By: Sherina Harris
One of the first things I heard about Ryerson when I came here last year is that there is no school spirit. I kept this claim cautiously in the back of my head as I participated in orientation week events, watching Eggy the Ram dance at a basketball game and getting lost in the crowd on Gould Street. Amidst all of the blue, gold, and general excitement of frosh week, I wondered whether there was any truth to those statements.
This year, the Mattamy Athletic Centre is celebrating its fifth year anniversary. Part of the festivities was a men’s hockey marquee against Laurier, which took place last week. Despite having a very limited knowledge of hockey, I attended the game with one of my friends. During a particularly intense moment in the game, someone in the bleachers behind me started leading Ryerson chants.
I had forgotten that we had those chants, because I hadn’t heard them since orientation week. In that moment, when everyone in the arena was chanting and cheering on our Rams team, I didn’t doubt that Ryerson has any less school spirit than any other university.
Being a commuter school, Ryerson has its distinct difference from other universities. We don’t celebrate homecoming with crazy street parties, for example. I don’t think this means we lack spirit, though — we just show it in a different way.
Ryerson’s spirit lies in its sense of community, despite being a commuter school. There’s a reason we’re called a Ram-ily — Ryerson students share the unique experience of attending an urban university with hands-on programs and experiences. We also get to share the unique experience of struggling to catch an elevator in the SLC so, you know, yay for unconventional ways of bonding!
There’s a lot to get excited about at Ryerson, and this innovation also contributes to our school spirit. I don’t know about you, but I feel incredibly proud to be a Ram when I read headlines about Ryerson partnering with Facebook to open a digital news incubator, or opening a DMZ in New York.
So, back to that hockey game. It went into overtime, a fittingly exciting game to celebrate the MAc’s anniversary. Then the overtime period ended and the game went into a shootout. As I mentioned, I don’t know a ton about hockey — but I can tell you that towards the end of the game, the tension was as thick as ice (pun intended). Finally, a Ryerson player scored, and then the Laurier player didn’t and it was over. Ryerson won. Cheers erupted as fans waved blue and yellow t-shirts in the air. It was a tangible moment of school spirit that, at least in my mind, quelled any notion that Ryerson doesn’t have spirit. Go Rams!