Tailgating would increase spirit

By Ben Childs

Getting together with friends on game day for some good tailgating is a time-honored college tradition.

But because tailgating is currently prohibited on campus grounds, Santa Clara students are not experiencing this cornerstone of college life.

It's easy to see why the school decided this, with threats like potential alcohol violations, but I fear that what the school believes to be gaining in image, security or a sense of right by prohibiting tailgating may not outweigh the benefits -- to students and university -- of allowing it.

In recent years, the athletic department has struggled to increase attendance at sporting events. They have tried a multitude of marketing tactics to get students at games, yet they seem to have little effect. The most successful of these tactics has been the bribing of students to attend the less-popular Portland game in exchange for coveted Santa Clara versus St. Mary's basketball tickets.

Aside from forcing students to attend athletic events, allowing tailgating could be an answer to the athletic department's efforts, and it could give students an aspect of the college experience that should not be missed.

I suspect there would be an immediate increase of attendance at athletic events. The average student goes to games to have fun and -- regardless of the opponent or final score -- experience the event with friends. To them, the game is more about the social event than the athletics.

The athletic department would do well in realizing that, as it is now, athletic events are just another option on a long list of activities groups of students could be doing for fun. Allowing tailgating would certainly push attending athletic events up on many students' lists. As more students begin going, others will catch on, and soon enough, everyone will be in attendance.

Large investments have been made in the school's athletic programs during recent years. New staff and coaches have been hired, and facilities have been built with the intent of bringing Bronco athletics to the proverbial "next level." Isn't it time that we brought our game days to the "next level" as well?

Tailgating wouldn't require a marketing campaign or extra staff to implement, but it would immediately take many students' sense of involvement in Bronco athletics -- and the university as a whole -- to a higher level.

Reinstating it would also greatly impact the alumni that the university so covets. Tailgating would be a great way to help keep them involved. More importantly, it would facilitate interaction between different generations of Santa Clara students. Students and alumni rarely have a place to interact with each other, and when they do, it's often stiff and structured. Both parties would jump at the chance to swap stories, hot dogs and Bronco spirit out in the parking lot before games.

To speak in the long term, the impact of alumni-student interaction can't be overstated. It gives students a sense of involvement not only in the university's history, but an interest in their relationship with it after they graduate. It also reminds alumni, whether they are recent graduates or heavy-hitting donors, of why they loved going here. Two students and an alumnus bonded over their shared passion for Bronco athletics a little over three years ago, and the Bronco Pep Band was created. What next?

Tailgating is also a forum for campus organizations to be available to students and create a new sense of camaraderie. In the long term, tailgating could create a market for club fundraising and spirit events that would increase attendance, effectiveness and revenue.

There is no doubt that tailgating would make the parking lot a happening place as well as a center for student spirit. This could one day become a weekly tradition. Years from now, when our sons or daughters are at Santa Clara, they could sit around at a tailgate and swap stories of how Swig got woken up, or how they beat Gonzaga.

It cannot be denied that "the tailgate" is a ritual of almost mythical proportion. For good or bad, it is as inseparable from college life as shared bathrooms, switching majors and cramming for exams. Perhaps this is why many Santa Clara students, after tailgating at different schools, feel more a part of other university's game days than they do their own. A tailgate is much more than charred burgers and lawn chairs -- it's a rite of passage, one that every student should experience.

Allowing tailgating would mean potential alcohol issues and parking lot clean up, but this is a small price to pay when weighed against the benefits it could create for our community. The university has made a long term commitment to its athletic programs -- it's now time to match that commitment towards athletic events.

Ben Childs is a senior English and business major.