We can be proud of BGSU for more than sports

Why does pride in the University have to be connected to football? Or the color orange? I don’t like football or the school colors; I do, however, really love a lot of things about the University.

For example, I’m a senior in the Political Science department and I am proud of our department. We had two professors and a student receive Fulbright Scholarships at the end of last year (out of six at the whole University). We had a student get one of two (out of the whole country) internships to the Supreme Court last spring. Our faculty are engaged and really interesting to talk to both in and out of the classroom. I can fairly say that I am proud to be at this University because of the Political Science department.

Or how about our learning communities? I am part of the IMPACT Learning Community and none of the other schools I looked at had a program anything like IMPACT. I’m proud to be in a group that puts an emphasis on critical thinking, and being a thoughtful and developing intellectual.

Just because I’m going to a crew game this weekend instead of to the football game, or just because I’m not “dressed head-to-toe in orange and brown” does not mean that I lack school pride. It means I made my decision on where to go to school based on something other than which football team I liked best, or whether I wanted to add more orange to my wardrobe.

College isn’t about football; college is about learning, growing as a human being and about what you will do with your future. It would be pretty stupid to base your future on which football team you liked best.

Corinne Staggs is a senior majoring in political science.