The Whitworthian

Issue date: 11/13/07 Last Updated: 11/17/07

Once upon a time, in a land not so far from here, there lived a magical creature known as an Official-Whitworth-Rugby-Club.

A handful of students, along with professor of English Victor Bobb, formed a rugby club in 1987, and eventually the club was chartered by ASWC. The sport had a solid fan base, and The Whitworthian affectionately crowned the team "the Scumbucs."

The Scumbuc club of ruggers could scrum, ruck, and grum kick better than any scrummers or ruckers they rugged against.

But soon, the practice field was barred from the club's use and they were forced off campus. "It's too bad that we pay so much money to go to school here, and we can't use all of the facilities," then-student Brandon Mokiao was quoted as saying in a 1995 Whitworthian article.

That same year, the school's insurance company advised them not to charter the club due to excessive liability risks. A council convened and decided to cease funding for the dangerous sport. Though the team attempted to keep playing without financial backing or a home field, its fervor graduated and the Whitworth rugby club faded into the oblivion of alumni reminiscence.

Now, students at Whitworth are rekindling the rugging flames. They call themselves the George Whitworth Rugby Football club. They are roughly 20 strong, including both men and women, and they are vying for the support of their darling university.

"We are practicing, playing and growing as an unofficial club and we are here to stay," said senior Josef Bookert, president of the men's rugby team, in an e-mail to vice president for finance and administration Brian Benzel.

The university politely declined to support the team.

"To sponsor a new program like rugby requires a fully developed concept," Benzel said in an e-mail.

Afterward, members of the club attended an ASWU meeting on Oct. 17 to explain their situation.

At the meeting, it was made clear that this would have to include adequate insurance, a certified coach and trainer, and a rugby-specific training program.

The team recently acquired insurance from USA Rugby, a national rugby union, and is currently coached by Victor Bobb, who is in the process of obtaining USA Rugby certification, Bookert said.

Bookert also contended that the club has a certified trainer and an adequate conditioning program.

"This is a club," Bookert said. "Yet we are being forced to jump through the hoops of an organized team."

I would like to believe that these "hoops" are not merely bureaucratic deterrents for pesky student appeals. I would like to believe that the administration is ultimately concerned with the safety of its precious students, like parents who refuse to buy their kid a toy like "Bag o' Broken Glass," no matter how much little Billy begs for it.

The administration has made it clear that establishing a rugby program would be a complex and time consuming process, and as Benzel said in an e-mail, "There are limits to the people and financial resources at our disposal."

But no one could really tell me what the process itself would include because no one is actually looking into it.

The rugby club has set up a committee to work with administrators in this process, but administrators seem to just shrug them off with some vague reasoning about not having the manpower (which is the whole point of the rugby club's committee, but whatever).

And actually, administrators have blatantly stated that Whitworth University has absolutely no intention of funding or approving a school rugby club.

In light of such odds you have to admire the team's resilience. Their established committee is researching the issue in order to begin the implausibly complex process of affiliation next year. They refuse to be ignored.

"We don't ask for much," Bookert said, "but we ask for it loudly."

This should remind you, dear student of Whitworth, that in your throat, somewhere between your tonsils and that little chunk of skin that flaps around back there, you have a deep well of power - your voice.

Ever since the 8th of May, the administration has expressed a lot of interest in hearing what you have to say.

So go ahead!

Follow the rugby team's lead and present your woes to ASWU.

Voice your concerns, your passions, your heartfelt pleas, and maybe you too can be shot down with polite dismissal.

Rebecca Snape is an opinions columnist and a junior majoring in English and peace studies. Contact her at rebecca.snape@whitworthian.com.

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