HARDY: Fans adjust to new rules at stadium
The file of Holly Beavers is pulled. Perusing her bio reveals she’s a dark-haired, average height 26-year-old from Ferndale who’s been attending Spartan football games since 1984.
She overdresses for sporting events, clad in a green halter top, jean skirt and leather sandals, but she’s well prepared. She watches games from section 29, row 37, seat 48 from behind shades and carries SPF 8 sunblock, a camera and deodorant inside her $5 green Old Navy purse.
Let’s add to her paperwork.
In 19 years of spectating from inside the Woodshed, Beavers was unprepared for admittance into Saturday’s game against Rice. She couldn’t get in, at first, as her purse was larger than the 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 by 2-inch foam box used to screen prohibited items.
“I’m not a terrorist,” she says.
And this isn’t a profile of a terrorist.
Her words fall on deaf ears here as the green polo, beige khaki-clad security crew keep her out.
“I can’t have this in?” she asks, raising her bag above her head.
Nope.
Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Yes, it’s already been a year of national grievance for our fallen Twin Towers, fellow Americans and beloved heroes - New York firefighters and police. Candlelight vigils have been snuffed and tears have dried, leaving behind salty stains.
So much has changed.
It has been a year of crumbling of civil liberties, which we have sacrificed for the new security blanket, the Department of Homeland Security.
Yet, Americans seem unwilling to forfeit their liberties for protection, leading me to believe decisions need to be made.
Purse or no purse? Security or no security?
Security has tightened in U.S. airports, borders and in this case, Spartan Stadium.
“It’s for your own safety,” shouted a security guard from behind the gate.
“My own safety?” Beavers reacts. “It’s just a camera.”
After six minutes of disagreement, Beavers pockets what she can, along with the help of friends and family.
She turns as she enters through the gate, fading into stadium shadows.
“I’m getting into the game because my dad shoved my deodorant and sunblock down his pants,” she says.
Moments later, merchandising management senior Heather Frank finds herself stuck outside the stadium’s southwest corner thanks to the size of her $200 kate spade purse.
“It’s a $200 purse, I’m not leaving it behind,” she says.
Frank wanders off to find friends and figure out what to do. She’s already missed five minutes of the first quarter.
Others like Beavers and Frank find themselves dumfounded by the list of prohibited items, which include flags, containers and large fanny packs. That’s right, no fanny packs here.
Screeners don’t look inside the outlawed bags, rather opting to limit by size.
“We don’t have the time to check any food or drink,” Ingham County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Thomas Beeson says.
Beeson says by banning larger bags and purses it “stops contrabands from coming in.”
With seating for 72,027 here, lines would grow, forming outside the stadium and extending toward south campus if security guards checked every bag.
MSU and aviation officials already have determined the stadium by the Red Cedar River an appealing spot for terrorism, questioning air restrictions and regulations on game day.
Ticket-takers, police and university officials are cautious, even though Beavers’ green purse isn’t going to start the next attack on the Middle East.
But, you can’t have your purse and security, too. Welcome to Spartan Stadium - post Sept. 11.
