I love the intensity of the crowds at the Pit, the Marriott Center and the Huntsman Center. Few games were as eagerly anticipated by fans and had such consequences for the season as the recent SDSU-BYU game. However, it was fascinating to watch the conduct of some of the students and the implications of that conduct.
In most colleges and universities there has been an effort to educate students about the need to respect others. Had students come to a game wearing yarmulkes and fake beards to mock a Jewish player, there would have been outrage across the country and the university likely would have scrambled to limit the fallout.
If a visiting team had a great player who was muslim, would the students have come wearing Kufis on their heads and waving signs mocking Islam? That would be incredibly insensitive and not tolerated a moment longer than it took to have the offenders escorted from the building?
Many SDSU students came to the SDSU-BYU game wearing white shirts and ties, complete with fake name badges. Is that different from the examples above? Only in that many students found it amusing and the university tolerated it.
Richard Smurthwaite
Bountiful