Column: Settling the debate: Rugby vs. Bhangra

Clubs capitalize on the renewed spark of student life by taping, stapling and hanging posters on every surface our campus has to offer. Lampposts, treated as billboards, are prime real estate. Before long, bathroom stalls become home to unsolicited advertisements. Every group on campus from Footnotes to Princeton Faith and Action contributes to the chaos. This year, the “most abundant poster” award, hands down, goes to Princeton Bhangra, followed by Princeton Rugby.

As a new club, Bhangra’s rationale for advertising so extensively was twofold: to inform the Princeton community of its existence — and thereby gain legitimacy as an active student organization — and to attract prospective members. The case with Rugby is slightly different. For those of you who are not familiar with the issue, Rugby adopted a somewhat predatory marketing strategy. Next to numerous Bhangra flyers, Rugby posted ads that read, “What the ruck is Bhangra? Play Rugby.”

To answer the posters’ question, Bhangra is a high-energy folk dance from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. To give you an analogy, hip-hop is to America as Bhangra is to India.

But that’s beside the point. What Rugby did was directly challenge Princeton Bhangra, and I believe that the two clubs should settle this matter in a just and civilized manner.

It would not be fair to reconcile the dispute by way of a rugby match for the same reasons that it would not be fair to resolve the issue by way of a Bhangra dance-off — each team is better suited for competition in their respective sport.

Instead, the venue for resolution must take the shape of an activity that involves aspects of both sports — the creativity and endurance of Bhangra and sheer strength of Rugby — so that neither team has a competitive advantage. I suggest the Bhangra and Rugby teams engage in a synchronized swimming faceoff.

Synchronized swimming is the perfect medium to end such a dispute for a number of reasons. First off, to the best of my knowledge, neither Bhangra nor the rugby team has significant experience with water sports. Mutual incompetency will ensure a legitimate contest. Next, to effectively compete, a synchronized swimming team must be composed of both creative individuals capable of envisioning and implementing original choreography and strong athletes capable of moving swiftly through the water and lifting teammates when specific maneuvers call for doing so. Lastly, I know that a good portion of the Princeton community would greatly enjoy watching these two organizations duke it out in such a creative, though still athletic, fashion.

As far as scheduling goes, I suggest that this competition take place when the Princeton swimming and diving season is over, so that the maximum number of pools are available for practice. Also, because we are now aware of Rugby’s inclination for confrontation, by waiting until the season has ended, the club can avoid possible clashes with the swim team. Should such confrontation add to the fray, the entire competition would have to be restructured, as swimmers and divers are clearly more advanced in the pool than Bhangra and Rugby.

If the captains of each team want to discuss the parameters, I would be more than happy to be the judge of this important event. Good luck to both teams.