COLUMN: Hey Sigs, get the Ep out of Section F
A night at the spectrum during basketball season is truly a sight to behold. Sure, it may not be the biggest arena in college basketball, but for its size, it gets respectably exciting and loud. The yellow, autumn-inspired seats of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum transform into a sea of Aggie blue as most loyal members of the student section wear game-day shirts, or at the very least, something blue. The color of the opponent is viewed as disgraceful if seen in the hallowed seats reserved for USU students. Saturday night, however, saw a purple and red stain in the form of a flag waving in the most hallowed of sections, Section F. It was not a flag of Weber State University, the opponent for the evening. Rather it was a small contingency of USU students who seem to think that they show support for their team by waving their fraternity flag, that of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
I do not have anything against fraternities. It is a lifestyle for college that some students choose, and they have every right to. The service they do is admirable and the academic achievements, particularly those of the USU chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, are impressive. However, I do have a problem with flashing your colors at a school sporting event. It is bad enough at football games when they wave the flag on the same pole as a Utah State flag. A symbol of exclusivity has absolutely no place at an event for all students. If promoting your fraternity is the reason for such displays, remember that you have Greek week to celebrate your supposed elite status. For the other 14 weeks of the semester, join the 18,000 students at Utah State to cheer for your team in unity.
Let’s talk a little more about the color of the flag. Allow me to reiterate. On Saturday night, the Utah State men’s basketball team was playing against Weber State. Remember: They bleed purple. So, the idea of waving a purple flag in the very heart of the student section just doesn’t make much sense. I imagine there were several students that didn’t recognize the flag and wondered why anybody would wave anything in the air that wasn’t supporting the team. If you want to show support for your team, you have plenty of widely acceptable options. You can wave a Utah State flag. You can paint yourself blue and, with your fellow brethren, spell out AGGIES on your painted chests. You can even imitate Big Bill and try to distract free throw shooters. All of these things would be helping support the Aggies. Waving some obscure flag for your own self-gratification, however, does NOT support your fellow fans, the team, or the school.
Unity is key at athletic events. The endless pleadings of the Bull Sheet have implored fans to make noise when appropriate – when USU is playing defense – and keep quiet while on offense to allow Diondre Borel to work his magic. We are further encouraged to throw our friends up in the air after each scoring drive. In the Spectrum, we are more experienced with unity. The synchronized waving of thousands of arms while singing the Scotsman demonstrates that as a crowd, we cheer as one. This same organization makes the winning team, losing team chant a magical moment for fans, and a strong reminder for opponents that the Spectrum is our house.
Now clearly the lapse in unity of a fraternity flag flying in the stands is not going to prevent our team from winning. It just seems to be in bad taste. I appreciate all the good that the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and all the Greeks do for the university and the community. Collectively, their many accomplishments are noble and worthy of respect, and I can’t emphasize that enough. This being said, when you come to Aggie games, come to support the team and not yourselves.
Tyler Barlow is a sophomore majoring in computer science engineering. He can be reached at tyler.barlow@aggiemail.usu.edu