Sponsored by the Carolina Women’s Center, the #RocktheRisers campaign encourages attendance at women’s sporting events. Various student organizations such as Embody Carolina and Carolina Advocating for Gender Equality have committed to attend certain games, using the hashtag to show solidarity.
Audience turnout at women’s sporting events is typically low, so Carolina Fever has taken to offering more incentives for attending women’s games than those offered for men’s games in order to entice students’ interest. Although their gesture is appreciated, it is disheartening to see the trade-off made in order to reward students to cheer on their sports team, regardless of gender.
Colleges across the nation have faced similar problems in addressing the gap of fan support between male and female sports. In February, Georgetown University hosted a “Hail to Kale” women’s basketball game, in which students were rewarded with kale Caesar salads, gift cards and boxes of pizzas — this should not be needed.
Here at UNC, Paige Neuenfeldt watches the ball to line up a kill. Marcus Paige watches the net to line up a three-pointer. They’re both playing for the next point, for the Tar Heels and for our school. Why should our support for their teams be so inconsistent?
We ought to show equal support for men’s and women’s athletics because sports bring us together like nothing else can. Let’s #RocktheRisers.
