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Transporting our spirit - Editorial

News-Letter article · 90th session · dated April 17, 2003

Reporting about the SGA, not a record of it: The Johns Hopkins News-Letter published this and the SGA did not write it, file it, or approve it. The archive holds it because the article itself uses the phrase “student council”.

Read this article in The News-Letter ↗

Transporting our spirit - Editorial

The Johns Hopkins News-Letter · April 17, 2003

After indicting the University for not providing enough support for lacrosse spirit, we were pleased to see Student Council organize a bus to take Blue Jay fans to the University of Maryland last weekend for what turned out to be an overtime thriller.

Taking their cue from a student's suggestion, the Class of 2005 secured a bus and transported approximately 40-50 students from the MSE Library to Maryland's Byrd Stadium, so they could cheer on our team.

At a University with the number one ranked lacrosse team in the nation, one would expect this kind of official enthusiasm. We've already noted that such a spark is lacking here, so StuCo's efforts are definitely a step in the right direction. While 40-50 students on a single bus is a modest showing, it's a good start that StuCo should build upon.

While we applaud the Class of 2005 acting on a student suggestion in this case, frankly, this is the kind of thing StuCo and others should be doing all the time. The bus riders were joined at Byrd Stadium by an additional entourage of Hopkins students and alums, many of who made the 45-minute drive from Baltimore to College Park. But what if they all traveled on multiple, raucous buses, screaming all the way down Interstate 95? That's the kind of spirit we're encouraging.

So, it is our hope that StuCo will build on this successful venture. Next year, student representatives should point to the Maryland bus as the beginning of a new effort to get students excited about lacrosse. Class-sponsored transportation and tailgates at away games would rival the most successful club nights.

Council should be congratulated for their response to a student demand that has long fallen on deaf ears. We hope they will continue to do so, with the rest of the University community following their lead.