OUR OPINION: Student representatives on the Football Task Force should unite with alumni for one cause, the extension of tailgating, and stop focusing on smaller matters such as pass outs and seating arrangements.
The Football Task Force convened for the first time this semester and is already making leeway in the extension of tailgating hours. Student representatives on the task force are on the right track in their requests; however, their plan lacks focus and tactfulness.
Representatives like Bobby Mills and proxy John Mickey are shifting the focus of what really matters — tailgating — by bringing up other issues such as pass outs, seating arrangements and clearing the parking lot 15 minutes before kick-off.
Ed Stack, the associate executive director of the Wolfpack Club, said he has talked to alumni and they want exactly what students want: tailgating to get back to its glory days.
If the alumni are on our side and the students have a clear, concise plan, we will get what we want and deserve.
As far as that plan is concerned, Will Quick, student body president is only pushing for a mere two hour extension. That isn’t enough.
Tailgating should start at dawn the day of a game, regardless of kickoff time. We understand the impulse to come up with a compromise to appease the administration — but that shouldn’t be the case when the majority, students and alumni, wants something different.
Frivolous suggestions from Mills and Mickey aren’t helping the situation. Pass outs don’t matter. Get rid of them in exchange for tailgating hours. Seating arrangements don’t matter; the system implemented last year works just fine. Clearing the parking lot 15 minutes before game time will be a fruitless crusade — it will irritate people more than it will help them.
If student representatives’ priorities are all over the place, they will get nowhere. Someone needs to step up, take the reins and focus the task force’s efforts on tailgating.
Our biggest ally right now is alumni, and because they are the University’s primary donors, they have the most pull. With our spirit and persistence combined, we can do this.
This is our last chance to fix tailgating. If we nickel and dime now, we will never restore tailgating to what it was. Student representatives should dial in their efforts to increase tailgate time to start at dawn — no compromises — because that is what students and alumni want.
