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Is it true that the version of the Alma Mater sung today is not the original version?

Yes. The original words to the Alma Mater were written by Robert Collier (C’1894), who was later known as the publisher of Collier’s, the National Weekly, a magazine founded by his father. Robert Collier’s version of the Alma Mater included, in its first and fifth lines, the phrase, Sons of Georgetown. Of course, at the time the words were written, there were no “Daughters” of Georgetown. From 1904, however, with the establishment of the Nursing School, women formed part of the Georgetown student body. In 1981, after a campaign led by Carol Hession Powers (N’1941), the words to the Alma Mater were updated. The phrase Sons of Georgetown was replaced: Hail, Oh Georgetown was used as the opening phrase, and May Georgetown Live substituted later in the verse.