I have a stupid idea.
It's stupid for a number of reasons. First, it's stupid because I cannot find consistent statistics to support my thoughts on the following topic. It's stupid because I don't study economics or business administration or politics. And it's stupid because the term 'compromise' has seemingly been removed from our vernacular. Even so, I share with you my stupidity:
The full-time undergraduate at Ohio University (11-20 credit hours) pays a General Fee of $531 every quarter. Based upon the most recent statistics I could find, 23 percent (about $122) of that fee goes to Athletics; in the past, I've seen that percentage creeping above 30 percent, but I digress.
Now, let's be honest adults here and admit a truth about college life: Not all students attend university sporting events. With this in mind - and with campuswide budget issues and debates continually swirling - here's my stupid idea: Give students a choice as to where this portion of their General Fee is distributed.
For example, let's say a student who has never attended an athletic event has the choice between his or her money going to Athletics or going to his or her academic department. Say 50 other students from that department had the same choice and chose the latter; that's more than $6,100 per quarter that could help their education in a real, tangible way. (And if those students wanted to attend an event at a later date, they could buy tickets for individual games.) By contrast, 50 students from that department who are die-hard Bobcat fans could still send their annual $18,300 to Athletics.
Again, erroneously based on the flimsy statistics I was barely able to dredge up, Athletics receives about $8.2 million annually from the General Fee (almost $9.5 million if you factor in graduate students). I realize it's stupid of me to suggest that a portion of this money could be redistributed to other areas of the university that provide for students' educations (ones that are in dire financial need). I realize that it's stupid to support academics because they don't generate the exorbitant amounts of money that OU sports do. And I realize that it's stupid to allow students to have a voice of their own in how their money is spent and educations fostered. But couldn't the people in capable positions perhaps show a little good will toward the university at large and consider this?
On second thought - and I know this goes without saying - forget I said anything. OU is on par with other MAC schools in regard to its Athletics budget, so there's obviously no reason to do things differently. And Athletics operates independently from the rest of the university with no financial consequences sustained on its account. And we can't risk alienating our alumni donors who place a higher priority on Athletics than academics.
I told you this was stupid.
Ben Guenther is a graduate student studying film production.
4 Opinion
