With the campus eagerly awaiting daily news regarding the Initiative and its impact on the social life on campus, it is nice to know that the Initiative is not just separating campus, but also uniting it -- through athletics.
Yesterday's landmark announcement by Dean of the College Jim Larimore that all regular season athletic events will be free to undergraduate and graduate students at the College is a wonderful step in the right direction, but there are still more steps to climb.
Anyone who watched the women's lacrosse team travel to the NCAA Tournament or has seen the football team tough one out in the late November snow realizes that our athletic teams unite the campus more than a party or an event in Collis could ever do.
There is something about watching your classmates and friends that injects school pride into the campus and the community.
Last winter, when the Athletic Department offered free student tickets to a hockey game against St. Lawrence, they received possibly the greatest attendance to any single sporting event of the term.
I applaud President Jim Wright and Dean Larimore for realizing that this campus cares about their athletic teams, they just do not want to foot the bill to see their own college athletics. The athletic department should also be commended for this improvement to our collective social lives.
But, I urge them not to rest on this latest success. The addition of free t-shirts and contests at basketball games has provided a more exciting atmosphere and a better overall sporting event, but there is so much more to do.
Allow student dance or a cappella groups to sing at halftime or immediately after the event.
Host interviews with players or coaches in places like Lone Pine Tavern and broadcast them on the radio station or over Dartmouth Television.
Plan programming events in Collis or somewhere else on campus following sporting events to attract those who attended the game to a similar social event.
But, the biggest challenge lies neither with the Athletic Department nor with the administration -- it lies with the students.
For years, coaches, players and dedicated fans have wanted to eliminate the financial fetters that prevented more people from cheering in the seats. Now, they have done so.
It is commonly thought that most of the support at athletic events around campus stems from members of the Greek system. But, now it is time to rally around the athletes on this campus and prove that it doesn't matter whether or not you wear letters across your shirt. Starting tomorrow we, as Dartmouth students and fans, all wear the same color shirt.
Don't wait until your friend on the softball team has a game down at Sachem Field in the spring or the kid down the hall on the squash team plays this winter.
Wake up tomorrow displaying both the nine letters that we all share and the support that our athletes deserve.
