Breaking: Columbia Hockey Season Cancelled for “Stop Being a Pussy” Flyer (UPDATE)
Holy crap — no sooner did we post the below item than we heard the news: Columbia has suspended its club hockey team for the entire fall semester, effective immediately. Its crime: posting a recruiting flyer with the slogan “Stop being a pussy.”
“We recognize that free expression is a vital component of University life,” said athletics director Dianne Murphy in a statement. “This disciplinary action is not related to free speech, but rather the abdication of leadership responsibilities by senior members of the Club, and not working within established Club Sports policies and procedures.”
This strikes us as a pretty epic overreaction; a Spectator sports columnist even found, as we noted below, a university-approved t-shirt with the word used less than two years ago. We should probably disclose here a rather large conflict of interest: half of us used to play on the team, so we know its history. Players were caught drinking on game buses two years ago, and, before that, kind of crashed one of the athletic department vans … into a second athletic department van. But club sports are necessarily rowdy, and if Flyergate is supposed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back — well, then Dianne Murphy has a terrible back.
The full press release is after the jump.
UPDATE 1:28 a.m.: A new group has been created to petition the despotic overlords of the Columbia Athletics Department. The power of Facebook compels you!
PRESS RELEASE
The full disciplinary action, determined after consultation with Columbia College administrators and the Club Sports Governing Board, comprised of student members of the Columbia Club Sports Program and Departmental Club Sports administrators (Brian Jines, Dr. Kenneth Torrey), is as follows:
1) The Columbia University Men’s Ice Hockey Club members in leadership positions are asked to furnish a written public apology to the Columbia University community, recognizing the offensive nature of the recruitment poster. The Club must also acknowledge that it did not seek approval from Club Sports administrators before printing and posting the recruitment flyer.
2) The Columbia University Men’s Ice Hockey Club is prohibited from participating in the Columbia Club Sports Program during Fall Semester 2006, effective immediately. The Men’s Ice Hockey Club will not be recognized as an active program of the Columbia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education until January 16, 2007. As such, the Columbia Men’s Ice Hockey Club will not receive half of its funding for Fiscal Year 2007 from either the Department or the Student Council. The Club will not have the use of Department-owned vans for transportation, and may not participate in organized practices and competition.
3) The Columbia University Men’s Ice Hockey Club is hereby placed on two (2) years probation. Any further violations of Columbia Club Sports policies and regulations over the next two academic years may result in the suspension and/or elimination of the Columbia University Men’s Ice Hockey Club from the Club Sports Program.
“We recognize that free expression is a vital component of University life,” says Dr. Murphy. “This disciplinary action is not related to free speech, but rather the abdication of leadership responsibilities by senior members of the Club, and not working within established Club Sports policies and procedures.”
No further statement from Dr. Murphy is expected at this time.
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September 26th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Columbia needs to chill the fuck out, yo. I’ve been here for a barely a month and there’s already controversy.
September 26th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
agreed. they need to get the sand out of their vaginas
September 26th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Last year a member of the wrestling team was caught drawing swastikas on dormitory walls, with no team repercussions. Fire Dianne Murphy
September 26th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
Absolutely pathetic, there are much larger issues that need to addressed rather than worrying about some irrelevant slogan. Just another example of Columbia officials being drama fags.
September 26th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
You guys want to leave out the stuff about vags and fags? You’re not exactly helping the cause.
September 26th, 2006 at 4:29 pm
Honestly, though this seems like a troubling overreaction by the columbia administration. There are two issues here. The first more pressing one is that the hockey team’s season appears to have been needlessly ended for an issue of free speech where all of the officers have already agreed to an apology, expressed regret and in apparently haven’t had other incidences of questionable behavior in the past.
Secondly, this not only puts a dampening affect on how other club sports can hang out or have to look over their shoulder but continues to make Columbia the most pc of the ivy schools, which in this case can only really surpress activities which aren’t really hurtful on campus.
As for the past comments, ‘fags’ is really unnecessary and while the ‘vag’ comment might be an attempt at humor, it doesn’t really make a substantive point. Still, i’m suprised ivygate is that sensitive about it- the ‘vag’ thing is also likely a south park reference.
September 26th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
Whenever one of the east asian or south asian clubs has a poster for a ‘cultural event’ or ’social event’ and includes an image of an impossibly beautiful and airbrushed woman who is supposedly ‘waiting for you’ at said event, aren’t the cultural and psychological repercussions even more deep-seeded than the hockey team’s simple-minded, superficial, and overt use of a mildly derogatory term? east and south asian women (and the men and women who are supposed to love them) couldn’t possibly live up to such unreasonble images of beauty, don’t you think?
September 27th, 2006 at 6:05 am
please could you put up an URL regarding ” a member of the wrestling team was caught drawing swastikas on dormitory walls”?
September 27th, 2006 at 8:51 am
I’m guessing this person is referring to two players on the baseball team who defaced a common room in Ruggles last year with swastikas and other related signs and words. But there could be another incident with the wrestling team I didn’t know about.
September 27th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
OK, First Amendment Freaks. So listen to this: the Columbia Athletic Department has (or intends to) enforce a restriction preventing all club sports from using the word “team” in association with their organization. (You will note the consistency in the press statement). Therefore, it is NOT the “club hockey team” that was suspended – there is no such thing – but rather the Hockey Club… or Hockey Teamarino or Hockey Teammietinytimbo or Hockey Murpheygoscrewyourself that was suspended. Now, really: Will the next incident involve the “Please be a dear and gather with us on the Equestrian Team” posters? Some doubt Ms. Murphy would be so bold as to make a stink. However, when she says that free expression is “vital” to university life, she is silently thinking: “suckers.” Naturally, stupidity, freedom of expression, and totalitarian control of the english language aside, Ms. Murphy might have a good reason: Implied Endorsement. What if an outsider – or an insider – thought that the Hockey Team was a varsity/endorsed representative of the University?? Underfunded, unruly, foul-mouthed, van-crashing, NYU-loosing… that’s Columbia’s team?? They must not really care about athletics (and naturally, why they’re better-read than you). Still, one might have to question whether Dr. Murphy shouldn’t be smitten on the crown with Stone,Seidman,Sunstein,&Tushnet. Poor lady, she takes so much heat. Really, the swastika kids need to go… and by go, i mean to duke.
September 27th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
I’m no PC nut but I gotta say, that add was pretty stupid. Not b/c it was offensive to woman (which it wasn’t), but b/c it was crude and offensive period. The captains should have known better, but really the coach (or other responsible adult) should be reviewing these b/f they’re posted. If anything, the officers who approved the flyers and the coach should be suspended, not the entire team. Where’s the justice when 20 other players have to pay the price for a stupid decison by a few!?!
September 27th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
It’s true – Columbia wouldn’t expel kids who put swastikas on someone’s dorm walls, but they strike out the hockey team for the word “pussy.”
Here’s a link one of the previous posters wanted: http://www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2005/12/06/News/Students.Charged.In.Hate.Crime-2029353.shtml?norewrite200609272347&sourcedomain=www.columbiaspectator.com
Funny how a Columbia employee says the hateful grafitti was something that “can not and will not be tolerated at Columbia University,” yet the perpetrators got off with a slap on the wrist. It shouldn’t really surprise me, then, that the administration would do something so stupid as to cancel the hockey team’s season over a harmless joke. I go to Columbia and I can’t believe my tuition pays the salaries of idiots who punish a joke but let the people who commit a HATE CRIME continue getting their education here.
September 28th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
these people complaining really need to take a step back from the whole situation and realize that in the grand scheme of things there are *FAR* more important things to waste time and resources on. Even if they would do that and still be pissed, fine. Then they personally should hold a grudge against the hockey team, not support them, vow to never watch a game, etc. Ending their season because 1% of people were somewhat offended is absurd. You don’t see television shows being cancelled because a small portion of viewers were offended.