 Media Credit: Collin Krauthamer
| |
On Sunday night during the general assembly senate meeting, ASSMC President John Zabala addressed the behavior of GaelForce members at Saturday night's basketball game. During the home game versus Santa Clara, Saint Mary's students were heard shouting chants like "Jesus is with us," and "shut up." Here at the Collegian we wonder about the sense of such mantras. We, of course, are in strong support of our sports teams and the encouraging groups that are adamant about sharing their school pride, but where do we draw the line between intense rivalry and frank tastelessness? So closely following the incident that occurred at the basketball game against Gonzaga, when players Blake Sholberg and Daniel Kickert were mocked by the Kennel Club with the line "Brokeback Mountain," we would assume that our fellow sports fans would acknowledge a little more sensitivity toward such distasteful comments. About a month ago we praised GaelForce for their energy and enthusiasm, admiring their ability to attract so many SMC students to sporting events and we continue to remain positive about their intentions of supporting our teams. However, how do we reconcile making such offensively alienating and insulting remarks with our own Lasallian values? Again, the Collegian staff recognizes the importance of GaelForce at athletic events and the merit of their boisterous cries to rally the crowd, and we realize that intense competitions between teams can promote school spirit and unity and pride. We just hope that such fierce rivalries don't jeopardize our core traditions.
2008 Woodie Awards
