YSU tailgate parties boost team spirit; let them be

YSU tailgate parties boostteam spirit; let them be
EDITOR:
I recently read an editorial in The Jambar and an article in The Vindicator that I, as a YSU alumnus, felt the need to respond to. The writer of the editorial in question denounced drinking in the tailgate lots and implied that YSU fans were unable to make & quot;logical, ethical and legal & quot; decisions.
In all my years of supporting YSU athletics, I have never seen any fans fail to make & quot;logical, ethical and legal & quot; decisions. YSU fans have consistently proven that they are capable, responsible, law-abiding citizens. I can promise that if they are punished for being so, game attendance will further slip, causing revenues across the board to spiral downward. If people are penalized for celebrating their team responsibly, it will take years to rebuild an already crumbling fan base.
It is a credit to the YSU football program, and to its fans, that so many of them have continued to support a team that is a far cry from the YSU football teams fans are accustomed to. These people in question are not fair-weather fans -- and until the football program has time to rebuild, they're all we've got.
The editorial also implied that there were not proper controls in place to curb excessive behavior in the tailgate lots. Campus police, city police and sheriff officers patrol each lot to ensure order. They also check identification when they feel it's necessary -- I have seen it happen. This system is not foolproof. But, nothing is.
Even the NCAA has been reluctant to set forth regulations on this issue. It has prohibited the sale of alcohol at NCAA championship events but has said little about fans' consumption of alcohol. In a report from the Sportsmanship and Fan Behavioral Summit, the NCAA merely made suggestions and has said that it is the responsibility of the colleges and their surrounding communities to regulate alcohol consumption during college sporting events.
It can be argued that while the tailgate lots are public property, YSU, through the sale of tailgate passes, has made each space the private property of its purchaser. On private property, the consumption of alcohol is legal.
As YSU fans, we have seen both the sweetness of victory and the bitterness of defeat. Through it all, we have continued to support our team with pride and have always acted in a manner that YSU and the community could be proud of. There have been no riots, our athletes have always been safe, and celebrations have always been conducted responsibly. We should be pleased that YSU fans have always been a source of pride in this community. If they are treated with the respect they deserve, I am confident that they will continue to be.
CATHI RESATAR
Hubbard
YSU Class of 2001
Terri Schiavo case remindsof the need for living wills
EDITOR:
The case of Terri Schiavo, an invalid who has been in a coma for 13 years whose parents want her to live and a husband who wants to pull the plug on her life, has caused a stir in national opinion on who should have the right to administrate a mercy killing.
Everyone should have a living will for their own personal wishes in case of a catastrophic illness.
If you don't have a living will, you're telling your loved ones to keep you alive whatever it takes, and, since the days of Hippocrates, it has been the physician's duty to keep a person alive. No one should have the right to snuff out a person's life with a court order.
A message to the assisted-suicide and mercy-killing gurus: If a person is diagnosed with a terminal disease, that person is going to die in the very near future. If a person isn't diagnosed with a terminal disease, he or she is going to die when his or her biological life span is up
The point is, don't ever let it get to the stage that anyone other than yourself makes the decision when you are going to die.
STEVE KOPA
Weirton, W.Va.