Do you feel helpless?
I do. I feel as if I am a number; a number in a group that I don’t want to be a part of. This group I’m talking about is a crowd, looking at what has happened over the past few weeks regarding the hate crimes on campus. I feel like I cannot do a thing except watch. Just watch, and hope.
Do you feel confused?
I do. I cannot comprehend what would stir someone to do something so hurtful that they would not take too kindly if it were done to them. I don’t understand how someone can completely forget that we, as people, all have permission to lead enjoyable, innocent, friendly lives no matter the color of our skin or the religion we choose to follow. I just don’t get it.
Do you feel angry?
I do. I wish as much harm onto those who hated as they put onto those innocent young men.
Do you feel like you need to do something?
I do. I feel like I cannot just sit in my room and stare at a computer screen and wish that hate crimes do not happen again on this campus. That should not be all I can do. Can we, as the student body, do more?
Yes. And not only can we do something, but we can do something together. That would be (once the season starts and the young men are back on the court) going to as many basketball games as possible and showing our unbridled support of our fellow bobcats.
Turning to sports in a time like this might seem like a very unhelpful distraction, but think about whom these last few hate crimes have been towards. They have been attacks against three men’s basketball players, three Bobcats who have very promising futures here at Quinnipiac.
Did the hate crimes threaten the entire team? To a bystander, the answer is a logistical “no.” But for those who understand what team unity is all about, this entire team was on the receiving end of those hateful acts. You live as a team, you die as a team, you get through the tough times as a team.
And these are some tough times. With one fell swoop, these men’s futures on this earth, let alone leading this team, were put into question.
But, this gives us who are in the aforementioned crowd a chance to make a difference.
You see, we have the opportunity to take the wheel and turn that hypothetical crowd into a real one. Those who know sports at the least understand that a crowd sometimes can be much more than a group of people; it can be a 6th man, a heartbeat of a town, or the voice of a people.
We, as a student body, have to get up off of our supposedly “apathetic” asses and cheer the hell out of our basketball team. These are our men. They represent us as much as we represent them. Plus, everyone wants their voice to be heard, and what better way than to be heard screaming at the top of your lungs, wishing the best for our boys in blue and gold.
Will this solve the problem? Probably not. But no problem such as hate is solved by a single, large step. Small, yet important steps need to be taken, and we as student body have the chance to lead unprecedented numbers into the Sports Center to make it known that we love our Quinnipiac Bobcats. All we need is to take our own personal wheel and turn it towards the Bank, and our friends will follow.
Again, this would be a single step within a large staircase leading to solving the problem of “hate” here at Quinnipiac. But, the last time I checked, a staircase is not built with one large step. And who knows, one small step could pave the way for many more to come.
I feel that we, as Bobcats, need to take the small step.
Do you?

Alex Birsh, QU sophomore