An email sent to University of Alabama students warned that any disruptions during the upcoming football game would not be tolerated and that the punishment for misconduct would be banning violators from the student sections for the remainder of the semester. Disruptive behavior is always discouraged, but the reason this message was sent out is because President Donald Trump will be attending this particular football game. 

The University of Alabama did come out and clarify that their intention was not to disrupt anyone’s first amendment rights and apologized for the misinterpretation. Regardless, the message got some attention online and sparked some debate as to just how far a public university can go in censoring what students have to say. 

There have been viral videos of the president attending different sporting events and being booed, which UA probably saw and decided to make a disclaimer that they did not want anything similar happening during their games. In theory, this seems to be reasonable, since screeching during a football game about politics would probably be disruptive of the game as a whole. However, there are some complications. 

Booing the president at sporting events is a good example of peaceful protesting. It shows that the people in the arena, even if only a small proportion of the total number, does not approve of the decisions that the president has been making for the country. It is all too easy for Trump to turn on a far-right news outlet and see that they approve of his blocking LGBTQ+ people from being able to adopt children, or that they like that he is pulling the troops from Syria, regardless of the non-American repercussions. When faced with the actual American public, not just politicians who are groomed to support him, or at least act respectful towards him, he deserves whatever reaction the crowd chooses to give him. 

If previous expressions of disdain toward the president included pitchforks, torches or even game-interrupting behavior, then the university’s statement would have been warranted. However, the booing seemed to be only restricted to his entrance, as most of the people attended the game probably actually wanted to be there. 

My opinion on supporting peaceful protesting is not only because I do not approve of the president. The American people have opinions that are often ignored by politicians, which in a republican democracy is unacceptable. Even if the way anger about the president’s political decisions is shown through jeering as opposed to intellectual conversation, this is something that the president, or any other political official, deserves to hear. 

Photo from Guardian Sport via YouTube