For many Georgetown students, happily wandering around Copley lawn on Georgetown Day is one of the highlights of their college experience. This year, however, the University is threatening to strip students of their right to celebrate the end of classes among the verdant grasses and lush foliage of the quad—or at least force them to take the party somewhere else.
Three days ago a leak from the Provost’s Office indicated that the administration was looking to move Georgetown Day from the originally scheduled date of Friday, April 24, to a Thursday three weeks earlier. The proposed date change was due to the scheduling of the final GAAP weekend starting that same Friday. The GAAP weekend, which normally occurs much earlier in the year, was pushed back due a late Easter. This, combined with the release of acceptance letters on April 1, left the 24th as the only available weekend to woo prospective students.
The administration tried to change the date of Georgetown Day without consulting any students. It is clear from recent years how much students enjoy Georgetown Day—in many ways the ceremonial end of the semester—yet administrators completely excluded undergrads from the decision making process. The fact that this issue was not discussed in an open forum, where students could make their voices heard, is an example of how the University all too often elevates the priorities of prospective students over those who already attend and pay tuition.
Though left out of the process, a grassroots student response led the Provost to announce that Georgetown Day would still be held on April 24. As it now stands, both GAAP weekend and Georgetown Day will occur at the same time.
Considering that both activities will use many of the same facilities, the question now is where Georgetown Day will take place. It has been rumored that the University is considering moving the celebration to McDonough or some other alternate site. Apart from the fact that McDonough is too small to host the event, this is the wrong message to send, both to the current students and to prospective ones. Current students should not be pushed out of sight to protect the delicate sensibilities of prospective students and their parents.
Students celebrating on Copley lawn should be the first thing that prospective freshmen see when they visit Georgetown. It would give them a better picture of what being at Georgetown really means than any overly polite campus tour ever could. For all the talk about community that the Admissions Office likes to throw around, words could never do justice to the sight of students celebrating the college experience they chose for themselves in the balmy April sunshine.
