Staff Editorial: Wesleyan needs maturity

After the night of Nov. 5, maturity might be a rarity on Virginia Wesleyan’s campus.

Recently, two fights erupted on VWC's campus. One fight in Village II. The other in Village III. Aren't the "mature" upperclassmen the ones residing in these dorms? Upperclassmen, yes. Mature, probably not if you are a guy.

The fights involved members of the male species. In Village II it was between two people who share a common nickname. The Village III fight was primarily between two of VWC's athletic teams. And the reasons are just stupid.

The Village II fight was over a nickname. What an idiotic reason. People share names all the time. They can have the same first name, middle name, last name or even the same nickname. And believe it or not, they can all get along without a fight. Shocker! Can you imagine all the fights that would erupt on campus between two people having the same name? Or how about all the people in the world that have the same name? There would be many fights. And for VWC specifically, an extreme high expulsion rate.

The fight in Village III was during a registered party and it was between the two athletic teams on campus that have the biggest tension between each other. Has there been a semester when Team B and Team L have NOT been involved in some conflict or fight? To the members of these two teams: grow up. People enjoy seeing you represent VWC on the playing field. People enjoy seeing the toughness on the field so that VWC can get another win. But when you fight between each other, it’s just stupid.

According to the student handbook, fighting on campus risks a punishment of expulsion. As stated on page 80 in the 2004 edition, "A student found to have committed an act of physical violence against another person can expect to receive the sanction of suspension or dismissal from the College." So the punishment for these fights shouldn't even be a question. Regardless of who you are on campus, the punishment should be the same.

Bad behavior should be punished, not covered up.