Dean Caravela
Modern Crusaders?
The term “crusade” carries weight to it. Those that have a knowledge on history and the events associated with The Crusades certainly feel very passionately about the term. However, the word has gained popularity in recent times. For instance, the term is used in modern times to describe things. This is the case with the article regarding the College of Holy Cross’s potential mascot name change. The term is used in the article title to describe the situation as, “Two sides to the crusade to change the Holy Cross nickname,” (Shaughnessy). In the title, “Crusade” is used as a way to document the journey of the name change, rather than the actual Crusades themselves. In reading the article, the bias the author has towards using the term in this way is instantly seen as he makes mention that he was, “a Holy Cross Crusader for four years in the 1970s. [He] was a Groton High School Crusader for four years before that. [He] made [his] bones in the newspaper field as sports editor for the Holy Cross Crusader student paper. [He] feel[s] like a Crusader for life,” (Shaughnessy). Due to his personal attachment towards being a “Crusader,” it seems fitting that he used the term as a way to describe the “endangered” mascot name as he calls it in the article. He saw his chance to create a clever title out of this term he feels so near and dear to, and took it. A bold strategy that may have paid off for him since it can indeed be a fair way to describe this dilemma. He is possibly trying to convey that the situation’s events towards change is as a whole a “crusade.” His personal anecdotes may also be in reference to the hurt this change may cause alumni like himself, and the passion they have on one side of the argument versus the other. This idea would further solidify his classification of this as a crusade. However, one that feels very passionate about the Crusades themselves may think otherwise. That person may argue that it is a sacred term based on the events and history it represents, and is not to be used in a title pun to try and draw in more viewers to their article. That argument may be true, since this case is extremely different from the actual Crusades. The College of Holy Cross is not fighting to claim Holy Lands. Lives are not being lost over this matter. It is a simple mascot banter. One who feels very passionate about the term would agree with this idea in that it is not fair to describe this simple decision making process as a crusade. A different term that could have been used “battle” or “fight.” Both of those terms have the potential to cover the ideas of this issue. Both of those words also relate to “crusade,” however do not carry the same weight as it due to historical significance.
Word Count: 500
The West in the Pre-Modern World 
Dean, I think that you picked a good article to analyze and look at how the word Crusade has changed with time. I also analyzed a similar article in where something trivial was being compared to a Crusade. I agree with you in saying that people are using the word to describe something that isn’t serious, but rather something that they feel passionately about. Although the crusaders were definitely passionate about the crusades, I agree that a better word that modern media should stick to using should be something like battle or fight. In your case, alumni are upset that a college is potentially changing their name, so they are deciding to start a crusade to keep it the same. I think that using crusade to describe this situation is overkill, as there are no real negative consequences to the name change, and the drawbacks from losing this crusade doesn’t involve death. I would also call this a battle, and stray away from using the word crusade, as this is such a small problem, and is really not a big deal.
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