10, 2009 13:57:34 GMT -5
I know a lot of you 90s/early 00 alums feel meh about Georgetown Day but when it's all we've had, the very very little that we have, we want to hold onto it. The past was better yes, but this is pretty much the last vestige of fun left on the Hilltop. In my case, at least, it is not that I don't understand why people enjoy Georgetown Day, it is why people insist that it cannot be on a different day. The GAAP weekend has to be that day, both events cannot go on at the same time (regardless of concerns about student drinking on Gtown Day, there are simple space and volunteer considerations), ergo Georgetown Day has to be some other time. They aren't cancelling it, just doing it a little earlier.
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Post by washingtonhoya on Feb 10, 2009 15:00:31 GMT -5
I know a lot of you 90s/early 00 alums feel meh about Georgetown Day but when it's all we've had, the very very little that we have, we want to hold onto it. The past was better yes, but this is pretty much the last vestige of fun left on the Hilltop. In my case, at least, it is not that I don't understand why people enjoy Georgetown Day, it is why people insist that it cannot be on a different day. The GAAP weekend has to be that day, both events cannot go on at the same time (regardless of concerns about student drinking on Gtown Day, there are simple space and volunteer considerations), ergo Georgetown Day has to be some other time. They aren't cancelling it, just doing it a little earlier. Ergo, students will be in the final round of midterms, more students will be in classes or at internships on a Thursday, the weather will be possibly worse (yes I'm including two-month future forecasts), and less students will be free to participate. Ergo, it will not serve its purpose of bringing the entire campus community together. Ergo, it is not really Georgetown Day. Real Georgetown Day is perfectly situated on the calendar when most students have the fewest class commitments because classes are, for all intents and purposes, ending or over, yet there is one day before exam study days begin.
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mchoya
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Post by mchoya on Feb 10, 2009 15:04:34 GMT -5
In my case, at least, it is not that I don't understand why people enjoy Georgetown Day, it is why people insist that it cannot be on a different day. The GAAP weekend has to be that day, both events cannot go on at the same time (regardless of concerns about student drinking on Gtown Day, there are simple space and volunteer considerations), ergo Georgetown Day has to be some other time. They aren't cancelling it, just doing it a little earlier. It's a Thursday. I have three straight morning classes plus an evening recitation. The earliest I will even be available to partake in Fauxtown Day is 12:55 PM. If I wanted to see the early morning ceremonies or the campus groups performing out in front of WGR, the only way I could do so would be out the window of my International Finance class for about an hour and fifteen minutes. I'm sure this isn't a unique problem. Other students work outside the gates on Thursdays or have a class schedule that dictates that they have to be done later in the day. If this is really a concern about sharing space with GAAP, we could inquire as to the feasibility of using McD (which is probably unfeasible). What I don't understand is why Georgetown couldn't cancel the classes for the Monday after GAAP weekend and place Georgetown Day on that day. I'm sure the attendance for those classes would be poor anyway (it is the Monday after the last weekend of the semester). Why make it three weeks earlier at a time when many people have class?
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Feb 10, 2009 15:17:15 GMT -5
Well if you cannot figure out how to have fun on a Thursday when you may have a few classes on the schedule, I don't know what to tell you- I know that would not have diminished my enjoyment of the day.
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Feb 10, 2009 16:20:08 GMT -5
The main idiocy of this is that it's not going to stop people from throwing a georgetown that last firday of classes anyway. People will get drunk and party on the thursday that they've decided to have georgetown day on. and then people will do it again on the last friday of classes except they'll have less control over it. Hell to show how upset we are we should do it all weekend too. Sucks for the school if they think it'll look bad to prospective students.
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afirth
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Post by afirth on Feb 10, 2009 16:23:21 GMT -5
It's pretty clear that, because of where Easter fell this year, and the timing of when admissions decisions are announced, GAAP weekends have to be the last two weekends in April. There's no other option. So a Monday Georgetown Day seems like a pretty fair compromise to me. Just do it the last Monday of classes. Doing it three weeks before classes are over seems pretty ridiculous.
Professors might complain about students skipping class, but the same thing happens when Georgetown Day is on a Friday.
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Post by bridget311 on Feb 10, 2009 17:06:23 GMT -5
I'd also like to point out (and what I will make clearer in the facebook group), is that for awhile everyone thought it was just canceled because NO ONE in the university is talking to students about it. and then this rumor/not so rumor starts circulating, and still, no one talks to the students. it's frustrating when we keep getting brushed aside on an issue we care about. if they treat us like 3 year olds and not tell us anything, then I'm going to act like a 3 year old and throw a hissy fit when things aren't going my way, the way it's been for the past couple years.
we're left out, and isn't georgetown day supposed to be about our community?
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Feb 10, 2009 17:31:27 GMT -5
Then a GAAP weekend should not be scheduled the last friday of classes. It's as simple as that. Current students should take precedence over "maybe future" ones. Here's the deal: Attracting the top prospective students is vital to the future of Georgetown in many ways, not least of which being its bond rating- Georgetown's high demand has been one of the key factors in keeping the place out of junk bond territory. Over the years, GAAP weekends have typically attracted nearly 1000 students and their families in the Spring, and typically around 70% of those students enroll, so you are talking about around half of each incoming class deciding to come to Georgetown at least in some part off of that experience. Unfortunately, there is simply insufficient space to host an extra 1000 or even 500 students and their families on campus while still having a functioning campus for the current students. So it is that GAAP must be done over 3 or, ideally, 4 weekends. As it happens, the calendar is not conducive to doing so this year- admissions decisions come out April 1, which does not leave enough time for people to plan to attend an open house on April 3. The following weekend is Easter. That leaves two weekends left in April to accomodate the bulk of the admitted students (EA admits can attend in late March). And Georgetown Day takes over both the spaces and volunteers needed to host an effective open house, so ultimately Georgetown Day needs to be moved to another day. I say all of this with full recognition that I would have flipped out if Block Party had been cancelled for a GAAP Open House when I was an undergrad. Why can't GAAP weekend and Georgetown Day happen at the same time? Georgetown Day is a one-day thing, while GAAP weekend is over multiple days. After all, don't you think Georgetown Day would be a good selling point for prospective students? I know that if I had gone to look at a school and seen an awesome free carnival on their front lawn, I would have probably signed up on the spot. How about shifting the schedule of GAAP Weekend around a bit for this one weekend? Move the Friday events to a Thursday. On Friday, have the prospective students go to Georgetown Day (the front lawn part of it, where alcohol is not served) with current students as guides. The guides would have strict orders to not take them off campus or into any dorms. Take the parents off to some other all-day event indoors so they don't catch any glimpses of people having fun (God forbid!). On Saturday, normal service is resumed.
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afirth
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Post by afirth on Feb 10, 2009 17:37:05 GMT -5
You need a lot of volunteers to run both GAAP weekend and Georgetown Day, and there probably wouldn't be enough people if they tried to do both on the same day.
More to the point, what student would WANT to volunteer on a GAAP weekend if it coincided with Georgetown Day? I'm pretty sure most students would want to enjoy the carnival festivities, food, (and yes, beer), with their friends without having to babysit prospectives.
Students should push for the last Monday. It's the fairest option all around and it provides compromise on both sides.
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Feb 10, 2009 17:55:22 GMT -5
The way I was thinking, Georgetown Day would sort of be an off-day for the GAAP weekend, so you wouldn't need as many volunteers for that day.
I'm sure holding Georgetown Day during a GAAP weekend would make things harder for both events, but I also think it would have benefits in the end. The point of GAAP weekend is to try to convince students that Georgetown is a special place where they want to spend their next 4 years. What better way to do that then to let them experience the most fun day that Georgetown has to offer?
The Admissions folks should see Georgetown Day as an opportunity, not an obstacle.
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afirth
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Post by afirth on Feb 10, 2009 18:03:18 GMT -5
Even if you wouldn't need "as many" volunteers for an off-day, you'd still be hard pressed to find ANY willing volunteers. There's also the issue of space constraints.
Also, having GAAP weekend starting on a Thursday would be impractical, and even impossible, for many prospective students because their high schools usually only allow them to take off so many days for college visits. And the parents who go with them often have to take off work. Having them take two days off instead of one would make things much more difficult.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like the idea of the university catering to prospective students' needs before those of its current students, but I also don't get the resistance to Monday. As long as it's at the end of classes, what difference does it make if it's Friday, April 24 or Monday, April 27?
I do get the student resistance to the beginning of April though. Hopefully the university will realize that having it on that last Monday isn't the end of the world, and will change it to that day instead.
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Feb 10, 2009 18:28:41 GMT -5
I'm personally fine with Monday, even though I've got a couple can't-miss classes that day. I think a lot of the student backlash is coming from the lack of communication that Bridget was talking about. I was just in the elevator with two students talking about the plans - one thought it was canceled outright, the other thought they were holding it 3 weeks early.
But I still think the admissions folks are wasting a great opportunity with Georgetown Day. To me it reflects the administration's paranoia about anything involving alcohol at Georgetown. It's as if all fun has to be swept under the rug and hidden away from the outside world. To me Georgetown Day is the most fun day at Georgetown (and thus the most fun we can give a prospective student), but the decision to move it away from a GAAP weekend makes it seem like the administration is ashamed of it somehow.
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CTHoya08
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Post by CTHoya08 on Feb 10, 2009 19:30:24 GMT -5
As someone who was pretty involved with GAAP (not on the board, but a three-year state chair and four-year volunteer) I have to agree with afirthionado that the number of volunteers needed would be an issue. I know that as much as I liked doing GAAP, it was never fun waking up early on Friday mornings to volunteer. Doing that on the Saturday after Georgetown Day would have been miserable. And Thursday really isn't an option for GAAP weekend, as explained above. While I'm sure you could get some volunteers for the GAAP stuff on Saturday it would probably be much harder with GU Day the same weekend. Realistically, there's a limited pool of people who volunteer for these things, and they like to have some fun once in a while too. There's also the problem of campus space. GAAP doesn't really do a lot of stuff that would directly interfere with GU Day, and vice versa, but there would be some problems. It would probably be problematic for GAAP kids and parents because with all the people and carnival stuff going on it would be difficult to find the right buildings. Plus, the moonbounce or whatever would overshadow the balloon arch the "whole 'nother level" contingent of GAAP people likes to put over the front gates. I know if I were a student right now, I would be furious. I think that final Monday is probably the best alternate date, or even the Tuesday. (Does anyone really have to do anything on the first day of study days? And if so, with no Georgetown Day on the Friday before, such a person could finish his work ahead of time. I know this would never happen though.) What really upsets me is the prospect that this will result in a lot of those "Drinking is so awesomely awesome, why does the administration hate it?" letters to the HOYA, which just look childish, e.g. thehoya.com/node/13215
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Post by lilyk on Feb 10, 2009 20:16:04 GMT -5
Hey everybody, I'm writing an article about this for the Georgetown Voice, but the Provost is being very tight-lipped about the whole thing. I need to get some other sources of concrete information about what the University might be planning (even if you want to stay off the record) so that I can persuade the Provost to tell us what's really going on. If you have any information - if you are part of the decision making process or you've heard from anyone who is - please message me or email me ASAP at lkaiser@staff.georgetownvoice.com
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Post by hoyaddict on Feb 10, 2009 20:25:51 GMT -5
VCJack, that party on the rooftops that Rudy Gay came to was not just any normal party, it was the GUGernaut, held by the Georgetown University Grilling Society. They supplied 12 kegs, giving each rooftop and subrooftop apartment at least one keg. Needless to say, the administration did not let that happen again.
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vcjack
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Post by vcjack on Feb 10, 2009 23:34:32 GMT -5
VCJack, that party on the rooftops that Rudy Gay came to was not just any normal party, it was the GUGernaut, held by the Georgetown University Grilling Society. They supplied 12 kegs, giving each rooftop and subrooftop apartment at least one keg. Needless to say, the administration did not let that happen again. Oh I know what it was, that was Village A's last big thing, unknown to us at the time
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rosslynhoya
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Post by rosslynhoya on Feb 11, 2009 8:26:59 GMT -5
Over the course of 96-00, Georgetown admins tried to invent a lot of "new traditions" (sic) to inspire the Georgetown student body in a non-alcoholic fashion. It seemed like every other month, they hosted a new "First Annual" something or other, that would be a fairly dismal failure never to be repeated. Does anyone remember "Fountain Day" for example? It was a celebration of the glorious day each spring that the GU President would gather the student body in Dahlgren Quad and restore the fountain to its spewing majesty? I kid you not, they actually held this in '98 or '99.
The first Georgetown Day was in 2000, and if I recall correctly it was supposed to be targetted at faculty and staff -- and their families -- as much as undergrads, so thus the moon bounce and ice cream that have been mentioned. I also recall that the murder of David Shick in the fall of 1999 was addressed, it may have coincided with the rough time period that the "Be Kind" koi pond was dedicated.
Also, I'm surprised no one's mentioned yet, that the one externality that tolled the death of Block Party was the fact that each spring, the Block Partyers would inevitably head over to New South dining hall and positively destroy the place. Sort of a cross between the food fight of Animal House and the puking scene of Stand By Me... you really need to let your imagination run wild. Absolutely disgusting for anyone else there last night, or in the next week or two before they'd finally get the bile out of the carpets.
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PhillyHoya
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Post by PhillyHoya on Feb 11, 2009 10:52:07 GMT -5
They still "try" to do Fountain Day as far as I know. And then there's Traditions Day too.
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