Students speak out on athletic funding
By Julie Shippen
Of the Emerald
Editor’s note: ASUO President Julie
Davis recently announced her intention
to veto the athletic department’s 1985-86
$773,009 budget contract, as finalized
Tuesday by the Incidental Fee Commit
tee. The Emerald spoke with randomly
selected students Wednesday about their
views on funding the department.
“Athletics always has been important
to me. I wouldn’t mind it if they asked
students for a little more money,” said
Beto Alcocer, a freshman at the business
school and a regular attender of athletic
events.
Alcocer, originally from Mexico, said
it was the University’s athletic program
that sparked his initial interest in atten
ding school here, and he believes a
strong athletic progam enhances the col
lege and produces better people through
athletic competition.
“There is no way to be cheating in
sports. You learn that in life. The only
way to win is to work for it,” Alococer
said. He added that an increase in fees
supporting the athletic department isn’t
a significant sacrifice since students
Nan Koenig
often pay $30 for individual textbooks
every term.
“Why not pay a couple dollars more to
keep the athletic department strong,” he
said. “I think we should support our
team."
Nan Koenig, a sophomore majoring in
psychology, doesn’t agree. Koenig
believes the department’s budget should
4A university is for in
tellectual education.
Sports and school should
be separated. *
— Christiane Mrozek
be funded by those directly involved in
athletics as competitors or spectators.
“I have more the view that only a
small percent of the student population
is involved in athletics. Therefore, I
don’t know how much students should
be expected to pay; I think there should
be a limit,” Koenig said.
More emphasis should be placed on
curriculum rather than on “the team,”
Koenig said. She added that she came to
the University for academic — not
athletic — reasons, and rarely attends
games because of her work and academic
obligations.
“I think they (the 1FC) should go
through it again before they make a final
decision, and look at it a little closer,”
Koenig said.
Christiane Mrozek believes athletic
competition is inappropriate in an
academic atmosphere. Mrozek, a biology
graduate student, agreed with Keonig
that student fees should go to education
over athletics, adding that sports should
be more of a private, leisure-time
activity.
“A university is for intellectual educa
tion. Sports and school should be
separated,” she said, adding that in her
native country of Germany, the two are
not mixed. “It makes me somewhat sick
to see this high competition in sports
and this high emphasis on campus for
sports.”
Mrozek believes it is unjustified that
athletes attend college on scholarships
and receive free tutoring while graduate
and out-of-state students pay increased
tuition rates and attend classes in depart
ments with deficient budgets.
“It’s clear there is a lot of money going
there (to the athletic department). That’s
such a discrepancy in the fundings,” she
said. “It’s not justified. Education in this
country is bad enough as it is.”
Walter Dodds, who is working toward
a doctorate degree in biology, also is op
posed to additional funding for the
athletic department.
"It seems so strange to me that the
head football coach makes more than the
governor of the state. I really don’t think
that’s fair,” Dodds said. According to
the 1985-86 Oregon Blue Book, Gov. Vic
Atiyeh’s annual salary is $55,423. Rich
Brooks, the University’s head football
coach, currently earns $86,000.
Dodds said the athletic department’s
distribution of funding to the different
sports is unfair as more money goes to
male-dominated sports than to women’s
sports. “In terms of equality, it’s not
balanced. It’s not an equal opportunity,"
Dodds said.
7 definitely don’t think
students should have to
pay more (but) I don ft buy
the argument that we
shouldn't subsidize sports
at all. ’
— Ken Lake
“It’s a philosophy of education ques
tion rather than a line-item by line-item
question,” he concluded. “I think the
funding structure should be
reconsidered.”
“Pretty soon we’re going to have col
lege ‘pros’,” said Chris Artman, a
Beto Alcocer
freshman yet to declare his major. While
Artman, like many of the others polled,
admitted he was unfamiliar with the
athletic department’s budget, he
believes the money should go elsewhere,
such as Club Sports, a program accessi
ble to all students.
“The whole idea is to come to school
to acquire knowledge in a broad sense,”
Artman said. “I don’t think people come
here for the Pac-10 competition. Per
sonally 1 don’t feel they should put so
much into it.”
“1 think they should try other places
first before asking students (for addi
tional funds),” said Ken Lake, a senior in
political science. ”1 definitely don’t
think students should have to pay
more.”
But Lake believes that athletics does
play an important role at the University.
“It helps the University’s image in the
sports community,” he said. "I don’t
buy the argument that we shouldn’t sub
sidize sports at all.”
Lecture to explain
Penk case tonight
“Davidette vs. Goliath,” a lecture offered by the ASUO
Women’s Task Force, will be held this evening, examining
the Penk case, a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit filed
by Oregon women faculty against the Oregon State Board of
Higher Education.
Margaret Lumpkin, a named plaintiff in the case, will
speak at the lecture. Lumpkin is a recently retired Oregon
State University education professor and president of Faculty
Women for Equity.
Jeanne Dost, OSU economics professor and director of
the women’s studies program, also will speak.
The lecture will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in 101 EMU.
Customer deadline nears for
long-distance firm selection
Most Eugene, Springfield and Leaburg
telephone subscribers who haven’t selected a
company to handle their interstate long-distance
calls by June 24 will be randomly assigned to one
of six companies competing in the area, says Dave
Underhill, Oregon’s public relations manager for
American Telephone & Telegraph
Communications.
However, customers can still choose a long
distance company after June 24, but will be charg
ed a $5 processing fee for changes made more
than 180 days after the June conversion date, he
adds.
August 1 will end AT&T’s monopoly over
direct long-distance calling in the three cities,
when five other long-distance services for this
area will gain equal access to the ability for
customers dialing long-distance calls to just dial
the number “1” and the telephone number. The
companies are MCI Telecommunications, GTE
SPRINT, IJ.S. Inc., American Network Inc. and
SAVENET, Underhill says.
The conversion applies to all phone lines in
Eugene, Springfield and Leaburg, except for
River Road/Santa Clara and Bethel/Danebo-area
customers (461, 688 or 689 prefixes), which will
be converted in 1986.
Prices, locations of service availability, billing
options, sound quality and operator access are all
factors to consider when selecting a long-distance
service.
Either customers or the companies they set up
service with can notify Pacific Northwest Bell of
their choices in long-distance services.
I-_T
1985 SPRING
TENNIS CLASSIC
MAY 24-26
Prizes: First 150 participants receive t-shirts.
Trophies will be awarded to all division winners.
Entry Fees: UO students $6 singles, $4 doubles.
All others $7 singles, $5 doubles.
Entry Forms: Available at UO Recreation and
Intramurals (103 Gerlinger) or at the Women’s
Athletic Office (110 Gerlinger).
Entry Deadline May 17, 1985
Iuo
RECREAIlONSi
NTRAMURALS
GREAT TASTE f
LESS FILLING
ri/%iiI. nuni, i
Second Hand Clothing
WE BUY, TRADE
6( CONSIGN
quality clothing (new to 2 yrs. old) J
Remember us when cleaning out [
your closets. Or just come browse I
through our unique shop. ;
Call Mornings for Appt. I
344-7039
SAVE MONEY
10-6 Mon.-Sat.
360 C. I I Ih.
between Mill Be High
I_CLIP ar SAVE_I
ThnrsHav. Mav 9. 1985.'