Syracuse University has decided to pull the kiss cam from the lineup of in-game gimmicks at the Carrier Dome, according to a report from Charley Hannagan of Syracuse.com. The cam was nowhere to be found during the Orange's game Saturday game against Central Michigan University. A strongly-worded letter to the editor, penned by a Syracuse fan, calling the practice into question at a time when the entire nation is seeing increased sensitivity to the issue of sexual assaults on college campuses, was apparently the impetus behind the change.
"We are taking the time to assess the concerns expressed in the letter to the editor. We discussed this with POMCO, the sponsor, and they supported that approach," Sue Edson, executive senior associate athletics director for communications, wrote in an email to Hannagan.
In the letter to the editor, the fan, Steve Port, made note of two incidents he witnessed during Syracuse's game against Wake Forest on Sept. 12 that he said constituted "unacceptable behavior" on the part of male students and the crowd around them.
"The first two people (and probably most people that wind up on the kiss cam) were happy to oblige the camera. However, the cameraman then scanned into the student section where a young man and a young woman were shown. Clearly not a couple, the male student pleaded his case for a kiss on the big screen while the female adamantly shook her head no. So what does this guy do? He grabs her head and shoves his tongue down her throat, the crowd cheers.
"The next 'couple' shown were again students that were clearly not a couple. Again, this second female in question shakes her head no. I then see no less than six sets of hands from the seats around her shove her unwilling face into his, crowd cheers."
Port went on to suggest that the incidents he witnessed, along with the kiss cam in general, "encourage and condone sexual assault and a sense of male entitlement."
Port's letter received abundant attention from the Syracuse community. Per Hannagan there have been over 220 comments and it has been shared more than 3,500 times via various social media sites.
