Town / Gown

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Katherine Duncan

I have two great loves – the “town” and Georgetown University.

As a third year (or so) Georgetown student who was born in DC, lived in both the Foggy Bottom and Capitol Hill neighborhoods before moving to the suburb of Potomac, MD around age seven, I get it that Georgetown students often play into stereotypes —perhaps subconsciously, perhaps not—either way, there is a certain sense of entitlement that accompanies Georgetown students as they stroll beyond 35th street, gallivanting out onto M street and Wisconsin avenue, a certain arrogant attitude as if they own the town. But I’m a student too and have an insider's perspective that I’m willing to share.

Gtown genpop, aka "Georgetown general population," is a concept coined by former members of the Georgetown track team which I find hilarious, but which I think explains a lot. It captures the various different stereotypical groups on the Georgetown campus—the overzealous SFS (School of Foreign Service)/IPOL (International Politics), students, the "bro" types (think loud, obnoxious, beer-bonging, etc.), the privileged preppy boarding school New-Englanders, etc. Essentially, the "Jane and Jack Hoya" typecast for which Georgetown is known.

Let’s expand these types by adding “Georgetown students within the greater Georgetown community.” Georgetown University is separated literally and figuratively from the rest of the Georgetown area very distinctly by the hilltop that it sits upon, almost looking down upon the rest of the city in a superior sort of way, proving itself as the prestigious intellectual institution that it is, above everyone and everything else that surrounds it.

It’s easy for "Gtown genpop" to become so entrenched with the University identity of elitism. Maybe it is typical of universities to be so separated from the communities that they are situated within, to exist as their own little cities functioning independently of the outside world, but why must this be the case? Some students remain confined within the gates and rarely, if ever, venture off campus, which is ironic because one of the main draws of Georgetown is its prime location within the nation's capitol, and all of the accompanying potential opportunities awaiting discovery outside the hilltop. I have an insatiable appetite for exploration and adventure, and I feel that it is an absolute waste of an experience not to seize the city in which we are living with a sense of purpose and curiosity. And it wouldn't hurt to try having the slightest modicum of respect for the surrounding Georgetown neighborhood, for after all we might become a part of this population eventually as we graduate, move on and begin to inhabit the "real world"—maybe then we'll truly understand the deeper ramifications of "Gtown genpop" and just how frustrating this elitist ignorance can be to real Georgetown residents.

I truly love Georgetown campus—who wouldn't?—the old colossal stone buildings with their tall spires, lush green quads, chapels tucked away between classroom buildings. We even have a five star restaurant that is technically "on campus," though not within the gates. Many of our students don’t fit any stereotype and I know that many of the “townies” don’t either. I’m ready to interpret, explain and engage and bring my genpop friends along. Then too, my former track friends can tell about feats far more interesting than any Gtown genpoper could ever concoct.