My Freshman year at Clarkson was also Walker's last year, and, in my opinion,
my remaining three years attending games in Cheel (as a student, of course I'm
an alum now) were great but they just didn't compare to Walker.  I'm sure the
fact that Clarkson went undefeated at Walker and made it to the NC$$ Phinal
Four helped make it a great year.
 
Two of the reasons that I think the bell was so much more effective in
Walker were Walker's size and the location of the bell.  In Walker, the bell
was located over the zamboni bay (as it is in Cheel); however, the zamboni
bay was also where the visiting teams came onto and left the ice.  Whenever
the visiting team went through the zamboni bay, DSP (the fraternity that owns
the bell) would ring the bell incessantly, probably deafening the entire team.
I think that made it hard for any visiting team to forget a trip to Walker.
 
I think another thing that made Walker so intimidating for visiting teams
was not only the small ice surface (which most visiting teams weren't used
to), but those great wooden benches.  Just try to imagine how a visiting
team felt with 4000+ feet stomping and kicking the wooden floors and benches.
The whole place felt and sounded like it was about to cave in on top of you
(and it probably was).  That's one sound I will never forget and will
probably never hear again.
 
On the other hand, in Cheel, the bell has a much less domineering presence.
The teams enter from the side of the area, so they never really come close
to the bell, and, as was already mentioned, Cheel is so much larger that the
sound really isn't that deafening.  I played drums in the pep band and stood
right next to the bell in Cheel, but I think that the snare drummers standing
right next to me were more painful on my ears than the bell ever was.  I
must admit, though, that the new train whistle (it's not really a siren),
almost compares to the ringing left in my ears by the other drummers.  The
one thing that I don't like about the train whistle is its location.  I
think that it should have been placed right over the visitors section rather
than the pep band and student sections.  Also, it's hard to get a good roar
going with cement floors (you're more likely to get sore feet and shin
splints :-) ).
 
In regards to other arenas, I agree that SLU's siren is quite loud and that
the size of the arena amplifies that.  However, I would have to say that
the arena that impressed me the most was LSSU's.  They have that damn fog
horn or whatever it is placed directly behind/under the visitor's section.
It was a good thing for the pep band that they had high railings in the back;
otherwise I think that the first time that thing sounded, we would have lost
the entire trumpet section over the back.  I don't think that there was a
Clarkson fan there that didn't jump out of their seats when it went off the
first time.  (LSSU probably would like to have seen some of the pep band
members fall over the edge, especially after we disrupted the woman singing
the national anthem, but that's another story--armed escorts to the bathrooms,
etc. etc.)
 
Well enough reminiscing.  Time to get to work.
 
Laura Myott
Clarkson Pep Band '94
 
P.S.  In response to Kevin Todd's question, yes someone did try to stop the
bell a few years ago.  I believe that they put a combination lock (one that
you use on lockers) in the bell so that they couldn't put the pin in to hold
the hammer on.  It wasn't anything that some wire cutters couldn't fix.  I
believe that one time the bell was also taped up fairly well with athletic
tape, but I could be mistaken.
 
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