In this letter, I am stating that I am not at all alone in the Ole Miss Community with my dismay of the inconsiderate and unthinking actions during tailgating on the Grove and the Circle during the home football games.
Whatever the result of the Ole Miss football games, we all know that almost every blade of grass will not survive the estimated 40,000 people trampling and stampeding on the Grove and the Circle.
By late October or early November, just about every blade of grass will be gone. Even with so many people and so much equipment, the Grove and the Circle remain a muddy eyesore, with unpleasant odors until late March.
In almost all other activities, such as Double Decker, Concerts, and Graduations, the Grove and the Circle retain their gracious beauty. Especially after the memorial services of the six people of Oxford and the Ole Miss community that had died in the plane crash, the Grove and the Circle remained a cherished resource for all of us here at Ole Miss.
The main reasons that this outright disrespect of using the resources and not returning the property in the same condition is wrong is in the Ole Miss Creed from the UM Book. The first line, “I believe in good stewardship of our resources,” The second line, “I will treat property with respect.” Ole Miss has the responsibility that events are conducted in an orderly fashion and best interest of Ole Miss.
As for an alternative to trampling and stampeding on the Grove, The Tad Smith Coliseum, The Pavilion, The Manning Center would be most adequate for public use, especially with bathrooms available with running water.
I do not want to make unhappy the thousands of people at the tailgating. As members of the community of Ole Miss, students, faculty, fans, guests and alumni should have the basic courtesy of leaving resources in the same condition.
William Patrick Gibson is a resident of Oxford.
