We’re number 23! And 53 and 53 and 84 and 96 and…

Photo courtesy of
‘270 to win.’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Another year, another US News and World Report colleges ranking. The big winner for our area is Georgetown at #23, though just up the road in Baltimore there’s John Hopkins at 14. GW and UMD-College Park tie at 53, AU is at 84 and Howard’s at 96. None of our other area schools break the top 100.

Georgetown is consoling themselves about their 4-year run at #23 by pointing out that High School guidance counselors put them at #9. I’d say that #23 ain’t bad and they may want to be careful what they turn to for affirmation – did you have any respect for your high school guidance counselor?

Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.

Hmm, guess I just did.

My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.

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8 thoughts on “We’re number 23! And 53 and 53 and 84 and 96 and…

  1. Haha, what an obnoxious post! Way to go, Don, for completely mischaracterizing Vox Populi’s post, and for equating a snarky blog written by a couple Georgetown undergrads with what “Georgetown” is doing.

    What a dick you are, Don. It’s beautiful to behold. If you mischaracterize something as insignificant as this to fabricate material for a post…

  2. I know, it’s actually not about that. Just pointing out that if you read the Vox post and then you read Don’s characterization of the post, they’re completely unrelated. It’s very annoying to read something like that.

  3. Re: Tom,

    In my opinion, Don’s post was unfair to the original post in two ways: first, that the statement “consoling themselves” paints a very negative picture of what Vox was actually doing, and second that conflating Vox with “Georgetown” is a bit of a stretch. When I first read the post, the phrase “Georgetown is consoling itself [with this stupid metric]” made me think that the school was really upset about the ranking and was honestly resorting to silly excuses to talk itself out of a relatively low ranking, and then when I read the OP it turns out that Vox, a student blog, was just listing an interesting and flattering stat – not in reaction to being upset and needing “consolation,” but as a flattering curiosity. Perhaps I misunderstood Don’s tone, but it came off as extremely ill-tempered and negative, as if Don was catching “Georgetown” in self-serving intellectual dishonesty rather than what was actually going on. I’m used to Georgetown Univ always putting the best face on bad press, but this wasn’t a case of the university covering itself up.

    Apologies if I misread it, but that’s honestly how it came off to me.

  4. I guess that’s the downside of not following AP style – you get yourself in trouble when your meaning isn’t clear.

    I used ‘Georgetown’ in that sense as in the Georgetown community, and was just trying to have a little fun – I assumed the goofing about guidance counselors made that clear, but I guess not. Perhaps I should have been more clear that I found it amusing that they sounded bummed about being “only” 23rd.

    I rather like Vox Populi, but I’m not sure I’m willing to sign on to saying LOVE the way Tom is. How about “I really like them a lot but I think I still want to see other blogs and universities.”

    I think you’re being a little damning with the faint praise, btw – I wouldn’t characterize VP as a “student blog,” I think of it as the online arm of the Voice. I hadn’t noticed that only two people from the Voice contribute to it, they keep a nice mix going.

    As far as your apology, none required for how you read it – I’m responsible for the tone of my writing and if people take from it a tone that I didn’t intend then I am to some extent responsible for that.

    You’re welcome to apologize for going postal and calling me a dick, however. We’re happy to hear feedback, positive or negative, but there’s no need to be abusive about it.

  5. Okay then. I’m sorry for going postal and calling you a dick. Thank you, as well, for owning up to your part in this confusion.

    And I do like Vox a lot, I was not intending to damn them with soft praise. But I do think that they are not a representative voice of the GU community or of the university.

  6. Jumping in here. As a member of both the Georgetown community and The Voice, VP is not really seen as ‘a representative voice of the GU community’ (although, to be fair, I didn’t really read that heavily into yr remarks, Don). I’d call it pretty representative of The Voice, for sure, but even so it’s maintained (very well/frequently) by just a few members of our paper.