Thursday, February 28, 2008
The purpose of mandatory student fees is to fund campus institutions that provide services for students. While women’s and non-revenue sports (men’s baseball, track and golf) are valuable, funding them with a mandatory fee is an unfair use of student dollars. This is because the fee is designated for programs and projects that aren’t available to students, unless of course, the Athletics Department agrees you have a swift j-stroke, flashy leather or a money jumper.
This exclusive group of athletes directly benefiting from the fee is 537 strong, or less than 3 percent of undergraduates. It doesn’t make sense that such a small percentage is benefiting from the fees paid by all students.
Women should certainly have as much of an opportunity to play varsity sports as men, and athletes in non-revenue sports should have access to scholarships and practice facilities just like football or basketball players. The department must also comply with Title IX. However, the Athletics Department should be able to provide for all of these athletes out of its own budget rather than relying on already cash-strapped students. Increasing the cost of student tickets for basketball and football would be more fair than requiring all students to pay for a department they may not care about.
But Student Senate writes a $1.8 million check to the athletics department each year, $337,500 of which has been pledged to the construction of a new boathouse for the rowing team. Does the Athletics Department really need this money?
Consider this: according to Lawrence Journal World, the Athletics Department spent $2 million to fly coaches, the governor, KU administrators and faculty, as well as their spouses and children, to the Orange Bowl. More than $12 million was donated to the Williams Educational Fund in the 2006-2007 season alone, according to Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletics Director.
All money donated to this fund is non-earmarked, meaning that the Athletics Department can use it however it pleases.
The University of Texas, as well as some other Big 12 schools, don’t have a mandatory fee. UT students pay an optional $70 per year for an all-inclusive sports pass.
The Women and Non-Revenue Sports fee was voted to be increased from $20 to $40 in Spring 2006 via referendum. Though 3,000 students voted — the largest referendum turnout in KU history — the outcome drew controversy.
Jack Connor, a Holdover senator who was on Wescoe Beach the day of the vote, remembers numerous people from the Athletics Department (including Julian Wright, Sasha Kaun and Athletics Director Lew Perkins) handing out doughnuts and Gatorade to those who voted on laptops that the department had set up. In some cases, Connor said, athletes were sitting with the voter at the computer and telling them where to click. It wasn’t until after the referendum passed that the Student Senate Rules and Regulations were amended to forbid this practice.
Fast-forward to last week. On Feb 19. the Student Senate finance committee voted on a bill proposing to eliminate the Women’s and Non-Revenue Sports student fee. The results were 11-6 in favor of the bill, but because a two-thirds majority is needed for a bill to pass committee, it fell short by just one vote.
But the mandatory fee should never have been proposed to begin with. The Student Senate Budget Code contains a provision designed to protect students from such unfair fees. Article 7.2.5.4.1 states that “No funds from student fees shall be allocated or apportioned to any corporation, organization, or group that is not open de facto to all University of Kansas students.”
Apparently the six senators who voted last week’s bill down decided to break their own rules.
—Ian Stanford for the Editorial Board.
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Comments
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
It should be made clear that nothing Athletics did during its campaign for the initiative was against the rules at the time. In fact, other organizations that had referenda in previous years employed similar tactics.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
It is ironic that Greek Chapters cannot get funding for activities such as community service projects and philanthropies because of the student senate policy against funding groups that are not open to all KU students.
Maybe because Athletics is both a corporation and not open to all students the rule doesn't apply to them because of the double negative?
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
THE STUDENTS HAVE SPOKEN? Come on wake up! Only 3,000 actually showed up to vote on a campus of 29,000. Sure you can talk about voter apathy, and sure you can say the Athletics Department didn't break any rules. They didn't (except they coerced the voters with athletes and Gatorade. Good thing we have legislation now. Why wasn't that rule there before?) But there should never have been a vote in the first place because of the protective measure talked above. Student Senate really needs to wake up!
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
I like your point Lordie about Senate passing the bus referendum even though it didn't pass in the special election last year. Now Senate wants to overturn a decision the students voted for two years ago. If the students want to pay a fee (athletics), let them, if they don't want to pay another fee (buses), don't make them.
Looks like the senators don't trust the students to make decisions for themselves. I guess there is no point in counting any of the ballots for this April's election as Senate will do what they want and not what the students want.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
These sports are not actually all required. To have a football team which gives out 85 athletic scholarships, then all you have to have is the same number of scholarships given out to female athletes. Also the students are not required to pay for them. Voting at KU is a farce and has been for awhile, hence Delta Force focusing on issues instead of candidates.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
Good thing elections commission stepped up last year to put an end to such tactics so they will never happen again. What a good job they did!
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
Wait, wait, wait... after two years... the Kansan NOW thinks that the Athletics referendum was fishy?
head in hands
Seriously, though, at this point calling out SENATE for dropping the ball on this is silly. Technically the students have spoken, and Athletics is fully in the right for progressing as such.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
Excuse me? It's the highest voter turn-out on a referendum in ages! Not Student Senate's fault that people are too stupid to vote. And they're supposed to IGNORE that vote when they DO turn out?
I mean, if you want to complain about the BUS FEE that did not even MEET QUORUM and then Senate ignored this fact and passed the fee anyways... great complaint. Some senators out to be burned at the stake for that one.
And did you just say that students shouldn't have been allowed to vote? Maybe they shouldn't have been even allowed to vote for their senators. Also, there were some (not all) of these discussed rules of coercsion in place. However, you can't stop athletes from telling people to vote. They're students too. And, as long as they have recieved the proper on-campus permissions (which Athletics students did), you can give out free stuff during an election. The ONLY place where they went wrong was viewing the actual casting of ballots, and no senator had the evidence to properly battle the legal team that is the Athletics Corporation on that one.
So, in short, yes. THE STUDENTS HAVE SPOKEN. If you would like to speak again, have another referendum. I see no reason why you should expect the officials that were elected via VOTING undo the VOTING that was done to put them in office.
Lordie.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
richie09-- "Looks like the senators don't trust the students to make decisions for themselves. I guess there is no point in counting any of the ballots for this April's election as Senate will do what they want and not what the students want."
You may have a point there.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
It should be noted that all of these not revenue sports are required for you to have a football team. Thus you are going to have to pay for them either way. The school just decided to let you know that you are actually paying for them.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
Hopefully Students of Liberty will get a chance to remedy egregious issues like this. It is disgusting that we have these activities occurring on this campus. Subsidizing the athletics program not only undermines the affordability to attend KU but it also suggests that other academic departments are not worthy of support. It is laughable to suggest that the athletics department requires crutch to survive. As stated this fee would go predominately to building new facilities and not even toward vital necessities. Reasoning like this is why we have a glorified locker room where parking needs to be and fees rising every year to fund a new pet project. If the teams were continued to be successful then they would be able to fund these programs themselves right? I think the art department needs some work done, how many people would protest a raise in fees by $20 to support it?
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
Athletics is open to all students, they must tryout. Just like the business school or the law school, you must be accepted based on your performance. Should we stop funding the business school because not everyone has grades good enough to get in? Find me a sport that doesn't give all students the opportunity to tryout and maybe i'll start listening to your reasoning.
Editorial Board: Athletic funding shouldn't fall on students
Jayhawkeye,
Yes, you are exactly right: all varsity sports have open tryouts just like various academic programs. But none of these programs receive any funding from a mandatory student fee! Student fees aren't given to any program where being a member is based on any kind of talent. The Student Health Fee provides students with free health services, the Student Recreation Fee gives students access to work out equipment and sports facilities, and the Newspaper Readership Program Fee let's us read regionally and nationally recognized newspapers. The design of student fees is to give everyone useful services, not just a select few who must tryout or be accepted.
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