EDITORIAL

The Crosstown Shootout has marred the Xavier University 2011-12 academic year. The year will always

be fraught with discussion of the fight, the appropriate response from the administration, the role of the

students regarding the brawl, and "reflection sessions." Here at the Newswire, we can't recall how many times

we were forced to explain the brawl to family members or high school friends at Christmas gatherings or

New Year's events. Each day, a new apology letter accumulated in our inboxes until they had reached capacity.

But it seems the University has given the Newswire a second chance at covering this story. Last night, a

reflection meeting was held allowing for discussion about sportsmanship within the bounds of the Jesuit

identity. We at the Newswire hope that the reflection meeting helps to bond together Xavier students and

teach them more productive, responsible and mature means of handling taunting from opposing teams. But

those of us who watched the game from the comfort of Buffalo Wild Wings or didn't watch it at all are sick

of hearing about it. Seriously, broken records died out in the ‘80's.

But if we insist on making mountains out of molehills, we at the Newswire have but one question: what

is the correct level of intensity you wish us to bring, University? Each year we build this rivalry bigger and

bigger and are proud to do so. We camp out for tickets. We make t-shirts. We call all our friends at U.C. and

talk trash. Each year we proclaim that, when filled with the spirit of a young, painted Xavier student crowd,

Cintas Center is one of the most intimidating home courts in college basketball. Each year we condone this

behavior as a form of Muskie pride. In our minds, we're defending our honor. If our sportsmanship is a

problem now, then it has been a problem since Cintas Center first opened in 2000. If the University wishes

us to be more sportsmanlike, they should not so heavily promote the rivalry and glorify the dedicated Xavier

fan. What do you expect us to do? And let's be real, the Crosstown "brawl" is not the first fight to occurr on

a college basketball court (or any sporting venue, for that matter) nor will it be the last.

Sure, we appreciate and admire the administration for their relentless efforts to remind us of the importance

of sportsmanship and Jesuit values, but at some point, enough is enough. The only people still talking

about the fight are the ones sending e-mails to Xavier students apologizing for actions that weren't even

theirs. We chose to come to Xavier for a reason, and for a lot of us, that reason probably has something

to do with the Jesuit values that Xavier promotes, both on and off the basketball court. Witnessing such

unsportsmanlike conduct at Xavier is rare, and thus barely affects the nation's perceptions of our University

and its values. Students need to remember to embody the values of the University in all that they do, but to

keep bringing up the issue is only annoying students and publicly embarrassing the University even more

than the brawl did. Watch SportsCenter. The only mentions Cincinnati gets are about Jerome Simpson's

touchdown tuck. The point is, ESPN moved on, why can't Xavier?