Since the basketball game against Springdale, students have been upset about the Springdale student section breaking our bleachers. According to social media posts following the game, this was keeping with “tradition”.

In previous years Springdale has broken our bleachers, and we have even broken them ourselves. This resulted in the removal of our student section bleachers. So we admit they aren’t the best quality bleachers. However, it is the fact that they intentionally came to destroy them and then advertised it on social media.

During the fall, the football stadium was vandalized by unidentified Fayetteville students before a game against Springdale. Springdale students were outraged and requested our support at the game. Now they are being hypocrites by disrespecting our basketball arena and by expecting no repercussions.

What consequences have been issued for the destruction of school property? By doing nothing, the administration condones the actions of those students involved in the “tradition.” If no punishment is rendered, this “tradition” of theirs will continue to happen to not only our school, but to others as well. We, students, deserve to know that our administrators will defend and protect our dignity.

Those who originally came to the game as fans, left the game as criminals and violated the law. According to Arkansas State Law, title five, subtitle four, chapter 38, “a person commits the offense of criminal mischief in the first degree if he or she purposely and without legal justification destroys or causes damage to any property of another.”

The way we understand this law is if someone has the intent to destroy someone else’s property, it’s illegal. Destroying someone’s property usually involves malice. Based on tweets and posts on Facebook, those fans came with the intent to destroy and then were proud of their behavior.

Had this been anywhere else, we believe that the property owner would’ve filed charges against them. The school can easily do this by identifying those who participated in it through pictures posted on Instagram or tweets on Twitter.

Springdale’s actions and the administration’s lack of action have not set a good example for future student sections. People aren’t always going to be able to cover their illegal activity up. What they did was illegal, and they need to face the consequences of their actions.