Georgetown University
About Me
Intro
The 1973 horror classic The Exorcist opens with long shots of my soaring towers and the creepy arpeggios of Tubular Bells . How's that for an introduction?
Well, I'm not a creep or a weirdo at all. I promise.
I know exactly where I belong: smack-dab in the middle of power-conscious Washington, DC. I'm extroverted, an activist, and studious—all in one slightly confused and bursting-at-the-seams package.
I'm Jesuit with a proud Catholic tradition, but I'm a bit…lapsed. I'll always be the oldest Catholic university in the United States, even so.
My colors are blue and gray, but don't think I'm depressed…I'm just showing my solidarity with both the North and the South following the Civil War. Yeah, I'm even older than the War between the States, I was founded when the Founding Fathers were trying to ratify a new Constitution back in the late 80s…the 1780s.
Like Washington itself, I'm a mix of Southern pride and Northern prep, with an international mindset that stretches from the Philippines to Jordan. Some of my undergrads have become world leaders and talented globetrotters, with the occasional king thrown in for good measure.
Name
Jack the Bulldog
Hometown
Washington, DC. Built on marshy land ceded by Virginia and Maryland, Washington went from backwater to international quarterback within a century or two, and I've been in the thick of it, with lots of personal ups and downs.
The Civil War was a major downer for me when my students marched off to opposing armies, but enrollment ticked back up under the leadership of former slave, Patrick Francis Healy. I live in the charming, leafy neighborhood of Georgetown, which became ground central for Camelot when John and Jackie Kennedy lived here in between slightly more enviable residences.
Town-and-gown tension keeps the Washington Metro from having a subway stop anywhere useful, however. Thank goodness the canals down by the Potomac are known for their quaint walkability.
Birthdate
1789
Body Type
With 7,636 undergraduates and about 10,000 grad students, it can get crowded on the Hilltop. At night, though, all undergrads and grad students go home to their apartments…somewhere. I try to mix things up with grand Healy Hall rising above athletic fields and redbrick midrise buildings.
Many of the streets around campus are cobblestoned, with old, jagged streetcar tracks poking through in some places. I know you think it's precious, but your parents' car is going to disagree…especially when it tries to find some parking.
Current Living Situation
Undergraduates live almost exclusively on campus or in nearby university-subsidized apartments. The Georgetown area of DC is hella expensive, except no one says "hella" here. When former U.S. president Bill Clinton was a student in the School of Foreign Service, he lived in Harbin Hall in the center of campus.
My dorms aren't princedoms, but they're known for their vibrancy and coziness. Also, some students here at the turn of the century can recall watching the DC scenes of September 11th unfold from the rooftops and balconies of their dorms.
Relationship Status
Sports-wise, I like to give those Big East bros, Villanova and Syracuse, a hard time. On the dating front, well, I can sometimes play the political elitist, but I don't mind having dinner with an English major from Penn or a physicist from Hopkins, or maybe even a "language expert" at the University of Maryland spending a suspicious amount of time in the NSA parking lot.
Religion
Founded by Jesuits, I'm Roman Catholic, with pangs of guilt for my political worldliness. Although more than a third of my student body identifies as Roman Catholic, there's occasional friction between the conservative forces and liberal campus traditions; notably, you won't find birth control products sold in university-owned buildings. Womp womp.
I'm a really open-minded place, as my Intercultural Center can attest (I was actually the first university in the United States to have a full-time imam, too), you just may have to cross the street for a little more variety in your drug store shopping.
Politics
Liberal-leaning but super-Establishment. I'm not ashamed of my Kennedy vibe.
You should apply to me if...
you want a starring role in the real House of Cards.
Website
http://www.georgetown.edu