2008 Woodie Awards
SGA pres. rallies Billiken spirit
Andrew Clifton
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Letters to the Editor
Looking back on my almost four years at Saint Louis University, I've seen that many students have made a recurring cry for more school spirit.
Future SLU freshmen-who receive recruitment brochures that feature students covered in blue-and-white face paint-expect an environment where students flock to collegiate sporting events and defend the Billikens' honor at any expense.
But most figure out after a couple of months at SLU that face paint appears during Welcome Week, and only a handful of other occasions throughout the year. SLU has the sports, the coaches and athletes to get its students excited-but it needs students to attend its games. It [is] my sincerest hope that the new Chaifetz Arena will help reverse SLU's seemingly low sense of school spirit.
I am imagining a day where students will march down campus wearing SLU attire, with excitement brewing in the air, or where they will sit in a packed student section at Chaifetz Arena while boisterous students heckle the other team.
But the new arena is more than just convenient for students to visit. It is a powerful recruiting tool that will attract the sought-after players that can take Billiken Basketball to greater national recognition-dare I say, even the Sweet Sixteen?
That kind of national recognition is beneficial for all students and alumni. Schools such as Marquette, which is comparable to SLU in many respects, constantly bask in the national spotlight as a result of [their] basketball programs.
With Chaifetz Arena opening, the stars have aligned for SLU: Now is the time to build the school spirit and [fame] that the school deserves. We have the nationally recognized coach, we have the facilities-now it is just up to SLU students to get out to the games.
Andrew Clifton,
Student Government Association President
Future SLU freshmen-who receive recruitment brochures that feature students covered in blue-and-white face paint-expect an environment where students flock to collegiate sporting events and defend the Billikens' honor at any expense.
But most figure out after a couple of months at SLU that face paint appears during Welcome Week, and only a handful of other occasions throughout the year. SLU has the sports, the coaches and athletes to get its students excited-but it needs students to attend its games. It [is] my sincerest hope that the new Chaifetz Arena will help reverse SLU's seemingly low sense of school spirit.
I am imagining a day where students will march down campus wearing SLU attire, with excitement brewing in the air, or where they will sit in a packed student section at Chaifetz Arena while boisterous students heckle the other team.
But the new arena is more than just convenient for students to visit. It is a powerful recruiting tool that will attract the sought-after players that can take Billiken Basketball to greater national recognition-dare I say, even the Sweet Sixteen?
That kind of national recognition is beneficial for all students and alumni. Schools such as Marquette, which is comparable to SLU in many respects, constantly bask in the national spotlight as a result of [their] basketball programs.
With Chaifetz Arena opening, the stars have aligned for SLU: Now is the time to build the school spirit and [fame] that the school deserves. We have the nationally recognized coach, we have the facilities-now it is just up to SLU students to get out to the games.
Andrew Clifton,
Student Government Association President
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