To the Editor:
I have been working at Dartmouth men's hockey games for 18 years and have been supervising the security staff there for the last 15 years. I am an enthusiastic Dartmouth hockey fan and have friends on the team. I am writing to correct some errors presented as fact in Joe Vinci's column, "Hardly Home Ice," published in The Dartmouth on Feb. 26.
I was the security supervisor at the Yale game in question and went to assist at the penalty box because of my concerns and game official's concerns about the inappropriate behavior of some Dartmouth fans there. Contrary to what was stated in the column, President Wright never asked me to intervene or to tell the group behind the penalty box to stop what they were doing.
Also contrary to what was stated in the column, I was the only officer that went to the penalty box on that night -- members of the Hanover Police did not join me. The abusive and intense kind of heckling that some fans were engaged in at the Yale game -- and at some other games this year -- is not a long-term tradition. I have received numerous complaints this year from other fans about the nature of some of the heckling that has been going on and about those standing behind the penalty box who have blocked the vision of fans seated nearby.
This year, game officials have advised me that we need to do something to address some unacceptable behavior toward visiting players in the penalty box. On the night of the recent Yale game, the official by the penalty box signaled to me that I should have the fans who were standing and heckling behind the penalty box sit down.
I enjoy supporting Dartmouth hockey and I enjoy it when the arena is full of Dartmouth fans loudly and enthusiastically supporting our teams. But supporting Dartmouth teams does not excuse abusing or harassing members of visiting teams or disrupting the enjoyment of other fans.
