– Saturday, April 6, University of Minnesota: At least 11 University of Minnesota students were among the 25 arrested following the Gophers’ national championship in men’s hockey earlier that evening.
– Monday, April 1, University of Maryland and Indiana University: A combined number of 45 people were arrested following the men’s national championship game, which Maryland won 64-52.
They were arrested in connection with a variety of offenses including disorderly conduct, public intoxication and criminal mischief.
We are the champions.
Championships.
A task never accomplished by many athletic programs.
Revered by many. Taken advantage of by more.
Too common a practice after championships are won are riots on college campuses.
Falling confetti morphs into flying bottles.
The ceremonial Gatorade bath, normally reserved for coaches, turns into showers of Natty Light.
Testosterone-filled fans, blanketing the university area, unleash their emotions – both in victory and defeat – on defenseless cars and get a cardiovascular workout by running from authorities.
Light turns to dark.
Academia turns to chaos.
We’ll keep on fighting ’til the end.
On April 1, the University of Maryland men’s basketball team won the program’s first national basketball title in school history – a feat that should not be ignored, nor tarnished.
But it was.
Accompanying news of the Terps’ victory was news of riots throughout the night on the College Park, Md., campus.
The epic story of coach Gary Williams leading his alma mater to the title is now shared with the epic story of students lighting bonfires and breaking windows.
The sweet taste of victory turned sour. Champions associated with vagabonds.
Like late-night cramming or fake IDs, rioting is becoming common practice on college campuses today – remember Spring 2001.
Before it was for women’s rights, race relations and foreign wars.
Now …
Sports?
We are the champions. We are the champions of the world.
Jonathan D. Chu, a senior in journalism, can be reached at [email protected].
