Editorial
—^ *1 Curt Wagner. Editor, 472-1766
JJaily _ Amy Edwards, Editorial Page Editor
IV I Jane Hirt, Managing Editor
I ** f | W IdT Pk Lee Rood, Associate News Editor
^ B. Diana Johnson, Wire Page Editor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chuck Green, Copy Desk Chief
Lisa Donovan, Columnist
Campus Rec increase
Campus Rec fee should be refundable
Let’s face it -- student fees are going to increase next
year, especially after a $7 per student per semester
increase in Campus Recreation’s budget
Ami the likelihood that fees will increase to pay for the
second phase of the new Campus Recreation Center is
very high.
Kevin Lytle, chairman of the Committee for Fees Allo
cation, said he does not expect any problems in approving
the Campus Rec budget. Even if CFA didn’t approve the
budget, he said, their decision wouldn’t make it past
administrators.
That’s too bad, since not everyone uses Campus Rec.
Stan Campbell, director of Campus Rec, said $6.76 of
the proposed increase will be used to pay programming,
operation and maintenance costs associated with Phase II,
scheduled for completion July 15.
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side of the NU Coliseum, including basketball, volleyball
and racquetball courts, a weight room, equipment rental
and check out area, and a renovated swimming pool.
The added $7 per student per semester would increase
Campus Rec’s student fee budget to $96^,639, a 51.7
E percent increase from this year’s budget of $635,346.
Campbell said he does not anticipate opposition to the
proposed increase because in the past students have given
approval to the rec center and the fee increase.
But many of those students will not have to pay the
increased fees. Students were questioned in spring 1985
and spring 1987 about the center. Many of those students
have graduated, sticking students entering the university
since then with the bill.
That hardly seems fair. But since no administrator
f would probably accept that argument, the Daily Nebras
J kan proposes changing the fee classification of Campus
Recreation.
Why not make Campus Rec a refundable Fund A fee
user? This would allow those students who did not ap
prove the center and will not use the center to get their
■ money back.
Students who were refunded their Fund A fees would
not be allowed to use the center, which will be easy to
regulate if the proposed photo ID card system is installed
this fall.
Campus Rec, like the other Fund A fee users - the DN,
the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska,
and the University Program Council — should be refund
able since not every student uses it.
This way, those who didn’t want the increase wouldn’t
have it. And that would be fair.
.* Curl WkgMf
for the Doity Nebraskan
iiR'ftM®]
Reader: Good News should print truth
Ii was nice to see supporters of The
UNL Good News rush to defend the
paper from Gary Longsine’s criti
cism (Daily Nebraskan, Jan. 27). I
have noticed, however, that the Good
News does not publish opposing
viewpoints, such as letters to the edi
tor.
Any person, government, or publi
cation that isolates itself trom dissent
makes me suspicious If the GN
printed the truth, it could withstand
challenges. Obviously the editors of
the poorly written newspaper have
something to hide.
Arnold Grwualdi
grad student
DN is compared to junior high journalism
In regard to your editorials in tne
Jan. 31 Daily hfebraskan, 1 think the
editorial page of the DN has struck a
new low. Two-thirds of the page is
devoted to staff members’ personal
gripes. This is only the latest editorial
Sige to stoop to such journalistic
ws.
James Sennett once again shows
his mentality and hypocrisy by com
plaining about the drivel known as
'‘Reality Television” while tackling
sucn weignty suojects as siaewai*
traffic and unflushed urinals. While
the “gripe journalism” provides
great ideas for a junior high editorial
page, I expect more from the DN.
What is next from the intellectual
heavyweights on the DN’s editorial
staff? I wait with baited breath.
Eric Petersen
junior
business
CAM.V
oHELUlb Q i^eft **»«*<
Royko advocates paid athletes'
Teach ‘employees the basics to secure off-the-field futures
II seems to me that there is a
simple solution to the contro
versy about letting athletes go
to college, even though they can
barely read and write.
Obviously, they haven’t been re
cruited by these universities because
there isn’t any chance that thev will
become Rhodes scholars or Nobel
Prize scientist*.
They are in demand because they
can dribble a ball behind their backs,
slam dunk, leap over a hulking line
man, catch a long pass and perform
other physical feats that thrill Ameri
can sports fans.
Despite what Some academic pur
ists may say, these are valuable skills.
Sports fans spend hundreds of mil
lions of dollars a year to watch a 7
footcr drop a ball through a hoop or a
300- pounder terrorize quarterbacks.
They fill the schools’ gymnasiums,
the stadiums, and bring in the big TV
contracts.
Sc they don’t read too good. Has a
scalper ever charged $50 for a scat in
the library?
The universities use the money the
athletes generate to finance golf
teams, tennis teams, soccer teams,
volleyball and other sports programs
that fans wouldn’t spend a nickel to
see.
It’s a business deal, pure and
simple. But it's an unfair deal be
cause the athletes aren’t properly
compensated.
As the critics point out, after four
years, many of the athletes have little
to show for their efforts. They don’t
earn degrees and they haven’t made it
to professional sports where the real
money is.
But is that any reason to keep them
out of college? Of course not. The
solution is to be realistic and fair.
And the first step would be to
admit the obvious: That these under
educated athletes aren’t students.
They are employees. Their jobs arc to
entertain the sports fans, to fill the
seats and bring in the big-money TV
contracts.
The fans know it, the alumni know
it, as do the TV announcers, the sports
* m a a -
writers and the athletes. So why do
we pretend that it isn’t so?
Once we stop pretending, we can
establish a system that is fair.
When an academically hopeless
student is recruited, he should be paid
a fair salary, based on how big a box
office draw he is.
After all, many of the coaches are
the highest-paid members of the fac
ulty. If they can make big bucks by
sending some kid on the field to get
his knee tom up, why shouldn’t the
kid turn a profit?
_I-1
One of the big complaints about
the present sports program is that
many of these lads finish their college
careers, fail as professional athletes,
don't get educations, and have noth
ing to show for their four years.
Thcrc’sa solution for that problem
-• a good pay roll-savings plan. When
the college athlete is paid, half of hi?
earnings should be deducted and put
into a safe, interest-bearing fund.
i rial way, wncn he nnisnes his
four years, he’ll have a tidy sum
stashed away and won’t have to go
out and start robbing gas stations
right away.
Now, I'm not saying that an aca
demically deficient athlete should do
nothing but engage in sports. During
the off-season, he should be taught to
read, write, do arithmetic and take
some speech courses.
That might not sound like much.
But that’s really all you have to be
able to do — read, write, handle
simple numbers and utter a coherent
sentence — and you can get some very
good jobs. You can be a TV anchor
man, sell just about anything, run for
public office, or even become a rich
trader in pork bellies.
Obviously, my plan doesn’t get to
the root problem - why these athletes
get through eight years of elementary
school and four years of high school
without learning much.
The answer is that most of them
arc black and come out of the poorest
of the big city ghettos. Chances are
that their parents are also illiterate or
close to it. And so are most of the
people they hang around with,
And they go to schools that arc
relieved if a graduating senior can
read his diploma. If not, they’ll settle
for his being able to spell the name of
the school and the street sign outside.
One of the many reasons the
schools arc bad is money, or lack of it.
That’s not the only reason, but it’s
one of the major ones.
So I offer a modest proposal to
help alleviate this problem.
There are schools all over Amer
ica in cities and states that have little
or no black ghetto population. So
what do they do when they need a
running back, a tall center, a point
guard, a 280-pound lineman? They*
turn to the ghettos of Chicago. Dc-,
trod, £Jew York and other big cities.
I IliCdll, W1IUI MIIU Wl v —
the University of Nevada-Las Vegas
have If it had to depend on home
grown talent? They wouldn ’t win one
game with a lineup composed of the
stubby offspring of casino pit bosses, i
So when these universities come
poaching in our big city ghettos, they
should have to pay us a fee. You want;
a 7«fool center? Fine, drop $50,000
into our school fund. You want that
270-pound nose tackle? It’ll cost you
another $50,000. If they make all
conference, we get a $25,000 bonus.
All-American? That’s $100,000.
The whole dispute is ridiculous.
As proof, I ask you how many points
a game Michael Jordan scores. Right,
about 35. Every basketball fan knows
that.
But does anyone in America know
what his final grade average was
I wonder if Michael knows.
Mike Royko kl a columnist for the Chicago
Tribune.
C> 1969 by The Chicago Tribune
I£11 _
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief
letters to the editor from all readers.
LelMP will be selected for publication
on tholMis of clarity, originality, timeli
ness and space available. The Daily Ne
braskan retains the right to edit all mate
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Readers also are welcome to submit
material as guest opinions.
Submit material to the DaiN Nebras
kan. 34 Nebraska Union. 1400 R
Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
^dm®at==
Signed staff editorials represent the
official policy of the fall 1988 Daily Ne
braskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebras
kan Editorial Board. Its members are Curt
Wagner, editor; Amy Edwards, editorial
Cge editor; Jane Hirt, managing editor;
e Rood, associate news alitor; Lisa
Donovan, columnist; Diana Johnson,
wire page editor; and Chuck Green, copy
desk chief.
Editorial columns represent uu- °P‘
ion of the author.
