Bona's students take school spirit to a new level

Pushing, shoving, crowd surfing: it may sound like a scene from a heavy metal rock concert, but these things rank among the things St. Bonaventure students will do for a free WolfPack T-shirt. On Wednesday, Nov. 10, students began lining up outside of the Reilly Center on the Richter Center side at 9 p.m., an hour before the doors were scheduled to open, in the hopes of getting a free T-shirt and a good seat at the pep rally. The first 1,000 students who entered the pep rally received T-shirts.

By 9:30, the line reached past the Richter Center.

Pep rally organizers tried a new system for handing out T-shirts this year. Signs were placed over each entry door specifying where each size lined up. Each size was supposed to be called one at a time. When the doors were about to open, students frantically pushed their way up against the doors to the Reilly Center.

According to Drew Brannan, a junior accounting major and ticket distributor for the event, this system did not go completely as planned.

"We were supposed to let each size in one at a time, but once one door was opened the rush was on," Brannan said.

Upon entry, students received a ticket with their size written on it. At the conclusion of the pep rally, students went to separate entrances to pick up their T-shirts.

Kyle Zappia, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major, said the distribution of T-shirts was organized better than previous years.

"Last year we just went straight to the gym and the performances were first," Zappia said. "(At the end), each corner had a size for the T-shirts. Everyone ran out and grabbed a shirt. People were grabbing two or three shirts, so not everyone got one."

Michelle Scannell, marketing and promotions coordinator for athletics, described the difficulty of distributing the T-shirts.

"Unfortunately, there was a rush," she said. "We told (students) we were opening the doors at 10 p.m. It was their choice to line up at 9 p.m."

Scannell said the doors did not open until 10 p.m. because the women's basketball team had practice until 9:45 p.m.

Stephen Ross, a sophomore accounting major, said students got rowdy while waiting in line.

"When they put the signs up, I got pushed right up," he said. "Really small girls were getting pushed around. I had a backpack on, so people kept pulling on it."

Kelly O'Dell, a freshman journalism and mass communication major, described how she began crowd surfing while waiting in line for the tickets.

"I was with my group of friends when we were rushed to the door," O'Dell said. "Some kid asked who the smallest one was and I was like 'I am.' The next thing I knew I was up in the air."

She described a scary moment as the mob carried her overhead.

"We had a little scare. I almost fell, but someone caught me, and I was floating again," she said.

According to O'Dell, the crowd carried her from the line for extra large shirts to the line for medium shirts.

As the crowd grew outside, the T-shirt ticket distributors stood inside anticipating the doors being opened.

"I thought I was going to have it easy passing out all the small T-shirt tickets, but the girls actually turned out to be quite feisty," Brannan said.

After the rush to get T-shirt tickets subsided, students took their seats in the Reilly Center for the pep rally. Events included performances by the step team, the hip-hop team and the cheerleaders. Under spotlights, the announcer introduced each member of the men's and women's basketball teams.

Both Mark Schmidt, men's basketball head coach, and Jim Crowley, women's basketball head coach, spoke about team spirit and the season ahead.

Scannell set up the schedule of events for the pep rally.

"From last year's script, I changed it up, knowing how the teams are going to perform," she said.

The overall reaction from the pep rally was positive. Students, including O'Dell, expressed happiness to get their shirts and watch the performances.

"It was a nice break from the school work I had to do," she said.

Students had mixed views about how the T-shirt distribution went. Ross offered a solution.

"They should just give every student one," Ross one. "They could just throw them in our mail boxes."

Zappia said he was happy with how the distribution went compared to last year.

"Aside from getting shoved into the door, the actual process of getting a T-shirt went quicker (than last year)," he said.

Scannell thought handing out the T-shirts was successful over all.

"I'm sure they will do it this way again but with added security," she said.

Scannell said that students can look forward to other promotional giveaways throughout the season, including the distribution of T-shirts and rally towels. An announcement will go out beforehand.

At tonight's men's basketball game against Binghamton, popcorn megaphone holders will be sold for $5 with refills for $1.

Brannan described the team spirit and excitement seen at the Reilly Center the night of the pep rally.

"The excitement for Bonaventure basketball was tremendous," he said. "I think the pep rally and distribution of T-shirts turned out to be a fun time for everyone. I'm just glad I was given a shirt in advance."

gradyea09@sbu.edu