It’s official. We are in the midst of “Logogate.”

Plenty of columns and letters to the editor already have been written about what MSU should or should not do. It’s not my goal to persuade anyone to one side. I simply want people to relax a little.

I agree wholeheartedly with those that say the logo and identity of our university is important, and I would never try to argue otherwise. But the news of the change is not worthy of the reaction and attention it has received.

Significant? Yes. The end of the world? No.

To put things in perspective, just look at what else is going on in the world.

Hundreds of thousands of people are dead in Haiti. A disaster like the Haitian earthquake has not been seen in a long time, and for about a week, my friends and I were constantly talking about the tragedy-stricken country and what people were doing to help.

Then the news of logo broke, and suddenly it seemed as if helping Haiti became secondary to complaining about what the Spartans head on MSU uniforms and apparel would look like. The way some people talked about the new logo, it was as if MSU would cease to be a university once the change took place.

I understand that what happened in Haiti does not directly affect the majority of MSU students. But even if it’s just for one minute, consider how lucky we are to be so worried about a logo change instead of rebuilding our country.

Although, comparing a national disaster to the change that MSU might soon go through is obviously extreme, it helped to convey my point that some reactions to the news were a little over the top.

And I’m not the only one that thinks so.

MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo recently expressed how “disappointed” he is in the alumni and students that are complaining about the issue. No matter Izzo’s stance on the change is, he is not a guy that Spartans usually want to disappoint.

Izzo’s basketball team also happened to have a huge conference game against U-M on Tuesday night. Instead of just talking about basketball and the upcoming game against the Wolverines at Izzo’s weekly press conference Monday, he also had to respond to questions about the logo.

I can honestly say that this was the first time since I began following Spartan sports when I was a young child that a game against our rivals from Ann Arbor was overshadowed by anything. It was nearly impossible to find any MSU blogs or message boards that weren’t dominated by the logo rather than pre-game commentary.

I’m not trying to convince anyone that a basketball game is overly important either. But for those concerned with tradition, imagine losing one of our sports programs.

Last November, Northeastern University’s football program was cut due to lack of funds. A month later, Hofstra University followed suit. Both these schools have alumni and students that were just as proud of their respective football programs’ tradition as we are of ours. But now, after more than 70 years, their traditions are gone.

I can only speak for myself, but I am sure most people would rather have any logo, even if it was hot pink and purple, than not have a football team to wear it.

Some alumni and fans apparently don’t feel the same. For every fan that is prepared to drop season tickets, there is another waiting to pick them up. Instead of boycotting MSU’s athletics programs, why not be a little positive and vow to support them, no matter what the players are wearing?

This university has seen change before. Classes have changed, leaders have changed and the campus has changed. Throughout its more than 150 years of existence, though, MSU has always come out on top. So instead of worrying so much about something that isn’t that important in the big picture, why not just be proud to be a Spartan — no matter the logo.

Jeremy Warnemuende is a State News intern and journalism sophomore. Reach him at warnem3@msu.edu.