I always have a million different thoughts about Georgetown running through my head, but when it comes time to write them down, nothing. It’s a lot like students’ opinions of Georgetown: Something about the Hilltop attracted us and keeps us here, but all we seem to be able to do is whine about what’s wrong.

Lack of parking. Not enough money for student activities. Not enough Catholic identity. Too much Catholic identity. The dorms are terrible. New South food is radioactive. Lauinger’s aesthetics are somewhere between Disney’s Magic Kingdom and pink flamingo lawn ornaments in terms of tackiness. The basketball team lost that swagger that once propelled it to greatness. Classroom technology is severely lacking. The Medical Center is a black hole for money … yet they can still manage to make you wait in the ER for hours on end. DPS busts too many parties. DPS won’t shut the neighbors up when I’m trying to sleep. Our U.S. News ranking isn’t high enough. Our football team plays schools I’ve never heard of. It’s too expensive. The list goes on and on.

I’m sorry, but if this is all you have to say about Georgetown, then get out. Now. We don’t need you here.

Georgetown is a great place to grow, learn, compete, party and get a great education while you’re at it. It’s not perfect, but no school is.

Georgetown boasts a top-notch faculty, winning Division I sports programs, a trio of great on-campus apartment complexes, majestic and stately academic buildings, a great neighborhood, improving technological resources, the nation’s premier institution for foreign service, top-notch medical and law programs, a nationally renowned eating/shopping/entertainment district only a few blocks away and a storied two-century history. Not bad for a place that has nothing going for it.

If we have all these great things, then why do we look right past them to the negatives? Because it’s the easy thing to do, and if we didn’t have something to complain about, then what would we do with our time? Show some school spirit? No, what am I thinking – that would be passe.

Working together to solve the university’s problems would be a start, but it is something that requires the cooperation of both students and administrators. Everyone’s favorite student association, GUSA, has actually been working on this, beginning a relationship with the university’s board of directors that will hopefully prove fruitful in getting students’ voices heard in administrative manners (yeah, I didn’t know GUSA actually did anything either).

Hopefully this student/administration partnership will prove fruitful, because although the administration might be omnipotent around here, they certainly are not omniscient. Case in point: the issue of alum giving to student organizations, or lack thereof. If students can work with the administration to alter this policy, some positive results could arise. Just kicking Leo and his minions in the shin and saying they’re wrong won’t accomplish too much, even though it might make you feel better.

At the same time, however, the higher-ups that run the school from the second floor of Healy and the fifth floor of Leavey etc., need to realize that they don’t actually have the answers for everything.

Dr. Gonzalez: the Block Party is not yours to control, so please leave it alone. It might seem like a great idea to have the Block Party in the parking lot formerly known as the baseball field, but it’s not. It is perfectly good where it is, on the block (ergo the name Block Party) of 37th Street between Prospect and N. Don’t mess with tradition. Don’t ruin one of the great things about Georgetown.

Something the administration needs to do actively, however, is fight the lawsuit recently filed by neighbors living half a block down O Street from the Healy Gates. After four years in their residence, they felt the noise was too much and filed suit, essentially telling everyone around them to shut up.

To these people, I say: Are you stupid? You live across the street from housing for college students, not a gated retirement community. What were you expecting? Just because you are light sleepers, don’t blame Georgetown. You picked a house that is spitting distance from the epicenter of campus. The university beat you to the area by 200-someodd years, so either suck it up or leave.

Georgetown is not a particularly loud campus, and a 6,000-person undergraduate population can not realistically be expected to be much quieter than it is. Frivolous lawsuits like this give the university a bad reputation when it is not at all deserved. SAC Fair is too loud? Give me a break. The only thing this lawsuit has done is to further the divide between the university and the neighborhood.

I know I didn’t come to Georgetown because of Reiss’ wonderful architecture, the administration bureaucracy, the student health center or any other petty, negative aspects of the school. I came here and love this place because of the way the sun catches Healy’s spire in the late evening, lighting it in a sea of darkness; watching basketball games at MCI Center (even when we lose); just sitting around and talking about life; and, most of all, I love Georgetown because it’s home. This is home to so many people, and we all want it to be great, so now its time to walk the walk – let’s all do something to keep it great.

Sean Gormley is a junior in the McDonough School of Business and managing editor of The Hoya.