Craig Littlepage's recent e-mail to the student body regarding the conduct of the student section at the recent men's soccer game against Wake Forest confused me on many levels. As one of many screaming fans in that section, I noticed very little difference between our conduct that game in comparison to many others I have attended. While I completely understand his appeal to uphold the integrity of the University, I was perplexed at his reasoning for the reprimand: "The University entertains families with young fans and in some cases, high school prospects, their parents, and high school coaches at our games; we want all of our guests to have a great experience and a positive impression of our programs and our student support." If I was a high school prospect I would enjoy nothing more than listening to the student section of my potential school mercilessly harass the opposing players. In fact, while witnessing the passion and devotion to the team displayed Saturday night by students at the University, I would have been very content with my potential choice of academic institution.
Perhaps to best communicate the spirit of sportsmanship that Mr. Littlepage is apparently striving for, we should all hold hands and sing Kumbaya after games. Maybe we could even steal a trick from youth league sports and stop counting the score altogether. Or maybe, just maybe, Mr. Littlepage could just save himself a whole lot of effort and realize that college sports embrace negativity as a part of their fan culture. Novel concept, no?
Alexander Wigmore\nCLAS III
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