Sun Column on Lynah Crowd Control

A very well-written piece was published in the Sun (http://www.cornelldailysun.com/articles/7113/) just before Thanksgiving regarding the perhaps overagressive nature of the Lynah ushers/authorities. Seems to me that the situation has gotten out of control, with students now being ejected almost arbitrarily. Thought it might be interesting to get some feedback from members of this forum on how the Lynah staff has handled the issue to this point in the season.

Well, I had a run in at the Harvard game. I'll try not to put much spin on it, but..

Well, I am in the band, and as one officer was patting me down, I said to him, in what I thought was a joking manner, "So what are you doing later?". Now I preclude this with the fact that I've always been able to joke with people patting me down before. Well, the officer said he took "great personal offence" at my "inappropriate comment", and took my ticket before I ever entered Lynah. And that was that, I wasn't about to start an issue.

Most people I told thought it was funny that I was thrown out (well, not allowed in) at such a small comment, but, take it as you will. One of my friends who knows the police said to me that this particular officer was very anti-homosexual comments (whether my friend meant he is a champion for gay rights or homophobic, I don't know), ,so maybe it was just the wrong joke to the wrong officer. I just thought I would add my own perspective.

So you can be thrown out for offending the cops? Wow... That's a new low.

I would have absolutely started an issue had I been you. They are there to make sure the game crowd cheers cleanly "for the kids", not for whatever power trip this rent-a-cop feels like having in his miserable existence.

In those situations, I always like to ask for a manager/supervisor before actually doing as told by the line employee. Usually the manager/supervisor will see the big picture and will mitigate any personal vendetta that individual might have againgst you or your actions.

> So you can be thrown out for offending the cops? Wow... That's a new low.

It's a low but it's not new. There have been problems with individual ushers from time to time throughout the years. They have been very, very rare, and to be honest they have usually started with provocation from the students, but they have happened.



> I would have absolutely started an issue had I been you. They are there to make sure the game crowd cheers cleanly "for the kids"

Well, technically, they are there to ensure appropriate crowd behavior for everybody, not just the kids. Personally I could live without most of Lynah's crowd profanity, not because it's obscene (I hear worse when I drop my step-daughter off at middle school) but because it's a crutch in lieu of having anything clever or funny to say. Having said which, I'd never ask for someone to be removed short of intimidation or really over-the-top obnoxious behavior.


> not for whatever power trip this rent-a-cop feels like having in his miserable existence.

Look, let's be fair. These guys either volunteer their time to the program or get paid a pittance. They're an asset to the program, just like the rest of the support staff that toils in utter obscurity. If there is an individual who you think there may be a problem with, I would suggest talking to them politely at an appropriate time (i.e., not while they are trying to do their job, or when you have been drinking), and listening to their side. I believe 99% of the cases can be resolved without incident.

There's no Constitutional right to behave however you want at a Cornell hockey game. Once you enter the building you're agreeing to play by the rules. The onus is on you as the fan.

Well, they're not rent-a-cops. The games are always teeming with Cornell Peace Officers (that's what our police officers are called). And I don't know what they get paid, but I would imagine it's more than a pittance.

As for the red-jacket ushers, I wouldn't imagine they get payed too well, but they get to see Cornell hockey games for free. And I was also told by a friend that most of them do it because it makes them employees of Cornell and thus they get membership to the R.T.J Golf Course come summer time for merely a pittance.

And I wouldn't say cops that throw someone out for a joke before they come in, toss a random someone from the crowd who uttered a word that rhymes with puck and starts with s or f are doing their job. Before the Harvard game re: throwing stuff onto the ice someone lamented that some of the student fans think that they're more important then the game. I'd say that the staff in question feel the same way about themselves.

I'm not arguing that individual ushers or cops don't act outrageously. I'm sure in some (albeit rare) instances they do.