Before every sporting event in the United States, the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” is played to celebrate the country’s freedom and those who protect it. N.C. State does not excluded this tradition. Before the basketballs are tipped off at PNC Arena and Reynolds Coliseum, before the footballs are kicked off at Carter-Finley Stadium, and before the first baseballs are thrown at Doak Field, the iconic tune is either played over the public address system or by the Power Sound of the South.

The students, as well as all other fans and spectators, stand up and face either the flag, if it is in sight, or the general direction from where the sound is coming. What strikes a sour chord in my game day experience is what the student body does when the anthem draws to a close. In place of the word “brave,” the students of State shout out the school’s athletic nickname “Wolfpack.”

As a student, I have much pride in the university and the student athletes that compete, but participating in this has been uncomfortable for me for a number of reasons. The central reason spawns from why I am a freshman in communication rather than a sophomore majoring in mathematics.

After graduating high school in June 2011, I joined the North Carolina Army National Guard in hopes of getting financial aid to come to this institution. In doing this, I had to cancel my enrollment for that August. In the following October, I left home and travelled to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to spend two months as a member of fourth platoon in Charlie Battery, First Battalion and 31st Field Artillery within the 434 Basic Combat Training Brigade.

During that time I spent as a Private First Class, I worked with soldiers who are now spread out across the globe from South Korea to Afghanistan, even some who are stationed down the highway at Fort Bragg.

Even though I did not have the chance to finish my training, to say that the “star-spangled banner” waves over the land of the free and the home of the Wolfpack would be a disservice to my colleagues and those who served and continue to serve the country.

When Francis Scott Key, the original writer of the poem, was held captive during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore, he saw the nation’s flag flying over Fort McHenry following a bombardment by the British Royal Navy. He did not write his composition to celebrate the protection of a college that wouldn’t be formed until over 70 years later.

Key was inspired because despite the threat of Great Britain, the young nation of America still fought and defeated one of the greatest military forces in the world even after having lost in the Revolutionary War.

In 1931, President Herbert Hoover did not sign the congressional resolution to make this song the official anthem because of a university that was known as the Wolfpack for only nine years at that point.

Hoover signed it because the anthem spoke of how no matter who threatens the nation or what danger any enemy presents, the flag will always wave proudly over the land of the free and the home of the brave.