Georgetown is a pluralistic community that offers basically anyone the opportunity to get involved in an activity of their choice. The writer himself admitted that he acted in a way he regrets at Georgetown while a student. It's not as if Georgetown forbade him from "nourishing his soul." Georgetown offers plenty of opportunities to get involved in spiritual or religious activities. Its absolutely ridiculous that this man, because of his own lack of initiative, is chastising the school ten years later. Georgetown doesn't bill itself as a school for only Catholics, it prides itself on diversity. No one here should be forced to undergo a religious education they don't want. At the same time, there is more than ample opportunity for devout Catholics to reach out to one another and get involved in numerous activities. This writer has no one to blame but himself for his perceived lack of spiritual training while on the Hilltop.

Classic! Accuse the accuser.

If you are as bizarre as your website suggests, I fully support your decision to send any of your kids or friends' kids to different schools.

I am severly saddened by this editorial. A University's purpose, whether it has religious affiliation or not, is to educate the minds of its students and prepare them for their journeys ahead. The reason I (and many others) chose to pursue our degrees at Georgetown, is because of its tradition of also educating the spirit- the WHOLE person. There is no sign that reads "Cura Personalis- for Catholics only". It is appalling to think that a place that we have all called home should push its student body to only learn and live by one particular religious belief!!

At Ash Wednesday services at Dahlgren Chapel last night, many Catholics of the Georgetown community came together to share in their faith. What I always loved about Georgetown were the endless opportunies for this kind of sharing- no matter which faith you call your own!

As the sibling of a Notre Dame graduate, I can speak to life on that campus. Catholicism is not only the religion of the majority of students, but it is a consuming focus of student life. There is a chapel connected to every dorm, and it is "just expected" for students to publicly be a part of Catholic life there. It's not surprising that non-Catholic students feel out of place and neglected within the community. Why would anyone want to pay for THAT?

I don't need a huge painting of Jesus to remind me of my faith, nor do I need to have any one religion pushed on me. I do, however, want inter-religious dialogue with my peers, education on the interconnection of world religions, opportunity for reflection on my own spirituality, and a safe place for all three. Let's be thankful for the open-mindedness that Georgetown offers to its students of all faiths, rather than attacking it for not having a narrow perspective on faith itself.

In his missive on Georgetown's mores, Cain Pence shows us all that he knows how to handle his quill! His is quite the bawdy tale--as an undergraduate, a restless Inquisitor who no doubt harbored hidden passions for many a wanton co-ed, only to have his light and subtle advances descend into debauchery! Now he finds his dalliances leave him deceptively unsatisfied. What a twisted tale of sexual irony our hero has endured!

No doubt, he was lead astray by the devilishly loose virtue of the hilltop ladies. Often at Georgetown parties I was piqued by the sultry and seductive repartee between the virile Joe Hoya and the bashful yet coquettish Jane Hoya. It looked like their studies would have to wait for their titillating extra-curricular activities! Then their risque banter would suddenly take a turn into licentious display of unbridled perversion--oh, now I didn't like that at all! There was nothing ribald about it!

Interesting how when the time has come for Mr. Pence to run for office, he has found God and has very easily forgiven himself of his "liberal, Protestant" nights.

Please DO send your children to Notre Dame, Mr. Pence. If the folks in South Bend are anything like you, then they deserve you and your offspring.

PS - Feel free to miss Reunion 2008. Georgetown - past, present, and future - is better off without you.

This guy wastes his collegiate career chasing ass, and now blames the school that educated him for it? Should there have been a Jesuit following him around in the Tombs telling him to be less of an asshole? Cain should not give money to Georgetown, he should return to Georgetown for his confession...that he was an egotistical jerk who never used any of the opportunities offered him to find God's grace.

Instead, shockingly, the self-righteous blowhard runs for public office. God help whatever woman finds this schtick attractive enough to marry the clown.

I have never been more proud of Georgetown's Jesuits than when I read this guy's attack on them.

Don't get too excited. Cain has always had a penchant for self-promotion, and this is just the latest incantation. Every few years, he comes along and does something like this (anyone seen his website? If not, check it out at www.cainpence.com and I think you'll get all the perspective you need on who this man is).

This article isn't, and never was, about Georgetown. It's about Cain Pence and his desire to be in the spotlight. What else would you expect from someone who puts up his own website in which he calls himself "The Leader" and "The Legend?"

Roy Hibbert couldn't be less intrigued by the ramblings of this clownboot.

I studied with, wrote with and prayed with Cain Pence while he was an undergrad. He is a fine man and makes some fine points in his article. Bravo, Cain!

I was a classmate of Cain Pence and can say without a doubt that what he wrote concerning the culture of careerism and partying at Georgetown is true. The angry comments to his letter seem to overlook the fact that he a) Cain loved his time on the Hilltop and b)fully implicates himself as contributing to GU's lack of Catholic character. He is not saying that Georgetown isn't a fine school; he's merely saying that it is no longer a school with a strong Catholic identity. Instead of getting angry and sinking into knee jerk derision, there should be an honest debate amongst students, faculty, and the Jesuits as to whether or not this is true.

I graduated with Cain Pence and would be happy to share with everyone here that he was by no means a ladies man, hooked up with virtually nobody (I think he had a mysterious "girlfriend" back in MN somewhere that he occasionally alluded to), and was generally considered a big loser by most standards, mostly owing to his persistent negative attitude and anti-social behavior. In my experience, the people that spend a lifetime complaining about their alma mater are the people who never fit in there in the first place, and never made lasting friendships. My four years at Georgetown were the best years of my life, and the friendships I made there have endured the test of time and distance. The professors at Georgetown are wonderful, and for those people seeking spiritual development, it is readily available without being overbearing. People of all religions and cultures attend and are welcome at Georgetown, and that is the way it should be. I'm glad to hear my kids won't have to share a classroom with the little Pences, they don't need they type of negative influence in their lives.

Why would The Hoya let this article appear in their newspaper? Where was the editorial board on this one?

i see- 10 years later, the university is guilty of not concerning itself w/ the "immortal soul" of the student body. suppose they HAD been when you were a student- you would have complained and whined and said how bad Georgetown sucked.

it was your choice to spend your weekend nights imbibing in alcohol and sex.

“At Georgetown, I was a conservative Catholic by day, a liberal Protestant by night.”

I am glad you were able to "bed" many women during your time on the Hilltop; however equating your conquests with "liberal Protestants" is over the top.

Your actions were your own, and to blame the University for your own moral shortcomings is petty and childish.

I think the anonymous hate mail aptly proves Mr. Pence's point; many Georgetown students carry on as though, to paraphrase Saint Francis de Sales, their life were all about sex, booze, drugs, and making money.

Alas, give it 30, 40, 50 or perhaps 60 years, and in the moments before you appear at the Judgment Seat of God, you will regret having followed such a path.

I positively guarantee it.

good article, thank you very much for bringing this report

As a third generation Hoya, I concur with Pence's concern regarding the inappropriate sexual behavior prevalent on Georgetown's campus. Yet this is nothing new. It happened in my time, and it happens on college campuses everywhere. What we should expect, however, is that Georgetown, given its Catholic identity, would seriously aim to provide a living experience for students that does not condone or foster illicit sexual behavior. Even as a freshman in St. Mary's dorm (which I chose because it was the only women's dorm on campus at the time) I was regularly kicked out of my room to make space for my roommate's boyfriend. Given the fact that my RA had her own live-in boyfriend, I found myself hard up for options that would resolve my dilemma. Georgetown does have much to learn from Notre Dame when it comes to offering students a healthy and morally sound dormitory experience.

SO there I was on senior parents weekend listening to Mass being said by Fr. Ryan Maher, S.J., (CAS '82 I think) and thinking about how wonderful an experience my daughter has had at this school on the eve of her graduation. She and her roommates seem to make it to Mass every Sunday, and she tells me about the homilies as if they live and breath for weeks after. And now I'm listening to Fr. Maher give his homily, which one-week later is still living and breathing within me. His talk was one of an uplifting perspective and asked us to reflect on ancient, important questions: “What is a human being? Why are there human beings? What are human beings for?” He quoted Fr. Tim Healy's speech from Georgetown's Bicentennial; I'll share the quote with you:

"Undergraduate teaching, with its dream of making citizens for the City of Man and the City of God, has always been first in Georgetown’s time and heart.

For two centuries on this good ground the faculty has labored to help young men, and for the last thirty years young women, to achieve themselves as citizens, husbands and wives, parents and as friends. “Liberal education” has always had those aims and only those." end quote.

I couldn't be more proud of the Catholic education that seems very available to those who wish to partake, and the uplifting, positive and grounded message of the dedicated Jesuit's who are there to remind us that we are to be citizens for the City of Man AND for the City of God. Mr. Cain, you seem to have erred, given your freedom to choose, on focusing on the experiences within the City of Man. Most people would welcome your current awareness to what you now aspire, to have not missed the Catholic education that was offered to you should you have chosen to pursue it back in the 90's. It is widely available today, as it was 100 years ago and 10 years ago, but one has to open oneself to it. You seem to have some fond carnal memories, but to openly blame Georgetown, the Jesuits and the institution for your own choices and YOUR missed opportunities suggests you still have much learning to do about yourself, instead of teaching anyone anything about Georgetown’s Catholicism.

As for Georgetown’s student body, yeah, I’m sure they drink too much and the hook-up scene is as lively as it was while you were there. I’m also sure that to give young adults growing in their awareness of themselves and the world around them the surroundings of a Georgetown environment and education is one of the best things a Catholic parent, or a parent of any or no religion, can do. My guess is a bunch of your classmates who will be sending kids to the school in the next ten years will agree. Why don’t you show up at 8pm Mass on a Sunday and see for yourself, if you can get a seat.

When I think back to my days on the Hilltop, one of my fondest memories was 10.30 mass at Dahlgren on weeknights. It was a wonderful way to transition from library to dorm. Fr. Healy regularly said mass, and had some short and powerful sermons. I will never forget one on telling all of us that the pressures of finals did not permit us to be jerks. A Jesuit friend I made at Georgetown did our wedding. Most importantly, the Jesuit sense of being a person for others and being concerned with social justice is something I see in many fellow alums.

Remember, chapels and mass do not a good Catholic make - although they make it easy to be a seemingly observant Catholic (and one of my friends that went to ND in the 80s, a theology major, said that the dorm rules just meant that local motel owners got business!). A non-Catholic friend who attended GU in the early 1990s said this: "If I had gone to Harvard, I would have been told for four years that I was smart and didn't owe anybody anything. Instead I went to Georgetown and for four years got told that I was smart and owed the world a lot." To me, that is the hallmark of a Jesuit education.