School spirit is not only about athletics
By Editorial
We all start classes with a certain swagger in spring quarter -- day parties and drinks on the front lawn, anyone?
But what most of us have probably already forgotten is the Gonzaga game and our Bronco week at the end of winter quarter.
While Bronco week was a nice effort on the part of student leaders to strengthen school spirit, the culmination of these events -- the Gonzaga versus Santa Clara men's basketball game -- was a disaster.
Anyone who attended this game would undoubtedly agree that Santa Clara students were not at their best.
In lieu of demonstrating good sportsmanship, multiple members of our student body chose to drunkenly yell insults like "needle d*ck" along with other offensive swear words, some of which were homophobic.
A little heckling is OK, but this was clearly out of hand. Then, things literally got out of hand when a ball of foil and a water bottle were thrown onto the court from our very own student section.
To make matters worse, one of the individuals responsible for this was then harassed by students, leading to a campus-wide e-mail from President Michael Engh, S.J., saying not only was the lack of sportsmanship a "breech to university values," but worse, that a Facebook group with over 400 people had been started to single out the student. Engh wrote, "As president, I am disappointed by the decision of these students to join such a group."
The tragedy of this turn of events is that our school was thoroughly embarrassed on a day that should have brought us all together.
It would be easy to brush off what happened as the actions of a small group of students if these events hadn't been seen on national television.
Our definition of school spirit should not be limited to traditional homecoming ideas. Instead of rallying around a nonexistent football team, Associated Students decided to rally around the biggest game for men's basketball.
Sure, it's always fun to watch a good game and an age-old rivalry, but making this the pinnacle of our homecoming week did not bode well. On top of that, men's basketball didn't even have a great season.
The university and its student leaders should refocus their idea of school spirit to reflect more than just the maroon and white worn by our Bronco athletes and fans.
For instance, the day of the Gonzaga game, the Tunnel of Oppression exhibit opened. For the second year, this display, a collaboration of multiple campus groups, worked to educate the community about the depths of oppression.
This event required months of planning and preparation, but was not specifically mentioned as a Bronco Week event.
Though big athletic events are easy to rally around, we should remember those directly involved in our big name athletic programs represent a small minority of students.
Students here are also starting and participating in clubs, doing research, writing music and practicing the values of social justice. And we bet they still like to have fun and are proud to go to Santa Clara.
Santa Clara students are more than an intoxicated crowd of Ruff Riders cheering for men's basketball, we are leaders in a vast array of disciplines, and our celebration of school spirit should reflect this.