DeGioia probably deserves at least a little of the blame here. I’m relatively sure that being annoying as hell during a GAAP weekend is the only way to get him to address student concerns.

I also wish that Plan A would focus their message a little more. Like we’re tackling insurance coverage, condom availability on campus, and sexual assault all at once? Let’s try to get HPV and birth control covered and work from there.

Are these people ignorant, or just intellectually dishonest? I’m looking at you, girl holding the “My Body, My Campus” sign. No, not your campus. Georgetown’s campus.
Also, enough with all of the misappropriation of Jesuit ideals. If anyone is confused about the meaning of cura personalis, social justice, or any other core Jesuit beliefs, I encourage you to find a Jesuit and talk with him about it. If anyone is not confused, but is simply choosing to misuse any of these ideas (and poorly at that), I encourage you to knock it off.

It has become clear that they want attention, not results. A results-oriented group would work to bring in like-minded people (like me-totally agree with many of their ideas) instead of alienating them through these tactics that are divisive, offensive, and ill-conceived. Chaining yourself to the statue? And then having no idea of what to do next? These are unconnected guerilla tactics designed to get attention. The fact that they have no idea of their next move shows that they are doing this as an end, not as a means. Please figure out your direction and then protest to get it done. For now, you’re just killing any shot we have an achieving the ideas you’re working for. Until then, you’re doing more to hurt a more productive dialogue on campus than to help.

It’s too bad that Georgetown instituted this policy, in secret, right after these protesters arrived for Freshman orientation. If they only could have known beforehand how oppressive a Catholic school’s policies would be towards their goal of achieving reproductive justice, or at least had an inkling about the stance of the Roman Catholic Church on the subject… Then, they would have certainly chosen to have attended a more progressive institution for far less cost. However, I guess there aren’t that many of those around… which is why they had to attend Georgetown in the first place.

Well at least they can warn the next generations of student’s away so that they do not make the same mistake. However, I do think that they are being a bit irresponsible by also not including information on Georgetown’s policy of not allowing students to transfer once one arrives on campus. This could help warn off those who would be tempted to give the school a try and leave once they have achieved the proper level of selfish entitlement….

What methods would encourage you to stand up and attempt to enact change and not alienate you?

The comment that they want attention instead of results is so frighteningly true. As someone who cares passionately about the same issues that the Plan A people do, I’m embarrassed by their tea-party methods of accomplishing change.

Yeah, this is a little dramatic, but “el presidente” is right: change doesn’t happen at Georgetown without making a big, annoying, loud fuss over something. If there were institutionalized channels to voice these concerns and to have them addressed, then, sure, that’d be preferable to chaining yourself to a statue. And I refuse to believe that all prospective students are aware of Georgetown’s stance on insurance, condoms, sponsorship of student organizations, and so on. I challenge you to provide me with one item given to all prospective students that clearly spells out just what is and isn’t available at Georgetown on those issues.

Most of the people complaining just have a personal distaste for protest, lack ideas for getting this sort of stuff done, and probably think that writing one or two letters will do the job. Well, sorry, but it won’t. You’ve gotta do big actions that get media coverage and embarrass the university to get them to pay attention to your concerns. If these protests weren’t annoying, disruptive, and bothersome, they wouldn’t be worth having.

Looks like Reese Witherspoon’s character in Election was right when she said, about Georgetown students, “A lot of them were just spoiled little rich kids who didn’t know how lucky they had it.”

Chaining yourself to John Carroll’s statue? Covering your mouths with tape? It’s like they decided to reenact every cliched, eye-catching protest stunt they’ve ever seen. And for what? Making their personal sex lives more convenient?

Maybe if they were trying to make HPV vaccines more accessible in the third world, where cervical cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer among women in developing countries. Maybe if they were trying to make condoms more accessible in Africa, where HIV and AIDS are .. I mean God take your pick of horrible statistic.

Georgetown is a Catholic University, always will be, always will be, always SHOULD be. These students clearly don’t know anything about Catholic ethics, and don’t seem interested in taking the time to go to class and find out. And maybe that is Georgetown’s fault. I love Vox but The Hoya Editorial Board explained, point by point, why each of their demands is unfounded.

And the fact that MEChaA and NAACP showed up IN SUPPORT of this? Is this even really about condoms and HPV vaccines anymore, or just a liberal student group free-for-all? I guess we’ll see when GU Pride shows up at the next protest.

This is becoming a new low for Georgetown and I am ashamed.

To Michael– Should someone really not go to Georgetown because they disagree with their policy on contraceptives and sex health? College is about education– I personally came here for the classes not the Catholicism as I’m sure most others did– and when you are a student here you have a right to voice your opinion and push for change. That’s like saying someone should leave the country because they disagree with one of the government’s policies– the fact that we pay taxes (TUITION) gives us the RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY. And, if you’re not aware, this is what a peaceful protest looks like. It may be a little loud, it may be trying to get attention (isn’t that what a protest is??) but that’s how people get HEARD. Also, I for one did not know that Georgetown, for example, does not provide rape kits to victims, or that you can’t get birth control with georgetown insurance, when I applied. Doesn’t mean I have to accept it passively.

I, personally, am sick of complacent, apathetic students who think that any attempt at change or voicing opinions is “rude” or “offensive”. I had no idea that politeness was so important to students of Georgetown, who I thought were politically aware, inquisitive people. That’s why I came here. If you actually agree with Plan A, then don’t you want these rights? And how do you think you’re ever going to get them if you don’t do anything about it? You’re outside of the classroom, you can stop analyzing and criticizing and actually DO SOMETHING.

Considering some people have advocated adding a racist checkbox to GU applications to avoid accepting racist students, how about we do the same for flaming liberal advocates who make an ass of themselves during GAAP weekend?

@Hmmm: I bet you think that you’re really, really clever, don’t you?

Re: Wake Up

Your first paragraph shows how ignorant you are.

Let’s take it down line-by-line:

-”College is about education– I personally came here for the classes not the Catholicism as I’m sure most others did”.

If you didn’t realize that classes at a JESUIT, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY might impose certain restrictions on campus, then you’re an idiot. I’m sorry. Georgetown isn’t just paying lip service to the church’s teachings by having crucifixes in the classroom, but there are fundamental principles that a Catholic institution is going to abide by, and if you couldn’t see that before coming here I have no sympathy for you. Furthermore, this is also on you not doing your research. The lack of condoms on campus was mentioned not only by some people during my GAAP weekend visits, but in multiple college research books (College Prowler, Princeton Review, etc.). Once again, I have no sympathy for you.

-”That’s like saying someone should leave the country because they disagree with one of the government’s policies– the fact that we pay taxes (TUITION) gives us the RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY.”

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. No you don’t get the right to assemble wherever you fucking want. Georgetown is was and always will be a private institution and that means certain rights are not afforded to you here. That’s the way it works. You don’t get to create rights out of thin air because you have a 2nd grade knowledge of the Bill of Rights. Look at multiple Supreme Court cases that have said you aren’t guaranteed certain rights in schools and then come talk to me.

-”Also, I for one did not know that Georgetown, for example, does not provide rape kits to victims, or that you can’t get birth control with georgetown insurance, when I applied. Doesn’t mean I have to accept it passively.”

You know why Georgetown doesn’t have rape kits at the hospital? Because it’s run by a bunch of condom-hating pedophile leprechauns, right? Maybe it’s because IT’S NOT LEGALLY AUTHORIZED TO DO SO BY THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA and there is only one hospital in the district that can. (http://www.thehoya.com/news/plan-satirizes-wednesday-protest/)

Honestly, do your research before you look like a moron on an internet message board and even worse, a moron chaining yourself to John Carroll. At least you have the pseudonym to hide behind on Vox. When you’re chained up to a statue, you’re offered no such protection from your idiocy.

@Meghan: think of the “the third world,” not Georgetown!

I think you’ll find that a lot of these students are concerned about health in the third world, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t voice their opinions about policies and practices that affect their community. I think you are placing an unreasonably high standard on these people that they ignore their own communities and focus on those in the third world. Tell me – do you ever spend money on yourself when you could donate it? Why are you posting on a blog instead of dedicating time in a soup kitchen? Your “concern” for the third world is not genuine, it’s just a distraction designed to up your own moral superiority and justify your own inaction while condemning others.

“Georgetown is a Catholic University, always will be, always will be, always SHOULD be. These students clearly don’t know anything about Catholic ethics, and don’t seem interested in taking the time to go to class and find out.”

They might know something about Catholic ethics, but just happen to disagree with them. There’s nothing wrong with mobilizing the same discourse that Catholicism uses for their causes. And why should we even take the moral authority of the church seriously? Just turn on the news. And newsflash: a large chunk of Georgetown’s student body isn’t Catholic and they don’t practice or believe in Catholic doctrine. Why should Georgetown not deal with the facts of religious pluralism when it comes to sexual health? Sticking its head in the sand and pretending that college students don’t have sex is just silly.

“This is becoming a new low for Georgetown and I am ashamed.”

Oh, really? A new low? What about all those hate crimes? Last year’s racist Hoya edition? The fact that GU was paying poverty wages to its employees while talking about social justice for years? The regularly insane weekend debauchery that makes a mockery of Catholic sexual ethics? THIS protest is a new low? Get a clue.

Would anyone who continually harps on “Georgetown is a Jesuit University and therefore you should have expected certain things when you came here” care to weigh in why they think that Georgetown faculty get birth control coverage on their insurance but not students?

@okay Oh my God I don’t even know where to start.

then that was a really useful update on your thoughts, wasn’t it?

Fuck off.

@ okay

1. “Your “concern” for the third world is not genuine, it’s just a distraction designed to up your own moral superiority and justify your own inaction while condemning others.”

Umm what? I meant that the grandiose protesting tactics used by Plan A (the chains, the tape, etc.) would be more appropriate at a protest for those larger issues.

2. “And newsflash: a large chunk of Georgetown’s student body isn’t Catholic and they don’t practice or believe in Catholic doctrine.”

How is that a newsflash? And regardless of what religion a large chuck of Georgetown students practice, the university itself (the whole chunk) is a private, Catholic institution that… sorry this is starting to bore me now.

3. “Sticking its head in the sand and pretending that college students don’t have sex is just silly.” THEY’RE NOT!! Please tell me you are just posting to get people like me worked up … PLEASE.

4. “THIS protest is a new low? Get a clue.” No but this blog post sure is. Get a degree… somewhere else.

Hey Meghan,

Would you be interested in writing songs for Nickelback? Let me know.

-Chad

Yes, we’re a Catholic school. But Georgetown is a Catholic University who prides itself on its global outlook and diversity. Why then, do we ignore the accompanying ideologies that come along with that diversity?

Sorry, that was jumping the gun a bit. We don’t ignore all the non-Catholic ideologies. We employ Georgetown money to fund non-Catholic groups and activities, including other religions, the LGBTQ Resource Center, and birth control for faculty members.

I find the fact that we pick and choose where it is okay to differ from Catholic beliefs hypocritical.

Why is access to condoms and official recognition of Georgetown students who support Pro-Choice ideals not okay but an LGBTQ Resource Center is?

Also- to all those who support this campaign’s ideas but not its methods, I’m interested in how you think the issue could be better addressed. Belief about an injustice has little tangible worth when nothing is done about that belief.

Yes Chad. Yes I would.

Being gay, lesbian, Muslim, Jewish, Democrat, or Republican are not unethical according to Catholic teachings, which is why those groups receive funding. Using condoms is unethical according to Catholic teachings. There is no hypocrisy as far as I can see.

I’m still interested in knowing why faculty members can get birth control but not students. I was genuinely surprised about that. There’s an issue where I think Plan A can make inroads. If the university wants to have zero birth control, fine — that’s at least defensible, but offering it to faculty but not to students smacks of hypocrisy.

It would do Jheanelle’s cura personalis a lot of good if picked up a book and researched what cura personalis actually means. People must be out of their minds if they think that cura personalis = providing birth control and condoms to people.

I was going to write a long theological explanation for why birth control is counter to the development of loving human relationships, but I will not. I’ll just express how I am very saddened by this. Catholic catechism is a beautiful and wonderful guideline on how to be truly happy, to learn the discipline of love. Is it easy? No, it requires a struggle between the freedom of desires and the true freedom found in authentic human love, but it is a joyful struggle. In response to that sign in the picture, I can understand that people feel chained to an ideology, but what they see as a restriction on freedom I see as the instrument to true freedom in loving relationship with God and other people.

On Sexuality and Chastity:
2331 http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm#II

And Humane Vitae:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html

It’s so outrageously easy to get birth control. And outside of that, there’s really not much more that I could ask a university for. I think people are just bored and want to feel like they’re sticking up for something.

The fact that so many of you are tripping over yourselves to condemn this group is only a testament to the fact that they are being effective.

Effective at getting publicity and getting their voices heard? Sure. Effective at gaining the support of the student body? Definitely not. For many students (myself included) who are pro-choice, would love greater access to birth control, and who generally support the aims of this group, this type of behavior is nothing short of alienating. I support many of Plan A’s goals; because of acts like this, I don’t support Plan A.

Maybe Plan A feels like this is what it takes for the administration to acknowledge them and their goals, but the administration also won’t care if Plan A doesn’t end up having any other supporters aside from a few diehard core members. Publicity alone will not necessarily translate into results, in this case, and if Plan A can’t achieve its goals, they are hardly being effective.

“Plan A Hoyas” disgust me. What fools they are to make bizarre demands that are either legally impossible (rape kits at Georgetown Hospital – only Washington Medical Center is authorized to have them) or politically impossible (lots o’ birth control at a Catholic university).

Really – it’s not that hard to get birth control. We already have H*yas for choice. We have condom captains. We have CVS. If you need a birth control pill, you can always get it prescribed from a local doctor, albeit off-campus. What fools they are – throwing around Jesuit mottos like they’re Jesuits, and shamelessly warping Georgetown credos to fit their propagandizing.

I hope United Feminists loses its University funding for taking part in this disgraceful charade of indignation.

Plan A is so dumb that they don’t realize how dumb they even are. Do they realize that they are just turning away all the prospective freshman who would normally join their group from attending Georgetown in the first place by saying that Georgetown is a close minded school that wont tolerate other opinions?

@ @Chris D

While I can’t say I agree with all the tactics employed by Plan A, how exactly have these tactics bothered you so much that you feel they have alienated you completely, if you do agree with their goal(s)?

Why is everyone so anti-direct action here? If it seems like a publicity/attention-seeking stunt, so be it: how does it actually bother you enough in any way to get you so riled up about it? (The only issue i had with this protest was that its timing during a GAAP weekend might scare off conservative parents from sending their potentially progressive children here, and Georgetown can’t afford to lose progressive applicants.)

If you have a problem with direct action, and support the goals, why not suggest other options to achieve those goals?

Finally, I’m tired of hearing the “you chose to come to a Catholic university, so deal with it”: oh, really? Had I wanted to come to this Catholic university some decades ago, I couldn’t have because I’m a woman. That has changed. Had I come to this Catholic university a few decades ago, there would’ve been no interfaith campus ministry. That has changed too, hasn’t it? And, oh, when I came to this Catholic university 2.5 years ago, I knew there was no LGBTQ Resource Center and not many resources for LGBT students, but we managed to change that, didn’t we?

Your argument is horribly flawed. You say you’ve been alienated? Ok, thats great. You’re pro-choice (as am I), but I suspect you (also like I) have done next to nothing over your years here to change Georgetown policy or publicly register your frustration with it. If their goal was to alienate as few people as possible, they wouldn’t have tried to initiate change in the first place, would they have?

All these people who claim to be pro-choice, but frustrated with Plan A have almost no credibility, because they have done next to nothing to actually change Georgetown’s policy. If there were some moderate alternative that was losing attention due to Plan A, I’d be much more sympathetic to that line of thinking, but there isn’t, because the significant pro-choice majority on campus has been silent on the issue. Who cares if they’re alienating you if you weren’t going to do anything to fix the problem in the first place?

That giant sucking sound you here is not in fact the protesters. Rather, it is the sound of our alumnae pulling their dollars from the school should these ridiculous demands be met.

This has never been about condoms, which are readily available on campus. No, this is about the fact that these people want to the administration to tell them they’re special, that they can do whatever they damn want and will be called heroes for doing it. Or at the very least they want the righteous sense of persecution that comes with fighting for that noblest of causes: they right to escape from the consequences of your actions.

As to the apathy argument, I think some of the posters here have a point. Someone should organize a response to these juvenile 60′s wannabes and show them what happens when Georgetown students really get active.

During several of the hours these guys were chained to John Carroll this afternoon, I had protected sex three times (back to back baby) with condoms I purchased from CVS, with my girlfriend who got birth control prescribed at the Student Health Center and paid $10 out of pocket to have it filled at CVS.

If any of these GAAPers want to find out the truth about reproductive freedom, they’re free to come hang out with me. If any of the Plan A people would like to learn a thing or two about sex, they’re welcome to stop by, too.

Who’s done more for our freedom today: me, or these Plan A**holes?

They definitely need better t-shirts, and perhaps some nice spray-on tans. If they had better t-shirts and spray-on tans, people might take them seriously. As it stands now, they look like sickly hipsters, and nobody likes a sickly hipster.

I caught the protest.
It was hardcore: they were seated, eating sandwiches and covered in blankets to protect from the cold of early spring in DC. Irony of ironies, there was a baby there for some portion (with it’s sitter). Good thing that baby wasn’t aborted, then it couldn’t have seen the pro-choice protest. This protest was so tame, however, it was safe for babies.
I do not understand how dps did not remove them. Oh, and I’m sure that John Carroll, a Catholic priest would really appreciate his image being misappropriated by individuals with such disrespect for his church.
If they get anything, you can add my name to the sucking sound of alumni dollars.

I can totally understand the administration not wanting DPS to physically remove the Plan A contingent from Healy Circle; I spoke with one officer to see if they were going to do anything, and she said that Dr. Lord had ordered them not to get into any physical altercations.

The situations strikes me as particularly pathetic because not only is all this childish shenaniganery completely ineffective (as has been noted over and over again), but it also endangers the role of these particular students at the university. They’ve defaced school property, verbally assaulted a tour group of prospective students, and now they’re accosting accepted students on GAAP weekend. I would not be surprised whatsoever if the administration took disciplinary action, and it would probably be in the best interest of these students — most of whom are seniors — to cease and desist.

This is the exact same situation that led a group of alumni to sue Georgetown in the courts of Canon Law (the court of the Catholic Church) for its Catholic identity when Fr. O’Donovan began funding H*yas for Choice in the early 90s. Should the administration budge an inch, I have no doubt that this will occur again, and the Society of Jesus and the Holy See will become involved on a very intimate level.

Ultimately, Plan A is just wasting its time, fighting for a set of goals they don’t understand themselves and willing to incur a set of tragic consequences nobody wants.

I hear the sound of alumni sucking their donation dollars at every little drop: Georgetown admits women, Georgetown has Jewish students, Georgetown has international students, Georgetown is “too pro-gay”, Georgetown is already not Catholic enough, Georgetown covered up the IHS, Georgetown let Obama speak there, Georgetown funded an LGBTQ Resource Center, Georgetown admits Muslim students, Georgetown admits gay students.

I’ve legitimately heard all of these excuses from alumni as to why they won’t be donating to Georgetown.

If this prompts more bigoted alumni to stop contributing, all the better for Georgetown in the long run. If it’s not as dependent on conservative Catholic alumni, maybe the profile of the university will change for the better.

Why doesn’t Georgetown require all its students to take a course on Catholic and specifically Jesuit principles/ideals/ethics? Either through the Theology requirement or something more abridged during NSO. It seems like it would solve a lot of the misunderstanding and confusion, and really, if you’re going to get a degree from the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, shouldn’t you at least have a seminar’s-worth of this kind of information? And whether or not you think you agree or disagree with Catholicism, would it really hurt to get a better grip on what exactly it is you agree or disagree with? Georgetown’s Catholic identity is something we should all take pride in, not something that should divide us.

I’ve gone from being basically sympathetic to the Plan A folks, to having some doubts about their overall strategy, and now to frankly being annoyed by them. Honestly guys? Chaining yourselves to the statue and harassing accepted students? You think that’s the best way of getting popular or official support for your cause? It seems like you’re more interested in being in the spotlight and being controversial than in getting anything actually done.

As for the Plan B movement, I’m equally disappointed. I understand your belief that as a Catholic and Jesuit institution, Georgetown should treat these issues in a certain way, but you responding by threatening litigation just lacks class. The canon law suit in the 90′s represents a FAILURE on the part of the university and the plaintiffs to find a workable solution on their own, and rushing back to that same nuclear option seems short-sighted. Yes, I understand that you think Plan A is attacking Georgetown’s Catholic identity, but where in scripture does Jesus say to the disciples: “If non-believers try to undermine the teachings of the Church (even within an organization run by the Church itself!), the proper recourse is to call your lawyers and sue.”

This alum is done with Plan A, Plan B, and everyone involved with both.

@Dave: It’s fairly transparent that the only reason you think that this is “childish shenaniganery” is because you disagree with the cause that they are promoting, and you want to ratchet up the “oh, this is verbal assault and vandalism” line (and, no, it’s not) so that the administration inflicts maximum punishment if these protests continue. I find it hard to believe that you would have similar objections to these tactics if the group agreed with your conservative views. (But, of course, there’s really just no way to prove hypothesis at the moment.)

@idea: Sure, Georgetown students should be aware of Jesuit ethics, but there’s no reason that students should not be able to disagree with those ethics while here and use a lot of the vocabulary to express their own views, even if it runs against what some of the established views are. To pin this exclusively on a misunderstanding rather than on a contested interpretation of the values of social justice is rather misguided.

What you call direct action, I call harassment, disturbing the peace, and trespassing (what these folks are doing could rise to the standard of all three). More specifically, what is going on here is an attempt to hold the university hostage: do what we want, or we will make you look bad in front of the prospective students, which everyone knows we can ill afford to lose. That’s why they keep targetting tours and GAAP – it’s a form of attempted blackmail. And blackmail is not something we want to encourage or incentivise, by any group, with any ideological leanings.

I’m surprised we haven’t had a forum on this yet.

Since no one has answered El Presidente’s question, I will answer it myself. It’s pretty clear that Georgetown’s lack of birth control coverage from student plans is a cost issue with a convenient rationalization.

Really, Plan A would be wise to drop anything having to do with abortion from their campaign and focus on the other stuff. People keep saying that Plan A needs to get a clue with regard to Catholic teaching, but there are very serious Catholic theologians (the ones alluded to in P6 of Humanae Vitae, as well as many others) who disagree with current Catholic teachings on birth control. Let’s not pretend like this is some sort of fundamental tenet of Catholicism.

Informational resources is where they can probably make the most progress. Just as having an LGBTQ resource center isn’t directly at odds with Catholicism’s condemnation of homosexual acts, having a center dedicated to sexuality wouldn’t be directly at odds with views on fornication, masturbation, etc.

Patrick, just to make a couple points clear: we wouldn’t call ourselves the Plan B campaign, as that would be thoroughly tasteless. Secondly, I never threatened with litigation; I am simply suggesting that alumni might very well respond similarly and the Holy See will step in as it has in the past. That’s hardly a “nuclear option,” because as an apostolate of the Catholic Church, Georgetown must respect the decisions of the Magisterium. Nothing was destroyed in the lawsuit, Georgetown’s identity was preserved, and H*yas lost its official recognition and university funding. You’ve set up a false analogy that compares this to nuclear warfare, which is simply far from reasonable.

@okay…Objectively speaking, it really is childish. The advocates of the Plan A campaign are using guerilla tactics to frighten the administration, threatening that if they do not get a response, they will continue to accost accepted students and tour groups. A few weeks ago, two students verbally assaulted a tour group and its guides in a spirit of hostility that caused profound discomfort amongst the tour, its guides, and the administration. That is hardly acceptable, and is the sort of behavior which the administration might very well reprimand with not inconsiderable disciplinary action. Many students previously in support of Plan A have been extremely put off by their behavior, as a few students are clearly acting unilaterally without the support of their wider organization. @Shruti is dead on, this is blackmail.

As for your charge that I would support such behavior if the group was more in line with my beliefs, I beg to differ. I am not sure if you are familiar with a guy by the name of Randall Terry, but he’s the activist who flew images of aborted fetuses over Notre Dame when President Obama spoke at their commencement. He also showed his face outside of our front gates when Obama spoke here last year on economics, bringing supporters bearing gruesome images of aborted children aloft. I would never, ever condone such behavior, nor would I ever participate in such hostile action. I believe I can safely assume that other members of Right to Life and Catholic student groups don’t agree with Terry’s approach either.

The Plan A hoyas knew Georgetown’s policies when they were prospective accepted students – if they care so much they shouldn’t have come to Georgetown.

When does it end?
If I wanted the university to fire all Jesuits and replace them with Scientologists, could I dangle myself from the clocktower, dropping water balloons until Dr. DeGioia opened a “dialogue” with me to discuss my meritless points?

This is absurd, and DPS should have controlled that situation before it became the insult that it was. This is just another example of an entirely impotent administration, unable to pursue and defend Georgetown’s Catholic identity, or at least do something as simple as keep facilities up to date.

I agree with David (and not just because he’s a cool guy). This has become inappropriate and offensive, and I do hope that there are consequences for violating university policy, harassing prospective students and continuing to use “direct action” in order to disturb the peace, all in the name of justice. Lord knows everyone was excited about dropping the hammer on The Hoya, and we did not even violate a written rule.

Bottom line: If you dislike the Church’s teachings and how those teachings affect your life, you are free to attend a different institution or petition the Holy See to change. Voluntarily submitting yourself to Georgetown and agreeing to abide by its rules is just that, a choice. Georgetown is part of the Catholic Church. You cannot challenge the Church’s influence at Georgetown and expect to be taken seriously. Comparisons to not admitting women, racial minorities or an having interfaith center are inaccurate at best, Shruti, and intentionally deceiving at worst. I expect those using those analogies intend the former, as it shows ignorance and not malice.

Those unhappy coexisting with Georgetown’s Catholic tradition should have made a better life choice and attended The George Washington University, Michigan State or some other secular university. And in that respect, I am pro-choice ; )

I’m a Catholic who supports access to contraception, comprehensive sex education, and abortion rights. Call me a walking contradiction, but I’m exactly the type of person Plan A should want to be a member of their coalition, right? But I’m not, because they’ve done a terrific job of alienating rational human beings. Although I disagree with many stances the Church takes, I think its imperative to the very nature of the institution that Georgetown remain true to the doctrine of the Church, whether a majority of students or community members support it or not. That’s part of the bargain when you attend a university such as this one.

As many have said before, I doubt anyone does not know both that Georgetown is a Catholic institution and that the Catholic Church has the positions it does on the issues at hand. Nobody forced anyone to matriculate, or even apply, for that matter. There are plenty of other options available in the world of higher education, both non-Catholic and nonreligious. But I’m sure what drew many people here were the aspects of a Georgetown education and community consistent with Catholic teaching: the embrace of diversity, commitment to service of many kinds, and high standard of education and intellectual discovery, among others. That being said, with all those aspects comes the loyalty to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, all its teachings, all its strengths, and all its faults.

Perhaps those who protest the University should better understand the Jesuit values and Catholic teachings they so prominently flaunt on illogically written signs and posters. I have one to which they should pay special attention as they move forward and consider their next steps: Contemplation in Action.

I was one of those prospective students being “accosted” by the Plan A people on Saturday, and, as much of these comments seemed to be concerned with the apparent reactions of myself and my fellow prospective Hoyas to this particular protest, I figured I might as well share one GAAPer’s perspective.

While I am not Catholic or ethically/morally opposed to the use of contraceptives, I do have respect for the Jesuit heritage of Georgetown; it, despite being very different to what I have thus far been exposed to in life, is one of the things that made me apply in the first place. Yes, I agree with those who have posted above about the protesters’ abrasive and alienating demonstration and their unrealistic demands. I also spoke to the student tabling for H*yas for Choice at the activities fair in Red Square, who made it seem that condoms, at least, are readily available to students who want them.

Nevertheless, after spending two days listening to people rave about the university and how much they love it, it was somewhat refreshing to see that there were people unsatisfied with the status quo. For all the talk I had been hearing elsewhere about Georgetown students being “spoiled little rich kids who didn’t know how lucky they had it,” I must admit that such a show of dissent did bring me down to earth, whether or not I agreed with their ideology or protest strategy.

49 comments…Fuck I love controversy.

There’s a false dichotomy being presented here: disruption and silence. Many seem to believe that the only way for Plan A to engage in meaningful dialogue is to do crazy, disruptive things in an attempt at getting attention. It’s not like there’s not forums for these discussions. Table in Red Square, write letters to the editor, hold events, heck even the guerrilla theater seemed to mostly draw shrugs of “well, it’s stupid, and they’re bad actors, but whatever.” However, the correct recourse when people aren’t interested in changing things isn’t to force yourself upon them, grab them by the metaphorical shoulders and scream “pay attention to me!” They had their outlet to express their views. People talked for a bit, but it seemed there wasn’t exactly the groundswell of support for rebellion they were expecting.

So it seems people are talking past each other. One side is saying “these are necessary issues to be debating! Georgetown’s policy is bad!” and the other side is saying “these actions are too radical and unnecessarily disruptive!” So my question to Plan A is this: Why do you think that this topic can’t be handled by conventional avenues of dialog? If the answer is “that didn’t change anything,” then I’d say we disagree about the purpose of dialog.

Side note: someone at the circle was holding up a sign asking “Georgetown: what’s your plan A?” My guess is that the university’s answer is exactly that: “A”bstinence

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner:

Side note: someone at the circle was holding up a sign asking “Georgetown: what’s your plan A?” My guess is that the university’s answer is exactly that: “A”bstinence

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36076370/ns/local_news-washington_dc/

surprise surprise… Georgetown caved in… good to know that harassment and blackmail goes a long way in life.

[...] University officials on Tuesday following their high-profile GAAP weekend protests on Friday and Saturday, WTOP is reporting. Marion Cory (COL ‘10), a Plan A Hoyas leader and a board member of United [...]

While in agreement with Plan A’s message, this student wishes they would have chosen a different day for their protest. The pr0test came in the middle of a GAAP weekend (Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program: weekend opportunities for accepted students to check out the University before agreeing to attend). Many students put their entire year into planning GAAP weekends, to hold this kind of a protest during a SATURDAY of the event is disrespectful to those students. The protest was meant to anger the University, not to engage current Georgetown Students. I understand and respect Plan A’s frustration, and their desire to ‘stick it’ to the university administration, but to do so at the expense of other student’s hard work, and to do so with so little support from current students, strikes me as irresponsible and, to be frank, quite rude.

Again: Plan A’s demands are both honorable and just. This writer agrees with them on nearly every point. The medium of their message this Saturday, though, was disrespectful and has cost them at the very least this one student.

[...] second they finished their Kardashian-recommended cleanse diets. Nope, brain fart, instead it was Plan A Hoyas which I now think I’m ready judge since I’ve meticulously glanced at Vox Pop’s [...]

[...] People chaining themselves to things and requiring your attendance—Vox feels that. [...]

[...] revolves around her time as one of the three members of Plan A: Hoyas for Reproductive Justice that chained themselves to the John Carroll statue in [...]