If Georgetown clubs were countries of the world

The Georgetown bubble is a well-known Georgetown phenomena – as far as we know, the world is confined to the area with Canal Road and M Street.

What if this actually were the case? How would Georgetown clubs and organizations stack up as different countries of the world? If Georgetown were the world, here’s how the UN would look:

Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service (GERMS) – The United States

GERMS, Georgetown’s EMS service, resembles the USA in that they will always come when you need their help, but you may not be too happy to see them. GERMS typically comes to the aid of students who rolled their ankles at Yates or had one drink too many at Brown House. Like the United States, they answer the call, but their presence isn’t always fully welcomed (or wanted) by the receiving group.

Blue & Gray Tour Guide Society – Italy

Pretty much every Georgetown student went on a Blue & Gray tour of campus as a high school student. Blue & Gray shows you every beautiful view of campus, from Healy Hall to Leavey Esplanade to Village A Rooftop. Bonus points if your mom felt weird about the beer cans lying around.

Italy is a country known for its beautiful scenery and large tourism industry. You can walk around any city in Italy as a tourist and imagine yourself living there, and that’s what Blue & Gray does for aspiring Georgetown students.

The Corp – Great Britain

Great Britain and The Corp both have long histories of colonialism. The sun never sets on the Corp’s retail locations on Georgetown’s campus. You can find Corp locations in most major buildings on campus, including Lauinger Library, Southwest Quad, ICC, Leavey Center, and the HFSC. Both have left a cultural impact on the places they have colonized.

However, the effects of Corp colonialism are obviously far less negative than the negative impacts of British colonialism. The Corp has influenced our snacking habits, salad preferences, and coffee consumption.

Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) – Switzerland

GUSA serves as a non-partisan government agency on campus. Advocating for higher quality dining services, nicer living conditions, and improving safety on campus, GUSA, like Switzerland, promotes relatively uncontroversial measures. GUSA and Switzerland may be small, and most people don’t really know what they’re up to, but they’re still important players on the campus/world stages.

Georgetown College Republicans – Belgium

Georgetown College Republicans and the nation of Belgium are both pretty small entities within a larger group, be it Georgetown clubs or the European Union. However, just because they’re small in size doesn’t mean that they aren’t vital to the bigger picture. Georgetown College Republicans host a number of speakers on campus and do lobbying work on the Hill, and Belgium’s capital, Brussels, serves as capital of the EU.

Georgetown College Democrats – India

As one of Georgetown’s largest clubs by membership, the College Democrats comprise a significant percentage of Georgetown’s population. Like India, the Dems have a diverse group of people with a variety of political concerns.

Georgetown Individuals Vocal and Energetic for Service (GIVES) – Canada

GIVES is Georgetown’s random acts of kindness club. Consisting of several groups of about twenty students each, you’ll spot them handing out coffee to construction workers, giving candy to student guards working the late shifts, or chalking up Red Square with motivational messages.

Just like Canada, GIVES accepts anyone who wants to join — unlike most Georgetown clubs that require an application process.

Canada recently made world news for happily accepting unprecedented numbers of Syrian refugees into their country — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even greeted them at the airport with open arms. Aside from openness and acceptance, GIVES and Canada also share qualities of friendliness and happiness.

You really just can’t say anything bad about GIVES or Canada.

International Relations Club (IRC) – Brazil

While seemingly always the focus of world news, both the IRC and Brazil are mostly known for partying. Though the main points of IRC are to discuss global issues and attend and host Model United Nations conferences, you’ll mostly hear about IRC parties that happen pretty much any day of the week.

Georgetown University Alumni & Student Federal Credit Union (GUASFCU) – Germany

One of Georgetown’s longest acronyms, GUASFCU, is a bank open to students, parents, faculty, and alumni alike. Their office in the Leavey Center hosts a number of student interns, who somehow endure an unbelievably competitive application process. Germany is commonly referred to as Europe’s bank, as it is one of the wealthiest EU countries. When southeastern European countries (like Greece) need financial help, they turn to Germany for some debt relief.

In this case, Germany was less than enthusiastic, offering help only after a long negotiations process and austerity measures for Greece. I like to compare Greece in this example to MSB freshmen aspiring to join GUASFCU, as both groups struggle to get what they are looking for.