Antonin Scalia was an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1986 to 2016. Scalia was both a student and professor at Georgetown University. His father was an Italian immigrant who taught at Brooklyn College, and his mother was an elementary-school teacher. Scalia grew up in New Jersey, attending Xavier High School, a Jesuit school in Manhattan.1
Time at Georgetown
Scalia was a history major in Georgetown College and graduated in 1957 as the Valedictorian of his class. He was also the recipient of the Gaston-White medal in his first and second year.
Scalia was part of many student organizations. Among them, he was the president of the Philodemic Society, the nation's oldest debating society. During his undergraduate years, Scalia was also in Georgetown's theatre troupe, and served as its president in his Sophomore year.
During his year, Scalia attended a special study-abroad program called Georgetown-at-Fribourg at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. This was a pilot-program comprised of a special cohort of Georgetown students studying different disciplines and under the guidance of Father Gerard F. Yates.2
In his senior year, Scalia was chosen to deliver the Cohonguroton Address at graduation. 'Cohonoguroton' is the Native American name for the Potomac River, meaning "River of Swans." The Cohonoguroton Address was a coveted honor for members of the graduating class and required the Cohonguroton speaker, dressed as the tribal chief, to give his address and say a word of farewell to the class.
After Graduation
Scalia went on to study at Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1960. After working at a law firm for a few years, Scalia taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Chicago, and Georgetown University in 1977. In 1974, Scalia went on to work for the Department of Justice as the assistant attorney-general in the Office of Legal Counsel. Scalia was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by President Reagan in 1982 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1986 with a unanimous Senate vote.
Scalia was renowned for his conservative and Catholic views on issues. He was a staunch opponent of "judicial activism", and adhered to a strict interpretation of the Constitution. His support for textualism and originalism heavily influenced many scholars of the 21st century. Under Scalia's watch, conservatives won significant victories through limitations in federal protections to minorities and in Bush v. Gore (2000), which handed the presidency to the Republican presidential candidate. On October 19, 2006, Scalia visited Georgetown to deliver a speech as part of the Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of Democracy. 3To a packed crowd in Gaston Hall, Scalia criticized "activist judges" and advocated for a stricter interpretation of the Constitution.
Since his Graduation, Scalia visited Georgetown a total of 25 times. The Supreme Court justice gave the inaugural Robert H. Bork Memorial lecture at Georgetown Law in the fall of 2013. 4An active proponent of strengthening Catholic education in Catholic institutions, Scalia frequently commented on the importance of religion in American civic education. He recounted his oral examination at Georgetown, where he was asked by his professor what the most important event in history was. He failed to arrive at the answer his professor was looking for — The Incarnation. During his time at Georgetown, Scalia said that he looked to other protestant schools and "with foolish sectarian pride, thought that could never happen to Catholic Institutions."5
On February 13, 2016, Scalia passed away in Cibilo Creek Ranch, Texas. Soon after his death, Georgetown's community responded in different ways. Some students and faculty members pointed out Scalia's controversial legacy against affirmative action, abortion rights, and gender equality, while others honored his memory as a distinguished alum and beloved Supreme Court Justice.6
- 1Liptak, Adam. "In Re Scalia the Outspoken v. Scalia the Reserved," New York Times, May 2, 2004.
- 2Ye Domesday Booke. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., 1956.
- 3Heberle, Robert. The Hoya, Oct 20, 2006.
- 4"Georgetown Remembers Alumnus and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia." Georgetown University, February 16, 2016, https://www.georgetown.edu/news/georgetown-remembers-alumnus-and-u-s-supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia/.
- 5Johnson, M. Eric. "Catholic Colleges Must Maintain Their Identity, Scalia Says." Catholic News Service, Oct 22. 1996.
- 6Svrluga, Susan. "Georgetown law professor argue over how and whether to mourn Scalia," The Washington Post, February 19, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/18/georgetown-law-professors-argue-over-how-and-whether-to-mourn-scalia/
