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What you are about to read is a story that has gone untold for far too long. A story that concerns a great injustice at Towson University, one that affects a group of students who simply seek to do what they love, without the oppression of a relentless regime. For those individuals who make the trek to the Burdick gymnasium each weekday at 4 p.m., this is for you.
For over a year now gyms one and two of Burdick Hall have become extensions of my dorm room. Day after day, rain or shine, I, along with a number of other students, congregate in Burdick with hopes of quenching my thirst for the game of basketball. Once the games have begun, you can count on a crowd both on the court, and on the sidelines for hours on end. Show up late, and you are likely to wait some time before your opportunity to play arises.
However much is left to be desired in the only gymnasium open to all students on campus. Tightly enforced regulations make the security at the front desk of the Glen Towers seem lenient. Instead of running the fast break, we are forced to walk on egg shells. Instead of displaying the God-given athleticism the Burdick faithful have been blessed with, we shy away from touching the rim in fear of being given the boot.
Suddenly the game of basketball has lost its innocence. Burdick security tells us it’s “only a game” when arguments about the score arise, but monitor the every move of grown men and women who want no more than to enjoy the game we have a passion for. Sophisticated college students like us have no need for three, or even four, security people in the gym at a time.
If you happen to forget you OneCard you might as well go home. No students are allowed to enter the hallway leading to the gym without a valid TU ID. Unlike most schools (a.k.a. every other university in the United States), our gym is only open for a hand-full of hours each day (4 to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 4 to 8 p.m. on Fridays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends). This is apparently due to the lack of available workers for hours prior and following the aforementioned time slots. However, the weight room is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. If those in charge are able to have people monitoring the weight room for that period of time, why not do the same for those seeking to get an early, or late, game of basketball in.
Despite all of this — the strictly enforced hours and innumerable security personnel — the coup de gras is a newly added sign. One with an ominous presence that spoils the dream of doing what every basketball player has envisioned doing. Something so simple, so trivial that brings smiles to the faces of surrounding spectators. Something that has become an art form, with legends such as David Thompson, Julius Erving and Michael Jordan serving as the Picassos, Van Goghs and Da Vincis of what we all know as “The Dunk.”
The sign hangs from the balcony of Gym one, warning all comers that not only dunking, but simply touching the rim, is enough to get you kicked out of Burdick. In one instance I came within inches of touching the rim, and was screamed at by the power-hungry staff. Denying the athletic abilities of students is an injustice to those who have spent countless hours fine-tuning their skills. You might as well tell Barry Bonds that he isn’t allowed to hit home runs, or tell Terrell Owens that he isn’t allowed to fly past the Ravens’ defense en route to 81-yard touchdown passes.
If those in charge of informal recreation are concerned about damaging Burdick equipment, why don’t they take something out of the $25,000 a year I pay in tuition, room and board to buy break-away rims.
Instead of denying our freedom to enjoy the greatest game on earth, why not reward our passion and desire to make use of this school’s facilities. There is no need for the sign. No need for the heightened security. We mean no harm; we simply want to play basketball.
Darnay Tripp is sophomore mass communication major and The Towerlight’s assistant sports editor.
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