A trio of unassuming white cards lying on a table in Free Speech Alley were filled Monday with hundreds of student signatures. The cards are the core of a Student Government project soliciting support for Tiger Band and student’s opinions on recent cheer restrictions. At the end of the week, the cards will be sent to administrators at the Tiger Band office. Some traditional football game cheers have come under fire following recent student practices. During the Sept. 22 game against the University of South Carolina and the Oct. 6 game against the University of Florida, students added vulgarities to some cheer chants. In the former case, the band ceased playing the touchdown song for the rest of the game. This echoes the events of last fall when the “Tiger Rag,” another traditional football song, was removed from the band’s pregame program. Though the official reason for the Tiger Rag’s removal was a timing issue, some band members suggested it was because of the profane chant associated with the song’s performance. Signs hanging from the card table encouraged students to thank the band and protest cheer censorship. Members of the SG executive staff and the Freshman Leadership Council manned the table all day. The card covers featured large bold letters expressing thanks from the campus community. Inside, the cards were nearly completely filled with student messages in blue and black ink. Many students wrote thanks to the entire band while some left notes to specific band members. Other signatures offered words of encouragement or advised the band to ignore pressure from the administration. One anonymous comment simply read “Tiger Band is sexy!” SG Director of Communication Will Harris said though the response was positive, some students were surprised at the stance taken by SG. “Lots are expressing disbelief that Student Government is actually standing up for students,” Harris said. SG Chief of Staff Operations Clark Lanius said the cards will be available for more student signatures today and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
—Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]