Students should consider athletes’ perspective in light of the recent controversy concerning UNC Asheville sports. It is time to stop bellyaching over how much money student fees contribute to the athletics program.
There is an image stuck in most people’s heads of a university that charges fees based solely on what the individual needs, wants and approves. Every student’s money is spent according to his or her educational future.
Anyone who carries this image is delusional. Universities need to fund all areas, and it is within their power to use student fees to sustain each department. UNCA, the least-funded of all the UNC-system schools, relies on student fees to fuel the athletics program.
UNCA is the cheapest UNC-system school by a long shot, with in-state tuition averaging around $2,200, according to UNCA Admissions. Only $605 of student fees per academic year goes toward athletics. While this figure seems high, it is important to remember the context of a small university.
When we pay such a relatively small fee for a great education, we must be thankful and not worry about a small chunk of that money going to a Division-I athletics program that receives no state funding.
I cringe when I overhear peers trash talk athletes behind their backs. These peers ignore the many sacrifices collegiate athletes make.
A strict set of rules and codes confine athletes and limit the typical college experience. Almost all of them stay on campus for their entire college career, not to follow any sort of policy, but because regular access to the Justice Center is essential.
Athletics improve campus diversity and attract national attention to benefit the university.
Granted, UNC Chapel Hill students only paid $248.50 for their annual athletics fee, according to UNC’s fee summary. But the reality is larger programs don’t need as much money per student.
The system is unfair, but not unfair enough to warrant such a campus divide. Maybe athletes should have to pay their own way, but they pay some major dues via a pool of limitations that most students do not understand.
UNCA athletes probably are not attending their school of choice. Most basketball, soccer, or baseball players would have preferred a larger, more athlete-friendly atmosphere. But they are at UNCA, and they deserve to pursue their dreams like any other student without feeling like a target or an outcast.
Differences exist between the athletic and non-athlete communities, but there are just as many friendships and improvements.
UNCA’s Strategic Plan expresses an ambition to expand the college’s occupancy and diversity, and an improving athletic program is crucial to accomplishing those goals.
Any expression of disdain against sports should aim at the system itself, but the American college system is set up such that athletics has an integral role in enriching a college environment.
This is no recent trend. As college sports became more popular during the past 50 years, campuses saw exponential growth in all areas and departments. The systematic growth mirrored long-term economic growth, and the sports industry is a significant part of that.
UNCA is not a high school. The financial gap between the general student body and the athletic department is indicative of post-college reality. UNCA happens to be a small enough school that athletics gets targeted by a tight-knit group of intellectuals who lose sight of how lucky they are to pay such a low tuition in the first place.
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