So yesterday was one of those days in college where everyone goes off to watch our modern day gladiators fight it out on the football field. I wasn't there because, well, I really don't care about football even a little bit, but I feel like I really could've been there the whole time after all the talk and news. Apparently, Mary Sue Coleman, the current president of the University of Michigan, spoke at the game during the halftime show. Now everyone (including Michigan students) is obsessed with the idea that her speech was drunkenly given and that this, somehow, makes her a horrible person that should be made fun of, and by association, the school a horrible school that should be made fun of as well. Now I'm not one to be all up in that "Go Blue!" business, heck, I usually put on a yellow shirt to pretend I'm patriotic or spirited or whatever just so people don't bug me about it, but I find there to be a lot of problems to this ridiculous argument.
First, it does not matter even the slightest if Mary Sue was drunk. She is over 21 and she can therefore legally drink alcohol at practically anytime. The majority of the Big House is drunk on game day, so why should she be any different? Does this really give means to make her a joke?
Second, I listened to the video. To me, it sounds more like someone who is a nervous public speaker, sick, or recovering from a stroke. All of these things are serious and require zero need for rude comments. I don't know if any of these things are the case, and they could very well likely not be, but they are certainly things to consider. After this year, Mary Sue is retiring from her position as president. Did anyone consider that maybe this poor woman is just sick or tired. She was just trying to make some encouraging statements at a game that wasn't happening to go very well for the school she works at. Is there any need to punish her in her final year, or ever for that matter?
Third, just because people have created these silly rivalries between schools, doesn't mean they have to use humans to fuel these rivalries. That is a manipulation that removes people from other people in a way that just doesn't make any sense. Why should anyone be mean to her, or anyone else? People get all excited when their team beats the other team at a game of football. They scream and shout that they are the best, but they actually didn't do anything. They didn't play for hours and hours against a bunch of big hulking men, so they didn't do anything at all. And how does one define best, anyways? Best at what? Certainly not being genuine human beings if you feel the need to be mean to others for the pure joy of it.
Basically, I'm writing this post to ask everyone to stop being so cruel. Think deeper about the situation. Maybe President Coleman was drunk. Maybe she wasn't. Does it really matter? I'm pretty sure we can all agree that the answer is no.
Also, I would say this about anyone, not just the president of my school, so I don't need any annoying comments about that. However, if you would like to leave a comment about humanity or anything of the sort, I'd love to read them.
