This weekend, I was honored to get to see something that few people ever see, especially if they read The Daily Toreador Monday. Saturday, the Center for Campus Life, Saddle Tramps, High Riders and other spirit organizations had a ceremony in the Student Union Building to honor the two senior members behind Raider Red's mask: Abbey Stark and Chance McKee.
"Passing of the Guns" is a ceremony meant to honor the students who have provided a huge service for their university - serving as Raider Red. Many don't know that both the High Riders and Saddle Tramps, along with many of the cheer squad, keep the identity of Raider Red a secret for two years. During that time, the chosen students behind the costume sacrifice their time to promote school spirit. The two made more than 300 appearances as Raider Red.
At the same time, both maintained a 3.6 GPA, and Abbey and Chance found the time to complete their course work to graduate in less than four years. As a former High Rider, I am excited that Abbey was the third female in Texas Tech's history to get to be Raider Red. This is a fact many do not know. I was even more excited to see that the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal published a story featuring Abbey and Chance.
Unfortunately, I received a phone call Monday that told me not only did The DT, the paper for the school they attend, not print a story about them, but that the one picture that was published was on, excuse me, a page that looks like The Enquirer. Last time I checked, Raider Red was a large part of the spirit of Tech. The writers of your paper may not have found this information as exciting as those of us who know that Abbey is a part of history, or that they worked year-round for two years, through all seasons to represent Tech in a positive manner.
However, as a school newspaper, you should have respected what they have done to keep Red's spirit alive. I have seen more words underneath the pictures of your reporters than I did for Chance and Abbey. After keeping mum on their identity for two years, The DT should have at least given them 100 words - they gave you more than 700 days.
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