Spring Break
Face Off: What do you think of the Athletics fee increase?
Sean Reed and Laurel Berch
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Opinion
Editor's note: the views expressed in this Q&A are solely those of the participant and not necessarily reflective of the views of the Associated Students of CSU.
ASCSU Vice President Trevor Trout, a senior business major, took a fewa moments to give the Collegian the scoop on why the Athletic Department's fee increase request, while a break in procedure, may have some merit.
Q: Do you support the Athletics Department's request for a fee increase?
A: I personally, as a student do not support [the fee increase] without having heard yet Paul [Kowalczyk's] budget presentation the full fee amount. I do not support an endorsement of no fee increase.
However I do not support the full fee increase at this time because there's really been a lack, in the past three years, of athletic transparency [and] of course athletic performance. There's been a lack of student focus just out of the campus and student leadership and there's, again this year, an incredibly inappropriate athletics and central administration has made this fee increase. And eventually my goal is to see Athletics become self-sustaining and actually be able to give back to the university, which requires a certain level of investment from students through either tuition or fees, but there needs to be a substantial effort to really be inclusive of student opinion within that ramp up.
Q: You referred to a lack of athletic transparency. What has been the problem of communication between Athletics and student government?
A: You know, I think its incredibly indicative if you look at past fee legislation ... there's examples of transparency being an issue.
It's funny because, if you look at some, of the fee legislation from 1984 on transparency has been an issue for a long time -- since the Student Fee Review Board's inception.
This year is especially difficult because as you have contractual obligations to pay the new coaching salaries that Athletics promised, students realized there is a need to finance athletics and naturally that required a tuition increase and to be honest we were never encompassed in that discussion of what would be the most appropriate way to finance athletics -- through tuition or fees.
ASCSU Vice President Trevor Trout, a senior business major, took a fewa moments to give the Collegian the scoop on why the Athletic Department's fee increase request, while a break in procedure, may have some merit.
Q: Do you support the Athletics Department's request for a fee increase?
A: I personally, as a student do not support [the fee increase] without having heard yet Paul [Kowalczyk's] budget presentation the full fee amount. I do not support an endorsement of no fee increase.
However I do not support the full fee increase at this time because there's really been a lack, in the past three years, of athletic transparency [and] of course athletic performance. There's been a lack of student focus just out of the campus and student leadership and there's, again this year, an incredibly inappropriate athletics and central administration has made this fee increase. And eventually my goal is to see Athletics become self-sustaining and actually be able to give back to the university, which requires a certain level of investment from students through either tuition or fees, but there needs to be a substantial effort to really be inclusive of student opinion within that ramp up.
Q: You referred to a lack of athletic transparency. What has been the problem of communication between Athletics and student government?
A: You know, I think its incredibly indicative if you look at past fee legislation ... there's examples of transparency being an issue.
It's funny because, if you look at some, of the fee legislation from 1984 on transparency has been an issue for a long time -- since the Student Fee Review Board's inception.
This year is especially difficult because as you have contractual obligations to pay the new coaching salaries that Athletics promised, students realized there is a need to finance athletics and naturally that required a tuition increase and to be honest we were never encompassed in that discussion of what would be the most appropriate way to finance athletics -- through tuition or fees.
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