Posts Tagged ‘football’
Senior football captains respond to last week’s events
The rising senior captains of the football team have spoken out about the arrest and the tweets that gripped campus last week. In a letter sent to Spec, they report that head coach Pete Mangurian has had two meetings with the team to discuss the incidents and “has made it clear that our teammates will be held accountable for their actions.” The captains write that it is their job “to lead in a way that all of our teammates embrace and respect all the diversity within our University community.”
Full email below and after the jump:
Members of the Columbia community:
Given the events of the last week, we feel it is important for us to address the actions of some of the members of the football team. We understand that what has happened reflects poorly on the University, the student body and our football team as a whole. It is unfortunate that the inappropriate actions of some of our former and current teammates have had such a negative effect on our entire University. We apologize for that. More »
Prove them wrong, don’t prove them right
Although I am not a Student-Athlete, I definitely identify as a student who is also an athlete. I see myself as a strong, motivated and active individual who strives for both academic and physical achievement. I play a sport: my sport is ballet.
“But,” you may protest, “Ballet isn’t a sport! It’s easy!” If I had a nickel for every time I hear this ignorant claim (which is usually coupled with a makeshift pirouette), I could probably buy myself a new pair of $80 pointe shoes.
I’ve always danced; it’s what I am best at. I know the commitment, the intense training schedules, the physical pain, and the sacrifices that accompany dancing ballet. I have felt the amazing exhilaration in performance, and the devastation due to injury. In short, I know the separate “world” created by this sport that no one truly understands unless they’ve spent 5 hours a day, 7 days a week in a leotard and tights, grinding their toes into the ground and bending their body into positions that are anything but natural.
Similarly, football, a sport of similar caliber to ballet in terms of physical endurance and emotional commitment, has an entirely separate culture. Being a football player comes with certain benefits such as academic assistance, a brotherhood, and physical strength. However, just as many people foolishly assume that ballet dancers are all “rich white girls” prancing around in leotards, animatedly discussing their respective eating disorders, certain unfortunate assumptions regarding physical size, demeanor, and academic ability plague football players as well. As intelligent Columbia students, we must put those University Writing critical thinking skills to good use, and realize that labels do not define entire groups of people.
More »
More responses to alleged hate crime: athletics, OMA, Asian American Alliance, petition, student government leaders, Coach Mangurian (UPDATED, 10:10 pm)
The first public comment from administrators responding to the alleged hate crime and offensive tweets by members of the football team came earlier today. Since then, several more administrators and groups on campus have responded:
- In an email at 12:45 p.m., the Office of Multicultural Affairs emailed some, but not all, undergraduates, urging them to reach out to the OMA or Student Affairs for support.
- In an email at 2:59 p.m., Athletic Director M. Dianne Murphy and football head coach Pete Mangurian condemned “the language and sentiment expressed online by a select few Columbia student-athletes” and said that they are addressing the behavior with the individuals involved.
- In a statement at 4:56 p.m., the Asian American Alliance, with 47 other student groups co-signing, said that the University must “see this incident as a result of broader systemic issues of racism on our campus and in our society” and urged the community “to create radical anti-oppression, anti-hate and anti-violence programs throughout the university to combat a culture which can lead to these types of incidents.”
- A petition, now with
4456 signatures, has called on Athletics to suspend or remove the players who made offensive tweets from the team’s roster. - A petition calls for the creation of an independent commission to investigate the tweets and examine the culture of the football team and the greater athletics program, among other steps. It was started by David Fine, CC ’13 and outgoing Student Governing Board chair, Karishma Habbu, CC ’13 and outgoing CCSC president, JungHee Hyun, BC ’13 and outgoing SGA president, Saketh Kalathur, CC ’13 and outgoing Activities Board at Columbia president, Tim Qin, SEAS ’13 and outgoing ESC president, and Jennifer Wisdom, GS ’13 and outgoing GSSC president.
- Mangurian shared his own thoughts on his blog.
Check after the jump for the statements and petition.
How will the marching band respond to the football drama?
Amid all the news about the football team, it’s worth noting that Orgo Night is going down tonight at 11:59 p.m. in 209 Butler.
The Columbia University Marching Band isn’t known to shy away from controversy—last semester, after Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger pushed the band to take down its “Gaza Strip” fliers, the band went after the administration and made several Gaza-related jokes during its routine. Here’s a look at a flier for tonight’s show, released today:
How far the band will go tonight is anyone’s guess, but there’s a not-so-subtle hint in the flier’s football field background and the hashtag “#fuckkkkkk,” which varsity football player Tom Callahan used in response to the New York Times headline “New York’s Jewish Population is Growing Again.”
Still, the fact remains that CUMB is generally one of the team’s biggest supporters. And when CUMB publicly made fun of the team’s ninth-consecutive loss near the end of a particularly disappointing 2011 season, Athletics banned the band from the team’s final home game (although that ban was later reversed).
We’ve reached out to CUMB for comment on what they plan to do tonight, and we’ll let you know if we hear back from them. If you can’t make it to Orgo Night, you’ll find our liveblog right here, and you can also follow @CUSpectrum for updates.
Hurrah! The week’s almost done!
It’s almost the weekend! And for some of us, the weekend starts tonight! Thank goodness it’s Thursday because I thought this week of coming back from break, more midterms, and getting old midterm marks would never end. Celebrate and rejoice by reading the news!
Read this: Professional football player Hamza Abdullah spoke about Islam and the Muslims in Myanmar on Tuesday night at the Muslim Student Association’s Fast-A-Thon.
Know this: Barnard professors can now to choose to add a wellness statement to their course syllabi to show students that their professors understand the stress they’re going through and to remind them that their health is just as important as their academics.
Here’s more: Harlem park St. Nicholas is still suffering from the aftermath of Sandy. The uncleared debris and damage from the hurricane lead to it receiving the lowest grade of any large park in Manhattan from New Yorkers for Parks.
Luke Henderson / Senior Staff Photographer
eHarmony@CU
Did you go to Glass House Rocks by yourself? Did you stroll down College Walk with clasped hands, pretending you were holding someone else’s hand?
Did you get super excited when someone knocked on your door, thinking it was a secret Valentines, only to open the door to your disgruntled neighbour who asked you to stop blasting “All By Myself”?
If you answered yes to two out of three questions, then it’s time for a change. eHarmony@CU is here to find the love of your life. If you’re still not sure that this dating service is for you, check out these students who got a little more love in their life thanks to eHarmony@CU.
The Athlete Scholar
It’s true—former Stanford QB Nottingham intends to transfer to Columbia
Remember that rumor we told you about Brett Nottingham last week? Well, according to this article from The Bootleg—Scout.com’s Stanford athletics blog—it turns out that rumor is true. Though Athletics cannot comment on potential recruits until they are admitted and a deposit is in due to Ivy League rules, Nottingham’s word is confirmation that he plans on taking his talents to the Big Apple.
“I am excited to say I am in the process of applying to Columbia University,” Nottingham said to The Bootleg. “Pending admissions, I plan on playing football for head coach Pete Mangurian and the Columbia Lions.”
Per the same article, Nottingham was scheduled to major in Science, Technology, and Society at Stanford. It is currently unclear to which Columbia school Nottingham is applying, but he’d be eligible to play in 2013 irrespective of where he’d land, as he’s transferring from a FBS to an FCS football program. Nottingham has finished all essays and applications, and will get a job and train while he’s waiting to hear back from CU. If admitted, he would join Columbia football in the summer. More »
Could a Stanford quarterback be coming to Columbia?
An unconfirmed rumor around the blogosphere is that Stanford junior quarterback Brett Nottingham will be making his way to Morningside Heights.
ESPN reported last Saturday Nottingham plans to transfer, and the Stanford athletic department today confirmed to Spectator that Nottingham is no longer a part of its football program.
If the rumor proves to be true, Nottingham would certainly be a major addition to the Light Blue. Coming out of Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif. in 2010, the quarterback was a four-star recruit, and ranked as the fourth-best pro-style quarterback prospect in the nation by rivals.com. More »
Football shows improvement in Mangurian’s first season
After turning the program over to Pete Mangurian last December, the football team went 3-7 in 2012. In the aftermath, the Lions had four players receive All-Ivy honors. Senior defensive lineman Josh Martin and junior running back Marcorus Garrett were both named to the first team, junior linebacker Zach Olinger was named to the second team, and Mike Waller received honorable mention.
In our season wrap-up show, Spectator’s beat writers Eli Schultz, Myles Simmons, and Spencer Gyory talk the team’s strengths and weaknesses from 2012, and look ahead a bit to 2013.
Be sure to look out for our In The Zone Postgame Shows for men’s basketball during Ivy season, and remember you can get live game updates from our Twitter, @CUSpecSports.
A beautiful spread of football games for your Thanksgiving Thursday
Tomorrow marks Thanksgiving, which is no doubt the greatest of all holidays in my humble opinion. There’s the obvious—the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce (from a can…I want to see ridges), and of course the family. But then there’s what’s really important—football.
I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy the timeless tradition of the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys playing each and every Thanksgiving Thursday. It’s also no doubt been a special honor to play on Thanksgiving for those teams that have gone to the Silverdome and Ford Field, along with Texas Stadium and Cowboys Stadium. And now that the NFL has blessed us all with a third game the past few years, there’s literally a game for when you cook, when you eat, and when you’re about to pass out from your turkey-induced coma.
And if you’re not sure about all the storylines, fear not—we’ve got you covered.
Game one: Houston Texans (9-1) at Detroit Lions (4-6)—12:30 EST, CBS
The Texans are considered by some to be the best team in football, and the Lions have taken a step back after a great playoff season in 2011. But based on Houston’s performance against Jacksonville—literally the worst team in football—last weekend, if Detroit comes out firing and executes well, they could have a chance. More »