The Hoya

The Hoya, founded in 1920, is the oldest and largest student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., serving as the university’s newspaper of record. The Hoya is a student-run paper that prints every Friday and publishes online daily throughout the year, with a print circulation of 4,000 during the academic year. The newspaper has five main editorial sections: News, Opinion, Science, Sports and The Guide, a weekly arts and lifestyle magazine. It also publishes several annual special issues including a New Student Guide, a basketball preview and a semesterly fashion issue.

Although The Hoya is not financially independent from the university, it is produced, managed and edited entirely by students and maintains editorial independence. Over 300 students are involved in the publication of the paper.

Blushing as coyly as any schoolgirl, and with the excited fears and hopes of a debutante … we lay this first edition of The Hoya at the feet of the student body, and retreat to a safe distance to observe the effects.

— Joseph R. Mickler, Jr, The Hoya's debut issue

The first issue of The Hoya was published on January 14, 1920, under the editorship of Joseph R. Mickler, Jr. Student journalism at Georgetown can be traced as far back as 1824 and the appearance of a hand-copied publication titled Minerva. The Hoya, however, was distinguished from previous student publications by its intent to be a comprehensive university newspaper. The publication took its name from the phrase 'Hoya Saxa', which had been adopted as a common chant at Georgetown sports events in the 1890s. The popularity of the term spread as local newspapers often cited the Hoya, and "Hoya" began to be widely applied to campus organizations and to athletic groups themselves.

Beginning in the 1940s, the publication shifted its main coverage from athletic to campus events. Weathering the Great Depression, World War II, student unrest in the 1960s and funding cuts in the 1970s, The Hoya has appeared almost continuously since its founding, providing a student perspective on issues and events.

In its early years, The Hoya published once a week, focused mainly on internal, campus affairs, promoting student organizations and school functions, and devoted a large part of its coverage to sports. In 1930, The Hoya received the highest rating given to a college weekly publication by the National Collegiate Press Association.

In the late 1930s, international events began to influence content. The Hoya was one of the few student groups to remain active during the war years, and its pages at this time juxtapose coverage of blood drives, war bond programs and alumni casualties with details of tea dances and intramural athletics.