Though the university counts Jim Henson, Connie Chung, Larry David, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin among its celebrity graduates, the one and only Liz Lemon of 30 Rock has now joined the Terp elite.
During last Thursday’s episode of 30 Rock, “Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter,” Lemon announced that she had attended this university on a “partial competitive jazz dance scholarship.”
The only problem with that is, this university does not even have a competitive jazz dance team. Turns out it is as fictitious as Lemon herself.
Played by Tina Fey, Lemon is a quirky, self-deprecating comedy writer who is addicted to junk food and chronically single. Lemon is said to be a fictionalized version of Fey. Up until last week, however, nothing was known of her College Park connection.
On the show, one of the writers decides to quit after he finds out he was only hired because of Affirmative Action. Lemon decides to respect his decision, because she said she never got a “hand-up.” Her co-worker, determined to hire the writer back, pulls Lemon’s file:
Pete: You attended the University of Maryland on a partial competitive jazz dance scholarship.
Lemon: So?
Pete: So, NCAA competitive jazz dance was created as part of Title IX — because of a program that favored women.
Lemon: Favored women to correct an imbalance.