CU students speak about Barnett
BOULDER – For many students at the University of Colorado,
classes, parties and time spent with friends is at the forefront of
their world.
However, with rape allegations being brought against some CU
football players, the issue of sexual misconduct and its place in
college football recruiting is becoming more apparent and many
students are following the allegations.
One day after CU President Elizabeth Hoffman placed head
football coach Gary Barnett on paid administrative leave, and amid
allegations the football team used sex and alcohol to woo recruits,
students at CU-Boulder continued their studies and classes.
“I don’t really follow the football team all that much,” said
Mark Bauman, a student at CU. “But, with all of the allegations
surrounding the football team and the ranking of being the number
one party school in the nation earlier, there is a chance all of
this could devalue our degrees.”
Bauman, a sophomore communications major, said he hopes the
allegations are not true but that the university needs to take the
allegations seriously nonetheless.
“If these allegations are true and these things did happen, then
I think serious actions should be taken,” Bauman said.
Although he is unsure how others around the nation are viewing
the students at CU, he believes the negative media attention
surrounding the university is not good.
“It seems like the only attention CU ever gets from the media is
negative. I am not sure how that plays out in the minds of other
people,” Bauman said.
Other students were glad to see Hoffman take action against
Barnett for his comments concerning former kicker Katie Hnida’s
performance on the field, after she recently claimed she was raped
by a player on the team.
“The comments (Barnett) made about the female kicker were
totally inappropriate,” said Matt Binstock, a sophomore economics
major CU. “(The press) were asking him questions about the overall
situation and he just went off on a tangent about what a terrible
and horrible player she was.”
Binstock said that Barnett’s paid administrative leave is a good
step after his comments about Hnida.
Jaime Loeb, a graduate student studying civil engineering, said
she believes these allegations are going to bring the football team
down.
“I think CU’s football team is going to hell,” Loeb said.
Putting Gary Barnett on paid leave is not going to solve the
bigger issues facing CU right now, Loeb said.
“I think the administration needs to do more,” she said. “The
football team has been in a negative light all year and the team
needs to be acting to change that. So whether or not Gary Barnett
is gone doesn’t really matter in the larger picture.”
Loeb said she is waiting to see what happens.
“I don’t think that putting (Barnett) on leave will solve the
problem, but it’s a good step in the right direction.”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.