NU students can do better than level GPA, valet taunts

The torrent of angry letters and comments sparked by Communication freshman Grayson Vreeland’s letter to the editor showed exactly what’s wrong with our fans in the first place.

Think about this for a second: NU students harass opponents for their lack of wealth and intellect, yet we justify our taunts by pointing out that the schools we’re insulting do the same thing?

“Other Big Ten schools have vile chants as part of their official scores of cheers,” Online Editor Daniel Shin wrote in Thursday’s Firing Squad. “The culture of vile chanting is not isolated to NU alone.”

Why do we yell how dumb Michigan fans are – by the way, they’re ranked just 11 spots below us in the U.S. News rankings – when our cheers are just as uncreative?

As a middle-class, minority student who attended a public high school, I’ve never had a problem with jingling the keys of my ’95 Toyota Corolla and yelling about my superior job prospects. Reading Vreeland’s letter, however, made me wonder why we can’t support our team in better ways than using feeble taunts about GPA’s and luxury cars.

It’s quite possible for fans to have a profound impact on the game without being negative. Just take a look around the Big Ten for examples of how NU can do better. Illinois has the “Block I.” Wisconsin has “Jump Around.” Penn State has the “White Out.” And, as for the argument that other fan bases shout even worse things: Aren’t we supposed to be more cultured anyway?

I challenge everyone who called Vreeland names in print or in private: Prove her wrong by making the student section at Ryan Field the fiercest in the Big Ten. Many of us need to start paying attention to the game and stop taking pride in our indifference. Show up to next Saturday’s game against Minnesota ready to cheer on the ‘Cats. Learn the following names and yell them for 60 minutes (except for when we’re on offense): C.J. Bach