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Message: [QUOTE="mike32768, post: 239755, member: 1927"] It seems to me to be disingenuous to argue over subtleties like whether Rodriguez is actually from Puerto Rico or Miami or whatever, OR if the band members should have known that PR doesn't require a green card, OR if it was an ethnic issue vs a racial issue. (Really? ethnic vs racial vs nationality? really? does that matter? what hairs are you trying to split? who decides it's ethnic versus racial or whatever? Were the kids expected to know that subtlety as well? So an "ethnic" taunt hurts someone less than a "racial" taunt?) The kids were being jerks, REAL jerks. End of story. But here's my main point: In my opinion, I believe that ANY person "officially" representing a team on or near the court (cheerleaders, dancers, band members, etc.) should NOT taunt. Period. Hell, I even hate it when [I]fans[/I] taunt. I'd have been happy if the refs called some kind of technical foul - hold Southern Miss responsible in the same way home teams can be held responsible if fans throw on the court. As to whether losing their scholarships is appropriate, I guess that's open to debate. Their being kicked out of the band seems appropriate until maybe you realize that means loss of scholarship, and that for at least some of them, their college careers (and thus perhaps the success of the rest of their lives) might hinge upon their having that scholarship. o What would Southern Miss have done if there was a student section screaming the same taunt (in other words, students with no scholarships to take away)? o Is Southern Miss consistent in how it treats misbehavior amongst its students or did it simply overreact in an attempt to bury the issue as quickly as possible (I'm not saying being politically expedient is always bad, but did Southern Miss back a bus over them)? o While the school (IMO) has a right to give or take away scholarships as it sees fit, does the school have a handbook of behavior that it enforces or did it single these guys out just because their taunts went viral - I'm a big boy, viral [I]is[/I] the current paradigm... o Does Southern Miss take away scholarships from students who get caught shoplifting or drinking underage, or driving recklessly (deeds more dangerous or [I]actually[/I] illegal)? [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?