Dear Hurricane fans,
I come to you not as Student Government president or as a friend of President Shalala’s, but as a student, a senior and a fan of our football team.
The decision to move to Dolphin Stadium has been made. This is an inescapable given. To say things such as “.don’t buy a ticket that supports the dollar signs behind this act of treason against all those who love the U” is harmful. This statement is an insult-not to President Shalala or the Trustees-but to those closely aligned with our football team.
This statement hurts the Band of the Hour who spends hours a week preparing to support this football team. It hurts the student assistants who volunteer their time to facilitate practices. It hurts the cheerleaders and dancers who spend countless hours perfecting their routines.
Most of all, a statement similar to the aforesaid hurts this football team. It hurts the players who were out in the July sun working two-a-days preparing to annihilate our opponents while we were at home on our couches in the A/C.
It hurts the coaching staff and Randy Shannon who have dedicated their efforts to the football team’s success.
These hardworking people will still be at Dolphin Stadium regardless of their thoughts on the move and I urge my fellow students to do the same.
Our team’s sweat, blood and tears all become for naught if the people that propose boycott are taken seriously. Luckily, in reading through the responses on The Hurricane’s website, these people are not being taken seriously. This was evident at the Marshall game this past Saturday.
Close to 6,000 students were on hand to open the new season for the last time at the Orange Bowl. The excitement was palpable, not only in welcoming Randy Shannon, but also in celebrating the OB and what it means to people.
The sea of orange that filled the stadium echoed this celebratory sentiment. Our time with the OB is sadly ending, but it should be a celebration, not an elegy, of all of the fantastic moments we’ve had.
The bottom line is that we will see this football team through anything: victory, defeat, injuries, tragedy and the glory they are about to achieve. We can certainly see this football team through a stadium move and I know our students love this football team enough to do that.
Go ‘Canes!
Danny Carvajal
Danny Carvajal is a senior and the Student Government president.