GU Traditions?

[hoya01]

I was at an Alumni Admissions Program meeting this evening when a group of us that spanned a couple of generations began talking about Georgetown traditions. And the stealing of the hand on the Healy clock tower was thrown out there, as was not walking on the seal at the entrance of Healy. But we were really at a loss for traditions. Block Party no longer exists, nor does Pub in the basement of Healy. There is the Tombs and Georgetown Basketball, but I pose the following questions: What are our schools most honored traditions? And for a school as old as Georgetown, why do we not have more ingrained traditions?

[Jack]

-Exorcist on Halloween, Halloween in general
-Chimes-type stuff (sorry to say it)
-(Laughing at) The Stewards
-Complaing about the loss of the pub/tailgating/block party etc.

Not much, and I was very disappointed the other day when I was at a bookstore browsing college guides and reading the Georgetown entry in the one put out by the Yale Daily News, which somehow managed to list Foxfields on a very short list of important Georgetown traditions and events. Yikes.

[Deleted]

Showing select (unsuspecting) members of the freshman class what a good Throw Dribble is made of during NSO.

[DrumsGoBang]

Georgetown Traditions

1. Having a sex in a multiple places of worship
2. Telling Hippies in Red Square, "I disagree with all your points. In fact, I like to eat babies"
3. Finding the tunnels....and then having sex in them.
4. Outrun DOPS
5. Complain about an A-
6. Light things on fire and then throw them off key bridge.
7. Urinate on GW
8. Become an intern...and then have sex with your boss
9. Sacrifice a goat to please God (or Gods in some cases)
10. Go to the tombs at midnight of your 21st birthday, in the morning wake up in jail

[CAHoya07]

Yeah, I'd say going to Tombs at midnight of your 21st and getting your forehead stamped is a good one, as well as say, for example, getting carried through the kitchen because you're so drunk they don't think you'll make it up the stairs. I'm not sure who that happened to though.

There's also sitting on John Carroll's lap, going for a swim in the Dahlgren fountain, the Hoya Saxa cheer, and the Fight Song - even though it's not the greatest and entirely too long, it has some good tradition behind it. I wish we had some more basketball oriented traditions though, like at Wake Forest how they TP their campus after every win. Hopefully we at Hoya Blue can think some up and start them.

[Jack]

cahoya07 said:

Yeah, I'd say going to Tombs at midnight of your 21st and getting your forehead stamped is a good one.

Except that even this "tradition" is only about 6 years old. At least the stamp on the forehead part- they were not doing that when I was an undergrad, although it started up shortly thereafter.

[CWS]

The university is trying to promote various traditions (and encourage new ones?). They have a web site dedicated to GU traditions:

traditions.georgetown.edu

though so far it only has Jack and the seal of the university on it (presumably with a note about not stepping on the seal). It's supposed to be developed over time.

The site states that GU Traditions Day will be Nov. 2 this year.

Some of the GU traditions are of the "popular/must see event" nature: Rangila, Cherry Tree, King's Christmas Mass, (and, one would hope for the future, Midnight Madness). I think NSO and GAAP have a lot of traditions around them. Then there're school-wide celebrations: Fountain Blessing Day (when they turn on the fountain), Traditions Day, Georgetown Day (the end of the year celebration), Jesuit Heritage Week (in late Jan/early Feb), Tree Lighting Celebration, Mass of the Holy Spirit (I assume, one of the older traditions) etc.. I think GUGS is developing some kind of place in GU's traditions.

There used to be an acapella concert on LXR rooftop; i don't know if it still happens, but I loved it. 99 Days Club.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

Getting birth control at CVS.

[Gold Hoya]

99 Days Club started in 1999 ... again, not exactly longstanding.

I was Class of 2000, and I have never heard of Fountain Blessing Day, Traditions Day, or Jesuit Heritage Week. Georgetown Day started my senior year, I recall the tree lighting as something lightly attended during reading week, and Mass of the Holy Spirit, while longstanding, leaves out ~40% of the undergrad population by design.

Sitting on John Carroll's lap probably does rank up there with stealing the Healy clock hands and not walking on the seal until you have graduated.

[hoyatables]

Traditions and Symbols:

1) The Seal, and not stepping on the seal. This is one of the few things I think everyone does, and does consistently.

2) Clock Hands.

3) Exorcist Steps/Halloween night

4) Georgetown Basketball--going to games, particularly Syracuse and Villanova. It IS a tradition and not all schools can claim it.

5) A Cappella -- Cherry Tree is a big one; I'd also say the fall one that the other groups do is pretty big. Definitely one of my favorite events.

6) Tombs: for your 21st/99 Days/and Tombs in general. It's a great tradition for upperclassmen and alums. While some aspects are newer, the Tombs is an institution that many alums can appreciate.

7) Cherry Blossoms. Usually going to the Jefferson memorial, or at least seeing the ones on campus. It was always a big part of my four years.

8) DIP Ball.

9) Senior Week/Senior Ball--many schools have a senior week, but few can have a senior formal that compares to renting out and redecorating Union Station for an evening.

10) Dahlgren/Copley/Mass -- for the Catholics, I think the tradition is there, and varies based on your individual preference. Some would say it is Fr. King's mass, some would say it is the 5:30 pm with Hentz and Walsh (and in my day Pilarz) and some would say its Copley Crypt. I don't think that all traditions need to be all things to all people, just that they are experiences shared by Georgetown alums over the years such that it gives you a common point of understanding and discussion.

11) The retreat--I didn't do it, but its a big deal for many.

12) Wiseys.

13) Going off campus to get condoms or birth control. It is definitely a shared experience for many an undergrad, though not necessarily one that is discussed often.

14) Jack the Bulldog -- a big symbol. Much better now with a live dog.

15) Dalghren Quad and fountain -- again, a symbol. For many, one of the best places on campus, too.

16) John Carroll -- the lap, and simply the statue.

17) Gaston Hall. Then again, I spent a lot more time in there than most people.

[DFW HOYA]

cws said:

Some of the GU traditions are of the "popular/must see event" nature: Rangila, Cherry Tree, King's Christmas Mass, (and, one would hope for the future, Midnight Madness). I think NSO and GAAP have a lot of traditions around them. Then there're school-wide celebrations: Fountain Blessing Day (when they turn on the fountain), Traditions Day, Georgetown Day (the end of the year celebration), Jesuit Heritage Week (in late Jan/early Feb), Tree Lighting Celebration, Mass of the Holy Spirit (I assume, one of the older traditions) etc.. I think GUGS is developing some kind of place in GU's traditions.

That's the problem--these are annual events, not traditions.

Not many over the age of, say, 30 knows the first thing about half of these. What does Rangila mean if you're in the class of 1996? 1976? 1956?

For a tradition to work, it must be easily communicated across generations, not class years. The Homecoming web site refers to a "traditional pregame tailgate party", when in fact, it dates back all of 15 years or so, and rarely in the same place each time. That's not a tradition, the game is.

[CAHoya07]

dfw said:

That's the problem--these are annual events, not traditions.

Not many over the age of, say, 30 knows the first thing about half of these. What does Rangila mean if you're in the class of 1996? 1976? 1956?

For a tradition to work, it must be easily communicated across generations, not class years. The Homecoming web site refers to a "traditional pregame tailgate party", when in fact, it dates back all of 15 years or so, and rarely in the same place each time. That's not a tradition, the game is.

Good point, and that's why I hope that many of these "annual events" continue to the point that they become traditions in the future.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

I wouldn't call buying condoms and birth control at CVS an "annual event".

[TBird41]

stpetersburghoya said:

I wouldn't call buying condoms and birth control at CVS an "annual event".

Don't worry St. Pete--I'm sure you're not the only one that never had any reason to make the trip.

ZINNNNNNNGGGGG

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Can some one provide some long standing traditions from other schools for me? (i'm sure they exist) It seems that the knocks on most of our traditions are that they don't breach the generation gaps. Which i understand. But are there really that many schools with a lot of traditoins that do that?

[SoCalHoya]

I agree with DFW about things spanning the generations. However, traditions have to start somewhere. I see nothing wrong with the "newer" lists, so long as the items listed persevere. Remember, once something (an organization, movement, "tradition", ritual) lasts about 5 years at a University, it tends to stand the test of time. For those students who are truly passionate about something, when you are a senior, make sure to reach out to others to ensure that when you leave, your principles and ideas stick around.

[hoyatables]

dfw said:

cws said:

Some of the GU traditions are of the "popular/must see event" nature: Rangila, Cherry Tree, King's Christmas Mass, (and, one would hope for the future, Midnight Madness). I think NSO and GAAP have a lot of traditions around them. Then there're school-wide celebrations: Fountain Blessing Day (when they turn on the fountain), Traditions Day, Georgetown Day (the end of the year celebration), Jesuit Heritage Week (in late Jan/early Feb), Tree Lighting Celebration, Mass of the Holy Spirit (I assume, one of the older traditions) etc.. I think GUGS is developing some kind of place in GU's traditions.

That's the problem--these are annual events, not traditions.

Not many over the age of, say, 30 knows the first thing about half of these. What does Rangila mean if you're in the class of 1996? 1976? 1956?

For a tradition to work, it must be easily communicated across generations, not class years. The Homecoming web site refers to a "traditional pregame tailgate party", when in fact, it dates back all of 15 years or so, and rarely in the same place each time. That's not a tradition, the game is.

I suspect most universities have few true "traditions" that span any significant length of time. Undergraduates have a four-year institutional memory, so something has to be truly significant to survive that point. Hence why I focused on "places" and "symbols" rather than events -- while the particular event many change from year to year, all Georgetown grads identify with John Carroll, the clock tower, Dahlgren Quad, and so on. Within that subset, if you get a truly remarkable tradition, such as not stepping on the seal on the entry to Healy, then that is really special, but should be rare.

Also, most traditions are organic, not forced. They aren't usually imposed from on high, they ebb and flow in significance, and they can have natural life spans. Hence, Georgetown football has come and gone and come again. Georgetown basketball has been around for a while, but we all agree that it took on a new meaning starting in the mid 70s. Its entirely possible that some of the traditions mentioned may be around in years to come; others may last three years and die out when the students who started it leave. It's hard to say whether Hoya Blue will continue for years as a true "tradition" like some might argue the Cameron Crazies have become, or will cease to exist at some point down the road.

Really, its all rooted in places and symbols. Georgetown has plenty of those.

[Jack]

I think one nice evolving tradition is the Run for Rigby. Last year was only the second year of it happening, but it would be great to keep it going forward, and the very fact that there was a second run, after his class graduated, and it brought out a bigger crowd (over 650 participants), is a positive sign for it lasting. A spring road race/dance/bbq in memory of a beloved former student and raising money for a good cause- that is a tradition we should get behind.

[hoyasaxa2008]

The problem, in my opinion, is that every couple of years the University administration bans one of our traditions. You look at schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, and their administrators bend over backwards to find excpetions to rules and adapt traditions to changing times. For some reason, at Georgetown the higher-level administrators are wary of the controversy caused by some of our traditions and ban them outright. Then they try to replace them with crappy, watered-down alternatives: Georgetown Day replaces Block Party, Traditions Day replaces actually letting us explore campus, not stepping on the seal replaces stealing the clock hands, etc etc etc.

Even not stepping on the seal is fairly new. As I understand it, the seal was only put in for the Bicentennial in 1989. It's disappointing to find out that the "hallowed traditions" we supposedly follow were instituted a few years ago and might be gone by the time our children come here. Hell, we weren't even the Hoyas until relatively recently, we've only had a "Jack" for a short time, and Healy Clocktower doesn't even have real bells in it.

One problem might be that there are no competent guardians of traditions on campus. The Stewards don't do anything to disseminate real traditions among the campus as a whole (ditto with the insular, peripheral groups like DPE), most of the long-standing clubs constantly change their traditions, NSO and the CSP are fairly new and controlled by the administration, and we don't have fraternities or established societies/secret societies/eating clubs. Students here have no organizations that aren't controlled by the University. Talking to alums from thirty or forty years ago, it's pretty obvious that my experience on the Hilltop bears almost no similarity to theirs.

Hopefully as Georgetown continues to become a more high-profile school, this will change. But some kind of student civil society that straddles the line between being an official campus, "access to benefits" group and being a secret/irrelevant society must be allowed for this to happen. Otherwise, how will be pass down our traditions?

[CAHoya07]

hoyatables said:

It's hard to say whether Hoya Blue will continue for years as a true "tradition" like some might argue the Cameron Crazies have become, or will cease to exist at some point down the road.

Hoya Blue ain't ceasing to exist at any point down the road, at least not if me and my army (007, SoCal85, RB, bridget, nyhoya) have anything to say about it. We've actually built the club so that it can exist for long after we're gone, hopefully. If you don't think we've already successfully infiltrated campus culture, 007 and I have a huge Hoya Blue bannner adorning our Village A rooftop apartment. Because of it, when tour guides come up there, they are FORCED to talk about us.

Run for Rigby is pretty nice, I've missed it the past two years for various reasons but I hope to participate in it this coming year.