Tenable: capable of being held, maintained or defended. An appropriate adjective for a security company; it conveys a strong, meaningful sentiment.
Emblazoned on the back of the noticeably yellow jackets of the hired security staff at Goggin Ice Center, Tenable Security has come to represent a silent threat of repression to the fan base. Especially concentrated around the student section, their initiation two weeks ago at the series versus Alaska came as an unwarranted surprise.
Bag searches in the waiting line for wristbands were also introduced with the arrival of the Tenable Security staff. What they were searching for, and what you were allowed to bring in, was never stated. And so it came as a complete surprise when they announced upon finding any Coke or Nalgene that you could not enter the arena with any bottle from the outside.
While the manner and degree of professionalism with which the new security staff conduct their business is commendable, the actual policies they have been hired to enforce are completely unknown to the very subjects they have been put in command of. How can they expect compliance to the rules if they haven't been defined?
The most notable interaction between the tenable staff and the student fan population occurred with the censorship of cheers two weeks ago during the second game in the series versus Alaska. A small number of students sitting in the student section adjacent to the Alaskan team bench had maintained a steady stream of comments to the Alaskan team and coach. Their level of dedication never wavered; and some had gone the extra mile to print off the roster from the team's Web site.
While the strong commentary continued from one night to the next, it only became problematic midway in the second game (Alaska was down by several points) when a Tenable Security staff member was sent to stand between the student section and the team bench. He informed the students first that no first names could be yelled. A second time he stated that no names at all could be used, and finally, told the students that they could not reference the Alaskan team in any way.
With this in mind, the students quit cheering altogether. The extremely localized attention on these particular students can be targeted to their close proximity to the opposing team, but it put a damper on the spirit that goes along with being a fan. The rest of the student section was not reprimanded or informed of the new "rules" about what you could say.
There is always an announcement before the game about upholding a level of sportsmanship by the fans and not to make racist or sexist comments, but the majority of cheers that have been adopted as mandatory for the entire student section and the rest of Miami fans can be categorized as aggressive.
What the students were yelling at the Alaskan team was not sexist or racist, and not derogatory. Yes, the comments were annoying. And loud. But this is Miami University. This is hockey. And Miami deserves that home ice advantage.
Never at a game at Steve Cady Arena had the fan behavior escalated to a point where violence against the opposing team has seemed imminent. The interaction between the Alaskan team and the students in question was nonviolent and not just one-sided; during the pre-game warm up the same player shot a puck at the glass in front of their section two nights in a row as an acknowledgement of their attention on him.
The compliance of the students with the security staff's wishes shows that they weren't there to cause trouble and indicates their level of responsibility for their actions, which is true for the majority of the student body.
The presence of Tenable Security seems to assume a different kind of behavior by the fans than what actually has always happened and continues to happen. The physical force implied by the security staff seems to expect violent action and therefore connotes a greater sense of resistance that is unnecessary.
The fact is that you cannot expect people to conform to rules that have never been stated or defined. Unfortunately, in this case experience seems to be the only teacher. The quality of the fan support continues to uphold its strong tradition and gives the Miami hockey players the support they deserve on their home ice. And yes, we'll still name names. You can't do the "sieve" cheer any other way.
Amy Biolchini The Miami Student
