Okay, let me start with disclaimers. I don't think that everything the students do is right or okay, not by a long shot. I do not approve of any kind of violence toward police officers, far too many of them are my friends and besides, I like them. I do not think that there should not be control on campus, campus environments should certainly be a controlled forum.

But what happened last week surrounding the VA Tech game was many levels of "handled badly." Anytime the front page of the local paper has a police officer with his foot on a student's head for being a rowdy person at a football game, I think we have a right to call foul and be a little pissed off.

Here were the goals I saw instituted 1) keep the fires from being started and 2) keep the goal posts from being ripped down.

Notice that I do not think the goals were to keep people from getting hurt, or making sure people had a good time at what should be a fun event.

All furniture on the porches in the student area of town was forcibly collected the morning of the game (warning letters were issued the previous morning--those who simply took the furniture indoors would get citations). You want to do this the right way? Actually have a truck go around every month and collect the students' unwanted furniture. A lot of them would give it to you. You want to do it the morning of the big game, issuing citations, and think this will foster a spirit of compliant goodwill?

Not to confuse my sports here, but strike one.

And it didn't even work to stop the blaze. Someone claimed there were 75 fires that night. There were certainly two huge ones on Grant Street (student section of town). And a lot of the smaller ones were in more dangerous locations because the students were trying to hide them from authorities.

Did it occur to anyone to let them have a huge fire on Grant Street? Pick a spot and say everyone bring your kindling? You had the fires anyway--get into the spirit of the celebration, assume the costs of repairing the road (which you're going to be assuming anyway), and have the firetrucks on hand? Especially on that wet, rainy night, I think a lot of students would have gone to the huge blazing bonfire instead of trying to set their own little one--if they could have done so without fear of arrest.

And the goal posts? Please! This is a long time national tradition. And you're surprised when you get met with resistance when you tell thousands of drunken students they can't do it? You're surprised when the police on the field are hit with bottles and detritus? You're surprised when the line of cops you have ringing the precious yellow poles is seen as antagonistic and spraying pepper spray at everyone celebrating on the field is seen as a bad idea?

Strike two.

Congratulations, the goal posts are safe. And you made the front page of the paper.

You see, it seems to me that what's being protected here is the investment in the goal posts. I think this because we've been through this pepper spray debacle before, when the poor band wound up dosed because of the enthusiasm of the spraying troopers. I think this because at the time the cost of the goal posts was one of the items brought up in defense. (I think the football program makes more than enough money to offset the cost of the goal posts.)

The other argument is that this is meant to protect the students, to keep them safe. Oh, and because a couple of other students are suing their college for being hurt while tearing down goal posts.

Now, I have a lot of sympathy for any institution trying to do right in a sue happy society. The lawsuit of those students is ridiculous, and if they win it will absolutely be the end of a national tradition. And rightly so.

But I don't entirely buy it. The university has incredible insurance covering these events (football is a violent sport, you know) and on top of that they're the state, which means there's a cap on what you can get out of them if you sue. (Hell, you can't even really sue them--the state gives you permission to have your complaint heard. The state has sovereign immunity, remember.) And if there's some insurance loop hole that doesn't cover the tearing down of the goal posts, then that should be fixed. And believe me, it really can be, if it's not covered already. This is an insurable event.

And if you really care about the students, and not money, then why don't you drop the goal posts for them? Tear 'em down yourself, and let the students have the pieces. Because the students who weren't parading goal post pieces through Sunnyside, down Grant, and finally down High Street are the same students who were breaking bottles and setting fires instead.

Sure, the state is having money problems. There have been lots of very public cut-backs. The university has to save money. Has anyone thought of not having the football program, because of the problem it is? Of course not. If for no other reason, it brings in way too much money. And if we have to redirect that to keeping things safer and more fun, I think that's just the price of doing business.

Are the goal posts really more expensive than having the 200 police officers and all those firemen on duty that night? Not all of them volunteer, you know.

There are certain things that we've proven time and time again are going to happen. You can't stop the students from celebrating. The 200 police officers wandering over a six block area didn't stop the celebrating, despite open container citations etc. Didn't stop the fires from happening either. But definitely gave the students an "us against them" attitude. (Oh yeah, and strike three, you're out.)

You can't stop the students celebrating. You can limit and control. But not without their help. Funny how we didn't seem to have it.

Feel I'm missing something? Feel free to comment and tell me--I just get aggravated by the negative student attitude this town gets sometimes--and then people seem surprised when the students do something negative. Uh, isn't that what you expected? Maybe if you expected more or better, and worked with them instead of against them you'd get the outcome you want.