To the Editor:

I am writing in response to the article in the March 2nd University News entitled “Blue Crew not living up to expectations”. This article and its author are ignorant. Mr. McShane’s asinine comments belittle the work that our members have done over the past few years and I will not sit back and let this hypocrite demean the integrity of these members or this organization. First off, Mr. McShane did not feel it necessary to do any sort of research when writing his article, so let me help him out before I respond to his comments. Blue Crew has been around for six years. When I became President two seasons ago, we had less than 100 people in the organization; now we have 409. The Blue Crew executive board, our devoted members, and I have worked extremely hard during that time to build up this organization, with things like our annual Billiken Madness event to kick off the basketball season that started last year and “Blue Crew Families” to meet other members and get to know the players.

I got the impression from the article that Mr. McShane is a Blue Crew Spectator: someone who apparently doesn’t even sit with the group and waits for someone else to do his cheering for him; in other words his opinion is, “If someone else isn’t doing it, why should I?” If he did not like us so much DURING the season, why didn’t he say something then, rather than wait until the season is over? At the beginning of this semester, we had a general member Blue Crew meeting where we invited all 409 members to come and express their opinions, ideas, and concerns with the executive board and to help in planning the rest of the season. I am assuming that he did not make that meeting because I failed to hear these comments which he expressed in his article.

I am tired of people who criticize us but who do not do anything to help improve and change the organization. Mr. McShane: Why didn’t YOU stand up in the Blue Crew section during a game and hype up the people around you? Unless you tried to do something about it during a game, you have no right to harass the students and devoted Blue Crew members who actually put the work into making this organization better than it has ever been in the past. If you feel it necessary to mock our group, you are a hypocrite. You are a prime example of the problems you think you see in the organization. We have said time and time again that the Blue Crew is what you make it, so if anything you should rename your article, “Pat McShane not living up to expectations”.

Blue Crew Executive Board elections are in four weeks. If you have such a problem with us, do something about it. Run for something. Hell, run for President if you think you can do so much better. If not, sit down, shut up, and continue being a hypocrite. Obviously you’ve already had 17 home games this season to practice.

GO BILLS!!

Diane Blaskiewicz
Blue Crew President