What is the origin of the "Hoyas" of Georgetown University?
Hoya Saxa
Hoya Saxa is the official cheer and "college yell" of Georgetown University and its athletics teams. The term "Hoya" is an Ancient Greek word usually transliterated from as "hoia" from the word "hoios" () meaning "such" or "what" as in "what manner of", and is used in certain Biblical quotations. "" is Latin for "rocks" or "small stones". It was used in the name of some Roman settlements, such as Saxa Rubra. Before 1900, students at Georgetown were required to study classical linguistics, and both words are in the neuter plural of their respective languages. The phrase together is generally translated into English as "what rocks!", though other translations have suggested "such rocks!" or "great rocks!" or even "what rocks?" as a question. It was also historically rendered as "Hoya, Hoya, Saxa!", a form that is used in "The Hoya Song" from 1930 which mocked the cheers of other universities, and was then included in the school fight song, "There Goes Old Georgetown".
History of Georgetown University
In 1874, Patrick Francis Healy became president of Georgetown University, becoming the first African American president of a predominantly white university. Healy's influence on Georgetown was so far-reaching that he is often referred to as the school's "second founder." He modernized the curriculum by requiring courses in the sciences, particularly chemistry and physics. Healy and his successors sought to bind the professional schools into a university, and concentrate on higher education. The most visible result of Healy's presidency was the construction of a large building begun in 1877 and first used in 1881, later named Healy Hall in his honor.