Who are you, boat destroyer? For the past couple of weeks, the boat outside of ATO has been moved, torn apart and pretty much has had every possible destructive behavior imposed upon it, short of lighting it on fire in the middle of our front yard. Why is it suddenly a good idea to destroy our property when we are the ones having you over to our house to have fun?
We here at ATO want to have a good time. We know that, like us, many of you also want to have fun on weekends - and the occasional weeknight - and destroying our boat is not an acceptable way of saying thanks. A gift basket or maybe gracing us with your presence, sure, but please, leave our boat alone.
The fact that our boat keeps getting attacked is annoying to say the least. We like our boat; it's part of our house, along with the little tree that is supposed to keep it in place. And a few weekends ago, someone took the time to lift the boat up and over the miniature pine tree and move it into the middle of Professors Row. Why?
First of all, if you are standing at the front door, we know you want to come in our house. The unfortunate truth is, however, that we cannot let everyone in the front door night after night. The police would be all over us, and it is just plain not allowed by our leases. We try our best to accommodate everyone who wants to party in a social environment. And this is how we get repaid?
We try to keep this house as social as possible. We have people over more consistently than any other on-campus residence, and there are always people here who you recognize. We don't discriminate against guys coming into our house without four girls, we don't play bad music way too loudly on our speakers, and heck, it's free to get in our door. How many other parties can you say that about?
Just think about how well it would go over if we came to your house and started ripping things off your walls, off your desk, and we threw your brand-new laptop out of your fourth-floor window. Completely unacceptable, right? Right.
But why does this destruction keep happening? We, like you, want to stay up late into the night and for those of us who are of age, enjoy a tasty beverage. We want to listen to some music, have a dance party in our basement and unwind from the week. Heck, classes are rough. I know; I take them too, believe it or not. So, what's the deal?
Imagine for a minute what would happen if a person came into our house, started destroying property on the inside of the house, smashing fluorescent light tubes and breaking windows. People would be pissed! Members would swarm from every crevice of the house and throw you out the door so fast your cell phone, keys and wallet would fall from your pockets before you hit the front stoop. Well, we feel the same way about this situation. This isn't acceptable party behavior.
That boat has been a part of this house for over 20 years. It has never been a problem before; it's been able to exist in peace out in our front yard. I saw it on my college visit and thought it was cool. We even repainted it last year to keep it looking nice and not like a bunch of wooden planks held together by Super Glue.
I guess what I can't really fathom is why people took the time to move the boat itself from the front yard into the street. Stomping it, breaking the bow and stealing the rudder are all destruction; that was fun when we were, what, like 12 years old? But now let's get over it. I mean, we're letting you in our house to party for free here!
If you don't like our parties, our music or the members, go somewhere else. I like being able to walk downstairs in my own house and know that everyone is there for the right reasons. Belligerence happens to an extent - heck, I'm even guilty. But for God's sake, stop playing Battleships with our sailboat.
