I was beyond dismayed when I first read about the athletic department’s newly enacted, absurd ban on signs at Virginia games. I cheered up a little, however, when I read Rick Reilly’s ESPN piece about the ban. His suggestion: Every student should bring a sign to every game. My suggestion: Why stop there? Season ticketholders should do it, too. If a piece of notebook paper can be considered a “sign,” then everyone can easily make one. The more, the merrier.
And we want to be merry, right? After all, the athletic department wants to ensure that we have a “positive game-day environment.” Bravo! Just think of all the encouraging signs you could bring: “Seven Days Without an Arrest or Academic Casualty”; “Who Cares About Beating Virginia Tech, Anyway?”; “Coach Groh is Good Enough, Smart Enough, and We Like Him”. With all that positive energy, we can make sure that no one has their widdle feewings hurt by those mean, nasty people out there.
My only consolation in this fiasco is the hope that the people involved in finalizing this decision didn’t think it through completely before acting. It is hard for me to believe that the University would adopt this policy in the first place, but it’s even harder for me to believe that the University is going to stand behind it.
Matt Branson
CLAS 1996
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