In his letter to the editor, Anthony Pijerov writes, ‘BU has no fight song (except for the ‘BC sucks’ one, which doesn’t work against other teams), very few traditions, and no school spirit’ (‘Title IX a phony excuse for end to football,’ Dec. 3, pg. 7). While I cannot easily address his second point, I would like to add some illumination to the first issue, and possibly the last as well.
Back when I was an undergraduate, Boston University had an alma mater, ‘Boston University Hymn,’ as well as two fight songs, ‘Clarissima’ and ‘Go BU.’ If you were to visit Alumni Relations or the library, you might even find a copy of the old Boston University songbook, which contains the music to all three.
In the mid-1980s, the university’s president ordered the director of the pep band to stop using ‘Boston University Hymn,’ a song known to BU alumni dating back at least one or two generations prior to my matriculation at the university. The president apparently did not like the tune or lyrics. He ordered that a new, slower arrangement of ‘Clarissima’ be used as the new alma mater and that ‘Go BU’ be the school’s sole fight song. The lyrics to ‘Go BU’ seemed to change yearly after that dictation.
It’s kind of hard to develop and maintain traditions of any kind when an administrator can and will replace icons that are cherished by alumni without explanation and apparently based on a personal whim.
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