Clad in red and white and armed with beer bottles and profanity, two forces waged war in Bloomington this weekend. With drunken zeal, these hordes carried out a battle that represented behavior more becoming of Beowulf than a Ball State University student.
Our rivalry with Indiana University reached its peak Saturday when almost 100 people decided to jump into a brawl that took police more than 30 minutes to break up and yielded 97 citations and arrests.
Lt. Kenneth Murphy of the Indiana State Excise Police estimated 25 percent of these legal summonses belonged to Ball State students or supporters.
Instead of a few inebriated students who allowed their exuberance to overcome them and get them in trouble, this became a collective effort toward chaos. The people involved allowed drunkenness, anger and outright immaturity to not only show their own barbarism, but it has also made Ball State look as if it was Sparta, an ancient civilization known for breeding warriors.
It's possible to find yourself innocently caught in the middle of a fray such as the one at IU, but Murphy said he saw Ball State supporters hurtling bottles and profanity like the IU students - not so innocent.
We all learn in kindergarten that even when someone starts a fight, the best thing to do is walk away. Why should a football game be any different than recess?
So far, the university has remained hands-off in dealing repercussions to the students involved.
David Fried, director of Student Rights and Community Standards, said the university didn't know enough about the incident to punish anyone.
Ball State's stance at this point is understandable, but the university shouldn't remain passive. Indiana University officials have already sought information about all of its students who were involved in the fight. Ball State should be doing the same.
The charges - most of which were alcohol-related misdemeanors - for the most part weren't severe, but the university still needs to follow up on this. There's no harm in collecting the information about the arrests and citations.
Despite what lies ahead for those who found themselves in trouble with the law in Bloomington this weekend, lessons should be learned from their behavior.
The state and nation are paying more attention to Ball State because our football team is doing better than it has any other year we've been here. That attention will amplify the severity of incidents such as this weekend's.
Our university is still recovering from the Ronny Thompson debacle last year. Those of us who were here for it remember what it was like to say you go to a school immersed in controversy.
As that drifts further into our past, there's no reason to shine a negative light on us once again by participating in brouhahas.
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