OUR VIEW: Here’s both sides of athletic fee issue

USU athletics provide a huge amount of monetary support to the university through sporting events. To say anything else would be false. As the athletics department faces serious budget cuts, the lack of funds could cause even more financial strain during a time when our school is resorting to furloughs and departmental shifts to make it through. However, an increased fee of $65 is not the way to boost student morale and make ends meet.
    The general consensus seems to be that $65 is a small price to pay when we are already forking over thousands for tuition. It’s this laissez-faire attitude that will brand our generation as apathetic. To many, that fee is a month of groceries or weeks worth of gas and not just a few extra dollars being poured into tuition. When students stop caring about where their money is going, they are prime targets for being taken advantage of.
    There are other ways to fix the athletic department deficit. For students who support the athletic fee wholeheartedly, why not ask them to pay a few more dollars for tickets to sporting events? In short, before imposing a mandatory fee increase, the USU athletics department should look to other sources for the necessary money and consider a less drastic solution. Athletics may be important to our school, but it’s not everything.

The other side

    Recently there has been a lot of talk about the proposed athletic fee. It’s something that we need to do and has been a long time coming at Utah State.
    We have one of the best and biggest student sections in the country yet the amount of funds our students are assessed is at the bottom of the WAC and near the bottom of the country. If we as students wish to keep enjoying the seats that we’re allotted at our sporting events – most notably football and basketball – then it’s time we do our part. Think of it as a down payment on a crucial part of our college experience.
    Currently, our athletics department is facing a $2.3 million annual deficit. Yet, with the money they do get, they do the most out of any school in the conference. Imagine if we gave our athletic department a level playing field. The athletic department has done (4,000 student seats at the Spectrum) and is doing (hiring of a high-caliber football coach) its best to provide USU students with the most exciting college experience possible.
    Isn’t it about time that we as students return the favor?