By Thomas Sheremetta
I’ve been at this school for almost a year and a half, and in no way do I regret coming here; however, the one major drawback of this university (besides the cold), is that there is NO DAMN SPIRIT. I guarantee most people came here because it’s the “public ivy” of SUNY schools; that’s surely why I came. But, these same people barely make an effort to show any kind of pride towards being a Bearcat.
Even though this has always been in the back of my thoughts, it came to mind when I went to the home opener of the men’s basketball team. It was a great game to watch, and I always recommend college basketball. However, even with the home opener, the stadium was only filled about halfway. With a school that has over 13,000 undergraduate students, as well as the many citizens from the surrounding towns, it shouldn’t be a problem to fill up that stadium. It doesn’t seem like people really care about the athletics at BU. It makes me wonder why division III schools care more about supporting their teams than we do.
I honestly believe that school spirit would increase if we had a football team. Unfortunately, people would no longer be able to wear those shirts that state we’ve been undefeated since the founding of Binghamton University, but I’m sure they’d get over it. Let’s be honest – it’s more likely that Hillary Clinton becomes president in 2020 than Binghamton getting a football team, but a man can dream. I guess I’ll have to cry myself to sleep as my friends in Penn State and Alabama enjoy their school spirit through sports like football.
Back to our school spirit: it goes beyond the disregard of our sport teams. In general, I truly believe a good chunk of individuals would much rather be at another college. Binghamton was a mere backup plan in case they weren’t accepted into Cornell or Duke. Well, now they’re here and they have the pleasure of wallowing in their self-pity while they try to survive the harsh winters. I do have some empathy for them. They bought their favorite college sweatshirt only to have their dreams crushed in front of them because their SAT just wasn’t high enough. Now they just drudge on a day to day basis wearing a sweatshirt that will never become anything more than a sweatshirt. My advice to them: buy a Binghamton sweatshirt and rep your college (or don’t, they’re expensive).
It’s not all bad for Binghamton. People contribute their free time to clubs, intramural sports, and Greek life. This isn’t something out of the ordinary for a typical college student, but at least they’re trying. You can also see people enjoy events hosted by student groups, such as the Dollar Show. But, once again, this should be a normal thing for a college student to do. However, for every student that participates in clubs and other activities that build a better campus community, there is a suite of students choosing to be antisocial. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to be antisocial every now and again, but a college student does a major disservice by not participating in any school-related events and thus having no school spirit.
A good example of this is my freshman year experience. I lived on a chem-free floor. Before I get into this, let me just say that I totally respect those who choose to live a “straight-edge” lifestyle. I’m referencing this floor as an example of some students choosing to stay in, rather than participating in the school environment. When I first came to this floor, I was told that there was an “open-door policy,” enticing residents to keep their doors open for the sake of facilitating a community. Within a couple of days, all the doors were slammed shut. It came to the point where I didn’t know anyone in my hallway… I barely even knew my own roommate. This could just imply that they’re simply introverted individuals. But, I tend to believe that just like my previous roommate who was always in the room, many others choose the same route.
In the end, I don’t really care what you want to do as a person. You want to stay balled up in a blanket watching Netflix as you move into adulthood? Then go for it. You want to wear a green morph suit every Friday? That’s okay too. I purely suggest that students try to find a balance so that our school can become a more spirited community.