Last Thursday night we had an incredible turnout of students for MidKnight Madness and then another terrific student “Blackout” on Friday night for the Calvin-Hope volleyball matchup. Thank you for your strong support! We need you again this weekend for the MIAA Tournaments.

On Saturday morning I was made aware that some of our cheering on Friday night was the type of cheering that made me cringe — i.e., targeted sexual harassment. Even though I was close by, I didn’t hear what was said — I wasn’t supposed to. It involved comments directed loudly enough for specific Hope players on the court to hear, but muted enough because the rest of the students were cheering and having fun. Maybe it was only one or two Calvin fans who thought it was OK to yell out sexually explicit comments. It doesn’t matter. According to Hope staff members, it happened. Does this type of heckling/harassment happen on most campuses? It does. Has our team been the recipient of similar harassment? We have. But it is not OK. Not at Calvin. Not anywhere.

At Calvin we have a zero tolerance for sexual harassment, and that includes at athletic events. So, what can you do? First of all, please show up. Come out and support our teams, now more than ever. Cheer loudly. And if you ever hear someone yelling something inappropriate or sexual in nature, don’t laugh (BTW, that didn’t work out so well for Billy Bush!). Let the person know that sexual harassment isn’t funny or cool. It’s just plain wrong.

With your help, we can be better. In fact, we can be great!

Go Knights!

Dr. Nancy L. Meyer

Co-Director of Athletics