To the Editor:

Recently I attended the exciting weekend men’s basketball games against Penn and Princeton. As a long-time and win-starved fan, the games were a rare treat. I attended the Penn game with a family friend, including two eight-year old boys.

During the Penn game there were the following cheers from the Yale stands: “Penn sucks,” and when the referees made controversial calls, “ass—-” and “bull—-” emanated from the Yale students repetitively.

Needless to say, I was disappointed.

During the Princeton game, I did not hear any of the above but did observe the fans near where the Princeton players were leaving the court at half-time being abusive to the Princeton players.

As an alumnus of Bart Giamatti’s class, I believe, as he did, that civil behavior is a hallmark of an educated person. It is possible to be highly supportive in a competitive situation and still be civil.

Peter S. Knudsen, Jr.

February 17, 2002

The writer is a member of the Class of 1960.