Drunk as he was, he was still a gentleman and offered to walk me home. We had been at a costume party, and he, dressed as a priest, and I, as a thug, felt less stupid as a pair. Half way between Alumni Square and the Southwest Quad he halted abruptly.
“Bathroom,” he announced as he stumbled to the nearest building and proceeded to pee in the corner and across the grey stone wall of what happened to be Healy Hall.
I’d heard that Georgetown had lost its Catholic identity, but it had never really sunk in until that moment as I watched a gay priest, dripping with Mardi Gras beads, pissing on Healy Hall. I wondered if it was true and, thanks to my Catholic upbringing, couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
Before deciding to come to Georgetown, the school’s Catholic image both attracted and scared me. When my college counselor printed out my list of suggested colleges, I was shocked to see Georgetown at the top. I reminded him student body diversity was a top priority for me and therefore, despite being quite Catholic, I did not want to attend a Catholic school.
“I know you and I would never suggest a Catholic school for you,” he explained. Had he seen The Exorcist? Seeing my doubt, he continued, “There is a big difference between a Catholic and a Jesuit education. It will be as Catholic as you make it.”
It seems that most students, though, are never satisfied when it comes to religion at Georgetown which, to them, is either sinfully secular or oppressively Catholic. Those who claim Georgetown has lost its Jesuit identity confuse me most, because-despite my impious friends and the desecration of Healy Hall-I wonder what Georgetown has to do to be Catholic enough.
From the liberal arts core curriculum to the school’s mission statement, the Jesuit influence is everywhere. It’s not just Georgetown’s Catholic Studies Program, the AGAPE retreats or the crucifixes hanging in classrooms that make the school Catholic. Some people complain that Georgetown sacrifices its core Catholic identity to compete with other elite universities, but to me, the Center for Bioethics, the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the Justice and Peace Studies programs clearly set the University apart from other schools while spreading a Catholic message.
Just yesterday, a pro-life friend argued with me that the school would compromise its Catholic identity if it didn’t grant leave for students to attend the March for Life on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. I answered that the most important parts of the school’s Jesuit influence were things like education and community service, and that Georgetown offered a wider range of service activities than any school I’d visited.
“That’s all PR,” she countered. “Who actually does those?”
Actually, a lot of people do, but that is beside the point. She should have blamed her lazy peers-or herself-rather than the school. Sometimes students seem so busy pointing out how Georgetown isn’t Catholic that they miss out on all the ways that it is.
Georgetown also offers programs that are not traditionally thought of as part of a Catholic curriculum and that have drawn significant criticism from a conservative Catholic community of students. But Women’s Studies classes are not in opposition to Catholic doctrine, contrary to the view of some critics who have never actually taken a Women’s Studies class. There are a variety of classes within the department, some more liberal in approach than others.
What is so offensive about my frail sexual politics professor? Who exactly would a LGBTQ resource center hurt? Attending a Mask & Bauble play dealing with sexual politics will not turn a person pro-choice. Times are changing; I am pro-choice but I am still personally against abortion and, more importantly, still Catholic.
Having these options shouldn’t discredit the many Catholic influences that are a part of Georgetown. John Carroll founded Georgetown to be open to students of “every religious profession,” and nearly half of all Georgetown students aren’t Catholic. Of course, to the vocal group of students who complain of Georgetown’s “stifling” Catholicism, I remind them that the majority of Hoyas do consider themselves Catholic and it is a Jesuit university. Yes, we do need to take two theology classes, but having fulfilled my requirement, my teachers never touched on the subject of Catholicism. We live in a religious nation; just reach into your pocket and look at the money we print. I’ve heard the word “God” far less in my three semesters at Georgetown than in any one of President Bush’s speeches.
Besides, it is totally possible to graduate from Georgetown never having had a Jesuit professor, without attending any type of religious service and having had as much premarital, protected sex as any heathen student at George Washington University. I was given good advice: Georgetown is as Catholic as you wish it to be and deserves respect for both its Jesuit identity and integrity as well as for its acceptance of the majority of students who do not subscribe unswervingly to every Catholic doctrine. Because even if you have to walk to 7-11 to buy your condoms, chances are you are not, in fact, being oppressed.
