Has anyone been unhappy with Gonzaga?

[Anonymous]

So two distinct pictures of Gonzaga here, one where parents of students saw the place has its drawbacks but overall it's a great school and experience.

But on the other side of the coin, we have pellet gun/brass knuckles-wielding feral youth, who bully math prodigies and leave a trail of violence and destruction across the WCAC, from JV swim meets, fencing competitions and other sporting events, and when they're done with that, they head to Moco, and even upper Moco, and rush other schools' parties.

I think at this point we need to government or the FBI to step in because this sounds pretty awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood around the school isn’t great

But great for service opportunities.

This.This. This.

Ms. Murphy's social justice class changed my son. He experienced sadness and a broken system but arrived at the end with humility, more humble and a desire to make a difference as an adult in the large world in front of him. He walked the streets of DC to feed the homeless and assisted in the homeless shelter (in the basement of St. Als). How many boys get to witness daily this level of kindness from a community? I know this all starts in the home but young men can be deterred by so many factors but Gonzaga leveled up.

Who’s an example of why people don’t like Gonzaga. They’re homeless people everywhere not just in DC.

They are homeless shelters literally everywhere.

Every school has service.

You can see from this post how they think it’s “different“ for them, and it’s not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga boys can’t host parties at their houses in Vienna and Arlington so they try to storm other school’s parties in Bethesda and DC.

Why?

My son was friends with boys all over the DMV and went to parties in Arlingotn, Bethesda, DC and Chevy Chase. I'm not understanding this comment.

Do you know why all the schools in the WCAC have girls in the stands but Gonzaga doesn’t?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood around the school isn’t great

But great for service opportunities.

This.This. This.

Ms. Murphy's social justice class changed my son. He experienced sadness and a broken system but arrived at the end with humility, more humble and a desire to make a difference as an adult in the large world in front of him. He walked the streets of DC to feed the homeless and assisted in the homeless shelter (in the basement of St. Als). How many boys get to witness daily this level of kindness from a community? I know this all starts in the home but young men can be deterred by so many factors but Gonzaga leveled up.

Who’s an example of why people don’t like Gonzaga. They’re homeless people everywhere not just in DC.

They are homeless shelters literally everywhere.

Every school has service.

You can see from this post how they think it’s “different“ for them, and it’s not.

This constant back patting is one of my pet peeves about GZ. I think it’s great that they do outreach to the homeless but they think they are special for doing so. They seem to be doing it more for their image than to truly help people in need.

As a previous poster said, many schools also help at homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and do outreach to those in need. Also, it is easy to help the homeless and then turn around at the end of the day and go back to your mansion in Virginia where you can wash your hands of it all. Some GZ families are so busy bragging about helping the homeless that they forget that many kids live in neighborhoods where they interact with homeless people and the issues that go with it every day. For some kids, experiencing the “grit” of the city is not a mere novelty, but it is life.

I am happy that GZ emphasizes service and having a shelter onsite, but they need to humble themselves a bit. There is more to DC than just Eye Street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t like how the boys are shirtless at football games when it’s cold outside.

Rival schools call that a "White Out" whenever they play Gonzaga.

and it's a tradition. Gonzaga has many!

It’s still a white out. Some traditions should end when in the light they are seen to be less than positive .

I wish they would get rid of the cigars at Graduation.

why? what's your reasoning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t like how the boys are shirtless at football games when it’s cold outside.

Rival schools call that a "White Out" whenever they play Gonzaga.

and it's a tradition. Gonzaga has many!

It’s still a white out. Some traditions should end when in the light they are seen to be less than positive .

I wish they would get rid of the cigars at Graduation.

why? what's your reasoning?

You need me to tell you why smoking is disgusting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga boys can’t host parties at their houses in Vienna and Arlington so they try to storm other school’s parties in Bethesda and DC.

Why?

My son was friends with boys all over the DMV and went to parties in Arlingotn, Bethesda, DC and Chevy Chase. I'm not understanding this comment.

Do you know why all the schools in the WCAC have girls in the stands but Gonzaga doesn’t?

There are definitely girls in the stands. There were even girls at the football championship game at the Naval Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga boys can’t host parties at their houses in Vienna and Arlington so they try to storm other school’s parties in Bethesda and DC.

Why?

My son was friends with boys all over the DMV and went to parties in Arlingotn, Bethesda, DC and Chevy Chase. I'm not understanding this comment.

Do you know why all the schools in the WCAC have girls in the stands but Gonzaga doesn’t?

There are definitely girls in the stands. There were even girls at the football championship game at the Naval Academy.

Those were their sisters lol!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga boys can’t host parties at their houses in Vienna and Arlington so they try to storm other school’s parties in Bethesda and DC.

Why?

My son was friends with boys all over the DMV and went to parties in Arlingotn, Bethesda, DC and Chevy Chase. I'm not understanding this comment.

Do you know why all the schools in the WCAC have girls in the stands but Gonzaga doesn’t?

There are definitely girls in the stands. There were even girls at the football championship game at the Naval Academy.

No girls allowed in the student section. They are over with the families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend’s son goes there and I have heard some negative things about the “cult” like atmosphere at GZ. Most parents are “all in” and actively shower the school with nothing but praise and love. A sense of superiority is cultivated in students from day one. Some spin this as creating a strong brotherhood, but for others it is a bit much. There are parents who want a strong Catholic education for their sons but who don’t want to drink the kool aid. I’ve also heard about horrible sportsmanship shown by some of GZ’s teams, which is not embraced by all parents.

Last year a Gonzaga boy was arrested with brass knuckles and a pellet gun on his way to a SJC football game. Every year the students vandalize other schools in the name of "school spirit"

I've been to multiple lacrosse and football games, both home and away, over the past four years and have heard nothing about GZ students acting out and/or vandalizing host schools, nor have my sons mentioned anything, nor have we parents gotten communications from the school regarding behavior at sports events. I've attended double digit events in small stadiums where obnoxious behavior would've been noticed easily and I've personally seen nothing that would track with what you're saying.

Not saying none of this happened, but I'm definitely leaning towards "you're making sh*t up" POV here.

Yiu are lying

My nephew is a star on that team and yes it happened and my SIL pulled her younger ones because of the schools crappy response

Nephews is a star on what team?

[Anonymous]

School spirit at Gonzaga is 100x more than any other school. Eagles fly high! It is a special place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School spirit at Gonzaga is 100x more than any other school. Eagles fly high! It is a special place.

^^^this might be satire or a real post.

There are real Gonzaga families that have drank the purple kool aid this much and have a hard time seeing the “Eddie Haskell effect”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood around the school isn’t great

But great for service opportunities.

This.This. This.

Ms. Murphy's social justice class changed my son. He experienced sadness and a broken system but arrived at the end with humility, more humble and a desire to make a difference as an adult in the large world in front of him. He walked the streets of DC to feed the homeless and assisted in the homeless shelter (in the basement of St. Als). How many boys get to witness daily this level of kindness from a community? I know this all starts in the home but young men can be deterred by so many factors but Gonzaga leveled up.

Who’s an example of why people don’t like Gonzaga. They’re homeless people everywhere not just in DC.

They are homeless shelters literally everywhere.

Every school has service.

You can see from this post how they think it’s “different“ for them, and it’s not.

Disagree. How many schools have a homeless shelter and food pantry on the premise?
I have daughters at two different schools. The level of service IMO is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The commute sucks. Everything else makes it worthwhile.

Gonzaga parents treat the Metro commute like Navy SEAL training:

“It builds resilience!”
(Translation: We can’t carpool because we all hate each other.)

Every October, someone posts asking if it’s safe.

Every October, someone from Ward 5 responds, “It’s fine.”

Every October, someone in Potomac replies, “I heard there are a lot of people there.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga boys can’t host parties at their houses in Vienna and Arlington so they try to storm other school’s parties in Bethesda and DC.

Why?

My son was friends with boys all over the DMV and went to parties in Arlingotn, Bethesda, DC and Chevy Chase. I'm not understanding this comment.

Do you know why all the schools in the WCAC have girls in the stands but Gonzaga doesn’t?

People are being absolutely ridiculous. My daughter attends St. John’s and they also have a student section and it’s just for students. The only students at Gonzaga are boys, hence the student section has only boys. It’s not that deep.

DS graduated from Gonzaga and had a great experience. There are issues, but not unlike any other school. They generally handle things well when behavior is an outlier. Most of the students and boosters are great people (again, much like other WCAC schools).

Both schools did emphasize turning down the rhetoric this year. As I’ve told DC, what a great opportunity to be part of a 152 year rivalry, it makes things more interesting, but it is only a game.