Reviving the Goat's Head Rivalry?

[Ed. note: The following piece was written by a member of the Newspeak Staff, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the entire staff.]

As reported in last week's Newspeak, six members of the Class of 1996 stole the Goat's Head in an attempt to revive the age-old tradition of the Goat's Head Rivalry. As a senior, I have been appalled at the attention this group has received for their prank and for the numerous crimes they committed in order to obtain the sacred goat.

First off, these individuals stalked a member of the WPI staff and assaulted him in the Higgins House parking lot. They stole both goats, one of which has historical value, and defaced it, having the buttocks of the old goat engraved with a 9 and a 6.

Apparently all four of the above crimes, punishable by law, were forgotten because of the fact that the intent of these individuals was to reignite a WPI tradition. That's completely irrelevant and beside the point. I am extremely displeased with WPI officials for failure to press criminal charges against the group just because their intentions were good. Remember, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

I am a member of the Class of 1996. I am not too proud of that fact at this moment, because I just watched members of my class, who happen to have been members of Skull, the so-called senior honor society disrupt the singing of WPI's alma mater by running across the football field at half-time with a banner that said "Class of 1996 has your goat!" I never even saw the goat itself, but as the alma mater ended, no one in the stands applauded because the singers from the Student Alumni Society and Simple Harmonic Motion had been upstaged by the rowdy seniors.

Now, rumor has it that SAS helped orchestrate the disruption, but I still find it highly inappropriate. It's hard enough to get people to learn our alma mater (it's a bit outdated and stuffy) much less have any respect for it. I was really quite annoyed by the fact that these students were not applauded for their performance because of members of my class.

Even more disturbing is the fact that these individuals acted on behalf of my class, in the name of the Class of 1996. A couple friends and I volunteered at the game to assist other members of the class in showing the goat at the game, but we were turned away because they "already had people lined up" for "the presentation." Now, if this "presentation" was to be by the Class of 1996, why weren't they glad to have the help? Certainly, if they were afraid of the juniors plotting to steal it, they would have realized that there is safety in numbers!

All I can say is that I really question the revival of this rivalry if it is to be between a few select members of each class, as it seems to be between members of Skull and the juniors in SAS. It's really not fair to act on behalf of 600 plus people if you're going to commit four crimes punishable by law to obtain the goal and then pin it on those people.

Of course, most would say that I am just jealous not to be a member of Skull, but frankly, elitist and secretive groups just aren't my style. That, however, is another issue...