#bellarminehateweek. A trending topic on Twitter in Cincinnati.

While Northern Kentucky University students may have been excited about the prospect of a rivalry — a certain boost in school spirit — the behavior intertwined with this rivalry wasn’t handled in the most positive manner.

NKU students took to Twitter, slinging insults about everything Bellarmine, from their educational standards to the attractiveness of their students.
When the dust settled, Bellarmine’s men had beat ours and NKU’s women shut down Bellarmine’s. A true 50/50 result.

On the flip-side, Bellarmine had tweeted with responses like, #NKWho. Twitter user Tom Milan even tweeted, “why are no #nku kids tweeting on #bellarminehateweek anymore? guess you cant tweet with your foot in your mouth.”

One thing that seemed to occur after the win/loss night was that NKU kids backed off, saying things like, “Congrats on the win, Bellarmine.”
Overall, it seems that the #bellarminehateweek trend took two very different directions. There were those that used it to joke and wish the others luck. Then there were those that used it to send messages of frustration, even cussing and throwing insults.

We have to agree that for a school that is largely commuter-based and often said to have few traditions, a true-blue rivalry was something that NKU students had a right to be excited over.
However, the need for a “hate” hashtag didn’t spawn best results. If it were intended simply to get a rise out of people, then yes, success would characterize the trend. But if it were meant to be a tool to help school spirit increase, there were definitely other ways to do so.