I had Delaney Halloran on News and Views this week. Ms.
Halloran is an Opinion Editor for The Spectrum, which is the student newspaper
of North Dakota State University. Halloran recently wrote an
editorial
titled “Nothing to do with Football.” Her premise is that for NDSU students,
football is an excuse to drink and post on social media.
Delaney Halloran is also a student at NDSU. As a Resident
Assistance for a dormitory on campus, she would know what it looks like to see
students come back hammered. So she wrote an opinion article about it. In the
article, she points out what she saw first-hand. She also points out that social
media is filled with evidence, including an elderly man grinding on young
students. Later on, that same 60+ year old man was “making out with a
college-aged female.”
Her other point was that the students don’t go for football.
She wrote, “People just need to admit the dark and unfortunate truth; Bison
football games are boring.” No doubt, because for students, they
are
. If
you don’t believe her, check out the student section in the fourth quarter. You’ll
have to look hard to find the students.
That doesn’t mean NDSU students are any different than any
other campus. In fact, they aren’t. The only thing separating them from the
others is that they have something to celebrate. Seven national championships in
eight years and blow-out games are bound to get boring. I know that sounds
weird, but it’s true.
I’ve tailgated at everything from hockey games to football
games. At times, drinking enough that I never drove. So, I’m no angel when it
comes to all of this. I may have grown up some since then, but I do remember
waking up in Walsh Hall with a hangover. My point is that UND is no better. We’ve
won some national championships and partied too much before and after.
The beauty of Halloran’s article is that it took
guts
.
Bison football is the third rail right now. Everyone knows that to touch that
rail means you pay a price. A price that a young student journalist with guts
was willing to pay.
Good riding with you.
(Joel Heitkamp is a talk show host on the Mighty 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. His award-winning program, “News & Views,” can be heard weekdays from 8 – 11 a.m. Follow Joel on Twitter @JoelKFGO.)
