I am dismayed to inform you that something tragic has happened to our university; something so subtle that it slipped beneath the radar of everyone. This event, or lack thereof, has shown the ways in which the current University administration colludes with the corruption of big-time athletics at the cost of every single tradition we hold dear. I know that as an institution of higher learning, we have had our share of state-imposed budgetary problems. Naturally, as is the path of any great University, academics must be sacrificed first. After all, what would the college experience be without all the activities we do outside the classroom? Clearly, professors must be the first to go. This, we cannot blame on our current administration. However, this last offense is an unacceptable degradation of our oldest and greatest tradition.
Every year, we have gathered as a university community for one day a year to celebrate a great tradition. In this tradition, there is no race, religion, creed, gender or status. We come together as equals. This annual celebration has continually shown our "commitment to the principles of nondiscrimination that have long been a hallmark of our institution" - a commitment that President McCormick highlights in every one of his emails to the student body. You all know what I'm talking about: Hot Dog Day. Every year we gather on Bishop Beach to eat nondescript beef products as a symbol of everything the University exemplifies. However, this year, on April 10th, as I walked to Hot Dog Day, relocated on the cold, concrete slab underneath the student center, I learned the degree to which McCormick has betrayed our traditions. In years past, we have celebrated to the sounds of great composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. I remember my freshman year, when I enjoyed a delicious dog with my brothers and sisters of Rutgers while listening to the classic "Thong Song" by the revolutionary Sisqo. However, this year, as I looked toward the two cars, blasting the abominable "Crank That" by Soulja Boy, I opened my hand to receive a hot dog and learned to my dismay that we had run out of hot dogs. I despaired. At 4 p.m., halfway through Hot Dog Day, there were no more hot dogs to be had. This tradition has become a mere façade, a way to pretend that we uphold the traditions of our past. What has become of this great University?
Not only was Hot Dog Day a symbol of everything this university stands for (peace, tolerance, love, hope, growth etc), but it was also a way to attract the best and brightest students to our university. Above all else, Hot Dog Day is name recognition. Every time bright high school students saw an Oscar Meyer Weiner commercial, they thought of Rutgers. Every time they went to a barbeque, they heard the banks of the Old Raritan calling their names. What kind of high school student would want to come here if all we offer is football and basketball? Do we truly believe that we can attract prospective students without the true beef product experience? They will see right through us.
Although the future seems dim for us, do not lose hope, friends of Rutgers. We can yet save this university. President McCormick, I exhort you. Please, stop betraying our great heritage. When you sit in your new skybox in the stadium and eat your precious dog, know that you are depriving the students of this university of theirs. Rutgers community, I exhort you to stand up for the great traditions of this university. Do not allow this atrocity to go unpunished. If you have any faith in the ideals of the democratic education, you will not allow this to continue.
Jeff Ulrich is a Rutgers College Senior majoring in Mathematics and Classics. He is also a member of the RU1000 steering committee.
