NIU, can I please have an iPod?

Oh, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. One of those little iPod Nanos should do the trick, only a couple hundred bucks or so. Also, a ticket to Sea World would be nice – I’ve always wanted to see Shamu. And one more thing, I’m ready for my embroidered shirt, all at your and the alumni’s expense.

No, I don’t play for the football team, nor am I a coach. Heck, I’ve only been to three games so far in my time at NIU.

But an organization I have been involved in made waves of national attention, performing among the best in the nation. Last November, the NIU Chamber Choir performed in San Antonio at the first national conference for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. According to an NIU press release, “The charter members of NCCO represent the most elite and active collegiate choral directors working today.” One could say that this is the choir world’s equivalent to, oh, maybe a college bowl game.

I’d like to clear the air before continuing. I like football. I’m a man, so of course I love watching my fellow comrades bash the heck out of each other – I even played in high school. I know that when a team goes to a bowl game they get a lot of national exposure which can only help the university. Most other university programs could never hope to achieve the same notoriety with the common man, especially the chamber choir. But that does not mean the football team deserves extra respect and appreciation in the form of such goodies as electronic devices, theme park tickets and multiple clothing items.

A good deal of university and alumni money was spent to help pay for bowl game expenses – more than $200,000, in fact. Some of that was essential, but some of it was a superfluous show of appreciation to players and staff. That appreciation was something not extended to my fellow choir members and me for our efforts. Granted, we received free airfare and accommodations for two nights, but nothing more than that – no pre-concert reception, shirt or amusement park for our countless rehearsals preparing to represent NIU with excellence. Neither do many other successful programs.

We didn’t actually expect anything, though. To NIU, it was reward enough for us to travel to San Antonio and do what we do best. Why could they not have expected the same of the football team?

This imbalance permeates not only NIU, but nearly everywhere. My high school and community were and still are extremely unbalanced toward football and other sports in comparison to other programs. The general population of America is the same. Most would rather sit and watch a game than listen to choirs. There is nothing wrong with that. Something is wrong, however, when schools pick and choose who to reward for success in a manner that excludes other programs that achieve equal success, if not equal exposure.

And in case you forgot, our brave Huskies were slaughtered by a bunch of frogs. The chamber choir was met with nothing but rave reviews.

I’d like that iPod Nano in silver, please.