ELIZABETH KRAMER | THE INFORMER
Now that Spring Fling is over, normalcy has been restored to the University of Hartford campus and the last few weeks of the semester drag on as students are spending their days inside classrooms, instead of enjoying the beautiful weather outside.
That’s what the weekend festivities were for as the annual Spring Fling weekend hit the campus hard, well, it hit some harder than others. At least those who partook in getting blackout drunk and making a fool of themselves, or as they call it “having fun.”
It’s interesting, however, because as a Residential Assistant, I saw that many students on the athletics program acted…how should I say…embarrassingly immature in their drunken states throughout the weekend.
Yes, I am aware that more than just athletes consume a heavy amount of alcohol during the Spring Fling weekend, but bear with me, it gets better.
As someone in an authoritative position this past weekend, keeping everyone safe as they traveled about campus while I was on duty, I interacted with a large majority of the campus student body at one point or another. Some greeted me happily as they went on their merry ways, others leaned on me and mumbled a language that only the drunkest of drunk could interpret as an interpretable method of communication, then there was the women’s soccer team.
Both nights I was on duty, Friday and Saturday, it was my duty to ask any and all residents/guests to pour out any alcohol that wasn’t in an allowed red solo cup. I took the job quite seriously as it is my duty as an RA to try keeping everyone safe on campus and because I didn’t want to have to deal with my bosses had something occurred as a result of my laziness.
On Friday night four soccer players on the women’s team whom were extremely intoxicated and carrying, extremely large containers of alcohol, which were not permitted to be on campus during the Spring Fling weekend, greeted me in the E-Complex courtyard. I politely asked them to dump out whatever was in their containers and continue on their way, yeah…it sounded like a great idea in my head too.
All I received in return was a flood of expletives, child-like scowls and having to ask them numerous times to follow a simple direction.
As the Sport’s Editor for The Informer, I knew all of the girls were indeed on the women’s soccer team and old enough to legally consume alcohol, but that doesn’t give wthem the right to cuss me out or not follow University policies. Aren’t you supposed to be the role models on campus? Those whom are most likely receiving athletic scholarships for being the outstanding leaders both on and off the field and this is how you’re acting?
Don’t give me the “well, I was drunk” card, because I can care less and you’re still responsible for your actions. So, after a few minutes of using words that even the most scurvy sailor would find offensive, they dumped their cups and stormed off pouting.
Guess what happened the following night?
Yup, the same plastered girls on the soccer team were at a party that I had to breakup because they wouldn’t follow the rules and when we asked them to leave, guess what happened again? At this rate, if you get this one right you’ll be 2-2 and you win a small prize.
So, lets play a game. I’m Tim Rizzo and let’s play the game Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Here’s your final question: What did the drunken, stupid women’s soccer girls do when I asked them to leave?
Obeyed and skipped away merrily to go study in the library
Punched me in the gut in an inebriated stupor
Yelled more expletives about what RA’s are and acted more childish than before
Well, if you guessed B then you’d be wrong, but I’m shocked that you guessed they would assault me. The correct answer was C and boy; it was a hell of a scene.
The girls, followed by a few men on the basketball team wobbled in an intoxicated manner out of the apartment and started to give me a piece of their mind. More yelling and swearing ensued as I just stood there with a blank face waiting for them to shut up and leave the apartment. They did leave, but not without more whining and complaining. Thus, that was my weekend in a nutshell.
Memo to all athletes on campus: whether you want to be seen as role models or not, a lot of people at this University look up to you when it comes to holding a higher moral standard than the average person. So, when you act in the idiotic way that you did over the weekend, you set a bad example for athlete’s everywhere who don’t even partake in the activities or personality issues that you have.
Oh, and you’ll end up in the newspaper with the campus reading about your lack of maturity. Keep up the good work and consider yourselves lucky that I chose to not include your names in this piece.