Not many Georgetown students hop on the G2 Metro bus to get to Howard University’s campus. It’s one the best historically black colleges in the U.S., but it isn’t just for blacks. More Georgetown students at Howard would help bring both universities together and present intellectual and social challenges for Georgetown students. Both GU and Howard are two of the 15 colleges in the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. The University should increase its promotion of this program and more students should take advantage of it.
Through the Consortium, students at participating colleges can enroll in courses at the others. But Hoyas are under utilizing the program, sending only 54 undergraduates to Consortium schools this semester. There are four Georgetown undergraduates in Air Force ROTC courses at Howard, while two Howard undergraduates are currently taking at least once class here.
Howard University offers many advantages to Georgetown undergraduates, especially those studying the newly-formed African American Studies minor. Howard also has strong programs where Georgetown is weak: education, journalism and pharmacology. Georgetown has some of the U.S.’s top professors in government, public policy and philosophy. Now, a new graduate level program is capitalizing on each University’s comparative advantage. Under the G2 Program, each school will exchange two graduate teaching assistants. The GU graduates may teach and learn in Howard’s English or Education departments—Howard offers Ph.D.’s in both fields while Georgetown doesn’t.
GU-HU integration will have social benefits as well. Georgetown students studying at Howard will experience a more diverse environment, and the learning that comes with it. Common links are greater than one may think: both schools are selective academically and attract students from all over the country, many of which from the middle class. More connections between the two schools will also make the two communities more accustomed to each other and create a welcoming atmosphere on both campuses, allaying fears of another altercation like last falls’ Reiss brawl, which involved Howard students.
Progress starts in the classroom. Students should seize the opportunity of having such a strong, diverse college only a bus ride away.
