Goodbye, Knickerbocker Rally

There are few events that fomented a greater sense of school spirit among Columbia students than Midnight Mania. Even so, the Athletic Department canceled the annual pep rally because it did not boost attendance at basketball games. The department's decision to discontinue Midnight Mania is understandable, but it should replace the rally with events that will prize school spirit as highly as attendance.

The Athletic Department started Midnight Mania in 2003 to increase attendance at basketball games. It drew students in with giveaway T-shirts, foam hands, and a sense of school spirit not often seen at Columbia. Unfortunately, an increasing number of home games scheduled over winter break and decreased capacity in Levien Gymnasium have caused average attendance at basketball games to fall since the rally's inception, which has convinced the Athletic Department to ditch the event. Money that once went to Midnight Mania will now be used to pay for bus transportation to games and a rewards program that will enter fans into raffles for prizes such as laptops and meal plans. Unlike Midnight Mania, this new approach rewards students for a season's worth of attendance instead of one night of school spirit.

In place of this rewards program, the Athletic Department should initiate social events that draw students to a wider variety of sports. Students are unlikely to sit through multiple games just for a chance to win a meal plan or airplane ticket, but they will be more inclined to stop by the gym to pick up a free T-shirt and scream the Columbia fight song. Instead of prizing attendance at basketball games alone, the department should support more teams, particularly those whose Ivy success is insufficiently advertised. Initiating social events that spotlight teams beyond football and basketball will increase attendance at sporting events in general while encouraging the school spirit Midnight Mania used to inspire.

From a student perspective, Midnight Mania was an excellent program and its cancellation is unfortunate, but the rally is not necessarily irreplaceable. If the Athletic Department can create social incentives to popularize a variety of sporting events, then the demise of Midnight Mania will not be in vain.