<p>First of all, most people outside of Alabama don’t even know that this is happening, so it doesn’t reinforce anything to others. And, if other schools were in session at the same time as the championship, then they would likely close, too. The problem is that most other schools have a better (later) start schedule so they don’t have to “close” because they’re already closed - lol. </p>
<p>Since you’re concerned about Alabama’s image being further tarnished, then you should be advocating for a permanent change to the start date of the spring semester, so no such “tarnishment” is ever possible.</p>
<p>Many high schools cancel classes when their schools go to state championships, so this shouldn’t sound too strange to anyone who’s from a high school with powerhouse teams.</p>
<p>Doesn’t every college routinely excuse athletes/band members/cheerleaders from classes to get on buses/planes to travel elsewhere? Is that sending the message that sports is more important? Who’s arguing against that? That is a bigger deal in some ways since these people miss a day of class at least once a week during their season.</p>
<p>Anyone who is fearful that they’ll suffer education-wise can spend the 3 days in the library with their text books working ahead. But, I doubt any are that worried. lol</p>
<p>I’m going to remain neutral on the class canceling issue for football, but I would hope that the students would be able to move into their dorms as originally planned, and that food service would be available as well for those students.</p>
<p>montegut, my understanding is the dorms are open etc. </p>
<p>feenotype… good for you, i think your point is well taken and as posted i tend to agree. but the decision has been made. i still dont think that it necessitates any changes in alabama schedule though just because they are in the bowl this year.</p>
<p>As for the non popularity of canceling classes because of football, let me just say that the City of New Orleans shuts down when the Saints are playing at Home on a weekday. </p>
<p>Many parades have already canceled this year because of the prospect of the Saints going to the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>montegut, the south takes its football seriously LOL. but i know a big number of northern people just as crazy for their football, baseball or basketball</p>
<p>whether it is good or bad, who knows. if it creates a stereotype so be it. if you think it is stupid, then dont go to a place you think is stupid but for alot of posters on this board it sounds like the benefit of a free tuition or free ride, or great programs/honors etc would easily outweigh a football stereotype.,</p>
<p>If you don’t think anybody outside the state know about this, please google “Alabama canceling class.” Your point about other school doing the same thing is refuted by existing evidence. Please refer to post #35 where I show that UF and Ohio State did not cancel classes when faced with a similar situation to UA.</p>
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<p>That matter is irrelevant to what is being discussed.</p>
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<p>I also think that sends the wrong message.</p>
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<p>Again, different subject. Classes aren’t being canceled for them. They are being excused for absences.</p>
<p>I said…“most people outside of Alabama.” And that is true. Don’t put words in my post that weren’t there. That’s a straw man argument. And, yes, there are outsiders who will ALWAYS have bigotted ideas about the South (which is funny since many of them think of themselves as such open-minded people…lol …I have a cousin who thinks going to Vandy is “red neck.” ) The same people who criticize Alabama for doing this will completely ignore it when their own colleges do something similar.</p>
<p>feeno…get over this…in the whole picture of your college life, this is NOTHING. LOL</p>
<p>I’m finding it ironic that you are lecturing me on logical dishonesty when you keep trying to change the argument, but you’re right, this really is small potatoes, which is why I’ve repeatedly stated that I’m in disagreement with this in principle only. But, “get over it” is nothing but the recourse of those who can neither defend their argument any longer nor concede it.</p>
<p>I can’t understand why you’re so upset over this. I’m not trying to change the argument. If you remember, I didn’t see the big need to cancel classes in the first place. But, I also realize that I couldn’t possibly know the full ramification of keeping classes in session. Dr. Bonner met with a lot of people who know a lot more than we do and they came to the conclusion to cancel classes.</p>
<p>Some have tried to argue that this is some kind of endorsement of under-aged drinking - which it isn’t. It seems to me that it has become an accomodation. Some have argued that the school places too much importance on football. Well, most of schools with top 25 teams do place a lot of importance on football. Oh well. The school benefits immensely from having winning teams. </p>
<p>Believe me, I can defend my position til the hell freezes over. LOL</p>
<p>I don’t know if you’ve had finals this week, but if you did, I hope they went well. :)</p>
<p>I’m actually not upset about this, but I feel very strongly about it. And thanks for your kind words - I’ve got a final and a proposal due tomorrow, so this has been a nice stress-reliever (as strange as that sounds) :). Moving on…</p>
<p>I think you are latching the “underage drinking” angle and, by doing that, risking forgetting the other arguments. </p>
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<p>Part of college is about learning to become an adult. In real life, as an adult, you can’t skip work because your team went to the Final Four or the Super Bowl and you wanna go hang out. You can take vacation time to go if you want, but your employer isn’t going to give you the week off if it is a serious business. Guys to learn that real life doesn’t stop for football (at least not officially) and neither should school.</p>
<p>Y’all keep trying to inform me that we take football seriously here (which is actually amusing because I’ve lived in Tuscaloosa since before UA won their previous national championship) . Well, Florida take football seriously, too, I believe. Yet when they were in the BCS Championship Game and thus faced a similar situation as UA does this year (they played in Phoenix in 2007 and Miami in 2009), this is what they did:</p>
<p>“most people outside of Alabama don’t even know that this is happening”</p>
<p>I can’t believe someone hasn’t said this already, but this was a topic during ESPN’s “Around the horn” and “Pardon the Interruption”, so many people outside of Alabama do know about it.</p>
<p>I really don’t have any opinion on whether they should’ve done this based on the “message” they’re sending, but I will be enjoying 4 more days at home, which I’m grateful for.</p>
<p>Just so you know how serious Alabama football really is–a local attorney is now trying to have a court date postponed because of the game. He explained to the judge that he had tickets and wanted to go to the game; his last point in the papers according to the news was the comment “Roll Tide”! Don’t know yet if the judge is going to allow a continuance and again, I am not taking sides. Just thought I would share a little more of the Alabama football madness that exists!!!</p>
<p>another football story! a local car dealer here has a great publicity plan for the game… if you buy a car this week before the game and if texas is shut out (scores 0) your car is free!</p>
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