Weall know the ban of cowbells in football games has been a hot topic in the last year. However, an incident involving a cowbell used as a weapon has sparked a lawsuit against Mississippi State University. An MSU student assaulted William Matthew Brasher in the head, who the suit claimed was a MSU student, with his cowbell at the MSU vs. Ole Miss football game in November 2009. At the time, cowbells were banned from the football games altogether, and it was apparently MSU’s colossal mistake for not confiscating this specific cowbell from this specific student. Brasher claims he suffered “a concussion, memory loss, mental and emotional distress and anguish, depression, paranoia, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life and inability to pursue prior educational and professional goals” from the consequential cranial laceration.
Oh, was it mentioned that Brasher did say he would put his blame game aside for the small price of $10 million? The average life insurance payment after a death does not even pay this much. What did this student think? Did he think he had the potential to win the Olympics or something? He must have had some pretty intense ambitions that were shattered into oblivion. Maybe he was overestimating his culinary talent or his amazing singing skills? One quality that is very important in life is resiliency. It seems like this is one quality Brasher never possessed. Maybe he lost that, too, and that loss accounts for a portion of the whopping sum he asked for.
Brasher or his legal team thinks MSU shares fault for his injury because it did not confiscate the cowbell. Confiscating cowbells is an unrealistic, impossible task. It is too large of a situation to police. It can be compared to the illegality of texting while driving; although it is illegal, it is impossible to think the police will be able to pull over every texting driver. It’s like if a drunk guy forced his way through a roadblock and killed someone, but then someone tried to sue the police force for not stopping him.
However, cowbells were taken from students when the opportunity presented itself, and the printed game tickets specified no cowbells were allowed. Additionally, the university isn’t responsible for the actions of individuals; that would get ridiculous very quickly. If there was an assault in a residence hall, would you penalize the Residence Advisor for not preemptively telling the attacker not to engage in the incident? Individuals are responsible for their own actions, especially in a university setting. Students are expected to abide by the honor code, and as adults, they should realize they represent something bigger than themselves.
Cowbells don’t hurt people. People hurt people. Anything can be used as a weapon. Officials such as wardens take away everything from prison inmates, yet they find ways to kill each other. Airport security barely lets passengers through with hand sanitizer, yet people could find potentially harmful uses for the most random things.
This logical thinking disregards the fact that Brasher was supposedly an MSU student. Yet, he wants to punish not only the university but also the students who attend it. Why would he want to diminish the fiscal funds the university uses to provide quality education?
 The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Wendy Morell, news editor Kaitlin Byrne, news editor Julia Pendley, sports editor James Carskadon, life editor Kaitlyn Mullins, photo editor Eric Evans, copy editors Rachel Burke and Mollie C. Reeves, online editor Matthew Witbeck, graphic designer Lauren Cochran, managing editor Julia Pendley and editor in chief Hannah Rogers.