Fall From Glory: George Washington University’s Corcoran Hall

Anonymous public sex ain’t as public—or anonymous—as it used to be. In the past ten years, private Internet hook-ups have all but eliminated the need for old-fashioned public toe-tapping meet-ups. In the meantime, some infamous incidents have helped raise awareness about the dangers of initiating anonymous public sex with the wrong guy—like an undercover cop.

But somewhere between the time that the Internet went mainstream and Craigslist took over the sex stuff—we’re talking late-90s, early 2000s here—willing partners in search of anonymous sex began seeking out—and recording—their public meet-ups spots online.

The popularity of these online message boards—like Gay Universe’s D.C. cruising spot locator—have come and gone. But in their wake, public sex locations (like restrooms), their corresponding sex codes (like winks), and their dangers (like leather-clad dudes who hang around suspiciously, pretending to “fix their glasses”) have been recorded for posterity. What remains is an online history of glory holes past, present, and policed.

Alongside the clubs, porn shops, and public parks is one particularly refined category of anonymous sex meeting places: The District of Columbia’s most prestigious universities. Delve into the online public sex histories of American, Catholic, Gallaudet, George Washington, and Georgetown, after the jump.

Read More “Glory Holes: The College Years” »

Having recently written a story about the sex and repression at the Catholic University of America, I was interested to read Vox Populi’s interview with D.C.’s most infamous Catholic sex writer, Julia Allison. Allison graduated from Georgetown in 2004, where she wrote “Sex on the Hilltop,” the Hoya’s first sex column—and quite possibly the first sex column at a Catholic University, period.

Allison caused a good deal of controversy in her tenure at Georgetown University—dating a congressman, allegations of plagiarism, offers from Playboy—but few reports of Allison’s co-ed days have focused on the actual substance of her Hoya column. In the interview, Vox Pop’s Molly Redden digs past the personal fluff to find why even acknowledging that sex happens at Georgetown University was an up-the-Hilltop battle in the early part of the decade.

The whole Q-and-A is worth a read, but here’s the taboo Hoya topic that Allison says finally did her column in:

So, I wanted to talk about what do you do when you have a roommate and you wanna hookup? I mean, this is a question that every undergraduate has struggled with. And I said, “If you want to have sex, and you have a roommate, you need to do this.” And they said, “No no no no no no, we can’t write ’sex,’ let’s just say, ‘makeout.’”

Today, we recap the thinky bracket in our Manliest Workplace in D.C. tournament (See the full 64-workplace bracket here). It was a close contest—complete with stunning revelations of clandestine manliness—and Georgetown University came out on top with 54 out of 55 points on the manly index. Hoya Saxa! Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, this is as far as GU will go—in the end, no academic institution managed a perfect score like the U.S. Senate or several of our union contenders. Here are the standings, anyway.

Tomorrow, tune in for the debut of our eighth and final workplace bracket—D.C.’s advocacy organizations. Will the Human Rights Campaign out-man Emily’s List? Will the American Life League destroy the Environmental Defense Fund? Find out this week.

The thinky portion of the Manliest Workplace in D.C. tournament continues today as Brookings challenges Georgetown for intellectual man dominance (See the full 64-workplace bracket here). So put on your thinking caps, four-eyes, and lets get to the competition!

BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: This D.C. think tank aims to “Strengthen American democracy, foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.” But what is its position on strengthening and fostering our nation’s shrinking reserve of Manliness?
Read More “Man Madness: Brookings Institution Vs. Georgetown University” »

* Juicy Campus has hit George Washington University. How do G.W. gossips compare to Georgetown’s finest? So far, Juciy Campus’ G.W. page seems to have a lot more nonsense on it. That’s a good thing, writes Travis of G.W. student blog The Colonialist: “I spent the weekend surfing the site a lot, putting up things about myself and my roommates. I’d like to openly admit to writing all 10 of the comments calling The GW Patriot racist. I’d be willing to bet that 80% of the posts on the site are done with the same innocent prank attitude. It’s a playground.”

* The New Gay blogger inspired, depressed by gay couples. TNG’s Jon surveyed the scene at the annual HRC fundraiser on Saturday: “Men were holding hands, women were kissing, and partners were snuggling up and laughing together at their tables,” Jon laments. “This is all wonderful of course, but it served as an in-your-face reminder that I’m currently partner-less.”

* Sex blogger dude Roissy in D.C. says the recession will mean better sex:

If a protracted and deep recession leads to the average woman cutting costs at the supermarket and steering clear of the high calorie packaged foodstuffs, it could mean more slender women and, consequently, better sex. . . . Hard times bring “hard” times.

Hmm. Maybe it will also teach Roissy a lesson in economics.

* Local blogger Jimbo makes an appearance at Maryland Renaissance Festival, hears best catcall ever: “Oooh, gurl, he’s dressed up like an evil sex sorceror.”

* Before the presidential face-offs resume tonight, let’s remember just how far we’ve come since last Thursday’s veep debates. Thanks to The Guardian’s Michelle Goldberg for highlighting Palin’s most nonsensical non-answer:

Say it ain’t so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced [sic] your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let’s look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education, and I’m glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? … My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here’s a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate.

Shit, is it possible to just place a [sic] around an entire quote? Or to have one floating over her head every time she speaks? Get on it, magic Jesus.

Photo by dumbonyc, in mourning of last night’s re-run of Gossip Girl. –XOXO, The Sexist

Great jokers or greatest jokers?: Georgetown University students Sean Baumann and Tom Hutton play with Juicy Campus’ conventions.

Last week, Georgetown University student newspaper The Hoya slammed a new arrival on campus. “[A] dangerous and undesired element,” sniffed the editorial; “a cancer to our community.”

What was the offending newcomer? A discriminatory professor? A crackdown on underage drinking?

Actually, it’s a Web site. On Wednesday, Sept. 10, Georgetown became one of the 412 college campuses free to air its schoolyard gossip at JuicyCampus.com. Juicy Campus, by its own description, is “the place to spill the juice about all the crazy stuff going on at your campus.” But unlike whispered rumors or folded class notes, students can gossip freely on Juicy Campus without fear of retribution. The site claims to be “totally anonymous—no registration, login, or email verification required.”

On Sept. 19, The Hoya editorial board called for a student boycott of the site, and urged university administrators to ban the Web address from the Georgetown network. (Three days earlier, the newspaper had run a news story hailing the debut of Juicy Campus at Georgetown).

Andy Pino, Director of Media Relations at Georgetown, says it’s difficult to respond to a site that encourages anonymity. “This is a different animal,” says Pino. “I’d imagine there’s very little we can do about it, besides encouraging our students to be thoughtful about what they post online.”

For four Georgetown students whose dirty laundry has been aired on the site—in the form of insult, flattery, satire, and neutral name-dropping—speaking out about how to deal with being juiced will have to be justice enough.

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Insult: E.g., “Biggest failure at life,” “wanna be eurotrash,” and “stinkiest pinks: whose pussy smells the worst.” Many posts of this type delve into particularly degrading territory, often of a sexual nature. Take “Hairiest Cunts,” a thread which reads, “Okay, we’ve all seen that girl who doesn’t shave. Give names so we know who to avoid.” So far, the question has elicited four responses: three criticizing the thread, and one supplying a name.

When one Georgetown sophomore logged on to Juicy Campus last week, he found a one-line post insulting his appearance—and denigrating his significant other. In a Facebook message, the student condemned Juicy Campus: “[A]nonymously taking a shot at someone for their weight, sexuality, personality flaws, race, etc., is cowardly,” wrote the student, who wished to remain anonymous. “I’ve always lived by the ‘sticks and stones’ motto, but how can one be expected not to feel awful when an anonymous opinion is broadcasted to an entire student body.” Later, he adds, “I guess they should be proud for making people feel like shit. . . . Not only does the site need to go, the very people who ruined it need to go. They make the world a worse place to live.” After claiming that the derogatory comment written about him was “a joke” and “in good fun,” the student ends the message with a warning: “PLEASE KEEP ME ANONYMOUS. . . . or I’ll put you on juicy campus. . . . haha thanks.”

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Flattery: E.g., “Cutest couple,” “Best Tits,” and “hot freshman chicks i want to bone.” Despite their ostensibly congratulatory nature, many posts of this type delve into particularly degrading territory, often of a sexual nature.

Georgetown senior Christina Capatides, 21, logged onto Juicy Campus when a friend informed her that her name had appeared on the site, in a post titled “Pussy Cat Doll.” The post reads, “whos the girl on campus that looks like the main singer from the Pussy Cat Dolls? has anyone hit that before?” In the comments, one respondent identifies Capatides by name: “you mean christina capatides?? too bad she’s taken slick.”

Capatides says she has no idea who posted her name, and that she’s never before been compared to the girl group’s frontwoman, Nicole Scherzinger. “I thought it was a little shocking at first that my name was on it,” says Capatides of the throwaway celebrity comparison. “While it was complimentary . . . there are a lot of things on there that are hurtful. This time around, it’s a positive thing; next time, who knows.”

Though other responses to the Pussycat Doll thread include “she’s got big bewbs” and “dang. I’d nut all over her face in a heartbeat,” Capatides says she’s not bothered by the lewd comments, which she says are “not directed” at her. “As somebody else responded, ‘No, I don’t think it’s Christina, but she is hot,” explains Capatides.

The incidental name drop, though, has Capatides hooked. “My friends check it religiously these days . . . I check it more, to see what’s been written about me,” she says. Though Capatides doesn’t condone the negative posts on the site, she says that Juicy Campus’ appeal is too strong to resist. “I think everybody sort of has those reservations, but it’s just too interesting to hear about people you know on there,” she says. “People think it’s fascinating. It’s like a real-life version of Gossip Girl.”

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Satire: E.g., “Hottest Frenchman?” and “Premarital Handholding.” Some satirical posts mock the site’s conventions or campus culture; others, like “Bust nuts in ya curl,” lifted from a song by rapper E-40, are simply nonsense. One of the most pervasive forms of satire on the Georgetown site is a tactic called “Holtrolling.” Georgetown student blog Vox Populi describes the phenomenon:

Someone named Steve Holt (presumably not the real one) has been repeating that name all over the site. He/she tricks people into thinking they’re getting something “juicy”, then gives them the proverbial Holtroll. This makes reading Juicy Campus frustrating, as almost every thread is a Holtroll.

Georgetown senior Tom Hutton conceived his Juicy joke shortly after reading the Hoya coverage of Juicy Campus. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” says Hutton. “It didn’t involve any sort of high-level thinking.” On Sept. 19, Hutton posted the thread, his first and only Juicy Campus contribution. It read: “Sean Baumann: Great Body or Greatest Body?”

Hutton, 22, explains the posting. “Sean’s a good friend of mine, and I just felt that by posting such a ludicrous thing—“does he have a great body, or the greatest body?”—he wouldn’t be offended by it. I thought that everyone would laugh at it because it’s funny, not because it was making fun of him,” says Hutton.

Hutton mediated the impact of the anonymous post by informing Baumann of the prank beforehand. “I joked about making the posting, and he said, ‘Yeah, go ahead. It will be funny,’” says Hutton.

Baumann, a 21-year-old Georgetown senior, voiced indifference to the post and its initial responses, which read, “Yeah, I agree. Greatest Body!” and “greatest-est.” Says Baumann, “I didn’t think anything of it, really. It’s just a joke. I don’t really care.” When informed of more recent comments on the post, one reading “i heard he’s gay” and another “tiniest penis . . . so small,” Baumann voiced concern at the site’s negative trends. “I really don’t like it because it gives us a bad rep,” says Baumann. “I think there are a lot of things that are being said that aren’t good for the community. I’ve heard some terrible things,” he says, adding, “Mine’s funny; I’m not taking that personally.”

Hutton predicts that, as time goes on, Juicy Campus pranksters like himself will tire of the medium. “It was cool for a week, and now it’s just a Facebook that’s full of trash talk and slander,” says Hutton. “It’s going to lose its luster after a few months. It’s only going to be a site for slander, and it’s not going to have any of those funny jokes on it, like mine.”

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Neutral: In this Juicy Campus convention, the poster simply lists a student’s name and instructs respondents to “discuss.”

Last week, Juicy Campus visitors were asked to discuss Kaleta Blaffer, a 20-year-old sophomore; as of today, the post had 16 replies and had been viewed over 600 times. Most discussion of Blaffer concerned her hair. One commenter called Blaffer’s hairdo “full of secrets,” while others raised questions. “What’s with the blowout?” asked one. “Did she go to prom with that thing on her head?” queried another. In response, the thread experienced a surge of Blaffer defenders: “do you all really have nothing more interesting to discuss than kaleta’s hair?” one commenter wrote, adding: “also, it’s clear that none of you have seen her recently!”

Blaffer discovered the post when tipped off to the Web site by a friend. “I’m kind of relieved that mine was just about my hair. I got off lucky,” she says. Though Blaffer says her “personal policy” is to never post on the site, she says she’s returned to Juicy Campus regularly since discovering her very own thread. “I want to see what was being written about me,” says Blaffer, who indicates that the coiffure comments were not entirely out of line. “I have a lot of volume,” she says.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery.