For this year’s Tommie-Johnnie game, St. Thomas faculty discouraged students attending the game not to wear any offensive shirts or other clothing following a statement by officials at St. John’s explicitly saying that anyone wearing offensive shirts would not be allowed into the stadium.

This wasn’t the first time that students have been warned about game day attire.

“In the past, some students have used the Tommie-Johnnie game as an opportunity to create clothing that is disrespectful to the dignity of others,” said Karen Lange, vice president of Student Affairs at St. Thomas. “Catholic social teaching instructs individuals to respect the inherent dignity of every human person.”

Offensive clothing was defined by St. John’s and St. Thomas as any article of clothing that references destructive behavior, which includes but is not limited to: misogyny, violence and gender based insults.

Also playing into the T-shirt controversy this year is the recent discovery of the remains of Jacob Wetterling found near Collegeville, where St. John’s is located. Lange emphasized that “this is a very difficult time for Collegeville…and the larger Minnesota community,” and requested that St. Thomas students be sensitive to the process of grieving.

The Wetterling case became a prominent issue for shirt designs because a design created by two St. Thomas students was taken to be making fun of the situation. This connection was coincidental, and both students have turned the misunderstanding into a philanthropic endeavor. Read the full story here.

While the merits of banning attire at Tommie-Johnnie have been disputed, several students agreed that this year was different.

“The shirts may be inside jokes among the students at one particular school, but the meaning is lost to everyone else in attendance,” sophomore Sam Shay said. “If we have the ability to show it’s possible to have fun without being obscene, I’m all for the regulation.”

Lange wanted students to be respectful of everyone involved and to be ambassadors of the university.
“We want all students, alumni, and friends and families to have a positive experience at the game.”

Shay believes that it is the duty of St. Thomas students to not only be respectful of the St. John’s community, but to give them support in any way possible.

During the game on Saturday, nothing happened that was out of the ordinary for a Tommie-Johnnie game. Both fanbases were heavily involved in the game, and Shay believes that this level of dedication to the rivalry is exactly what the community needed.

“The best thing about a rivalry is when one team is at their worst, the other team will come and pick (them) up,” Shay said. “There’s mutual respect for each other because they matter and they’re ultimately making you better.”

Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu