EDITORIAL
Athletics looks too
good for handouts
Aw heck, that big ol' debt over in the athletic de
partment didn't need to bo paid off all that quirk, did
it? Besides, all that tax money the department has been
rallying for should be rolling in any minute, taking < are
of its debt and any other financial problems
So, it's no big deal that the department spent most
of the; $(>(H),(HH) it made from the 1090 Freedom Howl
game; on attendance expenses for department employ
ecs and their friends and families, payroll bonuses, and
overtime.
The department spent about S t tO.OOO on airfare,
travel and meal expenses for 10.) coaches and staff
members, along with (Ft of their friends and family
members, included in this group were coaches of
sports other than football that went along for recruiting
purposes.
Also spent was nearly 5104.0(H) on bonuses and
overtime for department administrators and football
coaches. By the time the money was sjmnt, the athletic
department netted'about S5.000.
Granted, some of the exjM’nditures were absolutely
necessary, like overtime and travel expenses for key
staff And true-, sue h spending is quite the norm among
I’ac 10 football conference sc hools
The problem is the* University is not funded like all
the other kiefs on the- blea k Because of last year's up
proval of Measure .5. which wiped out Oregon's higher
education funding, the athletic: department, along with
the rest of the University, is suffering signific ant finan
cial loss
The department recently asked for tax dollars to
subsidize1 University athletic s, the state- Hoard of High
er Kducation will vote Friday on whether to allocate
the funds
Someone should give athletic director Bill Byrne
and his department officials groveling lessons Don't
they know one doesn't wear a coat and tie when asking
for handouts?
The department now carries the burden of a SI.7
million debt: it, along with the rest of the t adversity,
has serious financial problems. However, between the
bowl expenditures and Byrne's recent 5)1,(MM) mission
to have the Casanova Center sculpture moved, one
would never know athletics is in trouble
Oregon
Emerald
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A_WOS
% ' W TI. < S
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1 I see the legislature
is debating school
8id p3YmenC^a^am.
Watson’s attitude questionable
THE FINE
PRINT
BY CHRIS BOUNEFF
In ti>i' large m i >| m • of i omiiic
events n really wasn't that
big of .1 di'.il
\SI () Vif e President Jo So
n 1.1 Wats-m iiaii sf; |i 111 i' I
about seven (lolbirs worth of
stuff from tin' University book
'.lore rti.il vs.is m November
Ut'IO t ampus putil it at ions
didn't find out .ifiout it until
Novemlier 1‘l'tl
In tile Inter tin. W atsi in basil!
performed any earth shattering
m Is, especially i onsldenng stu
dent government doesn't do
null ll III the first pbu e
So. it really isn't that big of a
deal
h\< ept for her attitude
I n Wits; ; i s ( [edit, she til
milted that stealing the liter
i hatliilse yy.e. a mistake l‘o her
dlsiredil Watson does not be
lieve the inrtdeiil does or
si-,. hi Id rellei t on her leadership
abilities
Ibis lit | 11 nil ! some yv ll at
surprising, especial!} from
someone who voted to remove
former Ini idonlal l ee Commit
tee Cb.iiniian Mu Intel Colson
bom the lit' after a kangaroo
investigation by last year s
A SCO president concluded
that Colson might have altered
the official minutes lor an li t
meeting Based on such incon
clusive findings, Watson yv.is
perfectly willing to remove
someone from student govern
ment who yy.isn't ever found
guilty ol anything
U as the alteration to the mm
tites a tug deal' Yes and no
I he actual c hange yv.is mint
niiil Hu! someone violated the
trust betvm i n public anti public
servant, and that is serious
\fter tiie shabbily conducted
investigation, (.oI son was
Mamed Ills judgment was
questioned eventually he was
retnov eti
Watson's theft was just as
minimal, l'ostlt notes, batteries
and a troll doll do not consti
tute a conspirai v to undermine
student voters, but the theft
does tell us something about
Watson
It tells voters something of
her dei tston-riniking and rea
soiling abilities She took items
very non essential items, for no
reason She tailed to comply
with the ruling against her She
didn't appear lor some court
dates, and she was delinquent
m paving her fines
What this means in the larger
scope of student government
isn’t clear, hut it should have
been up to voters to decide, so
Watson shouldn't he surprised
that people are questioning her
abilities as a student leader
And it s not just the College
Kepublu ans doing the ques
tioning The group sees a
i ham e to jump all over some
one whose politic s are the op
postte of the organization's, si
milar to how Watson and com
party attacked Colson his arise
of his views Hut even main
stream students, like myself,
are now more skeptical of Wat
son
Watson, however, chose for
students what it should mean
nothing
"I’eople might question me,"
she saiii, "hut you can also look
at ll as if. well, you didn't know
about it before then and you
didn't question me. so win .ir• ■
V(iu bother mg rue n« n\
The problem is th.it these
non earth shattering events
sometimes do make .1 dilfer
ence. anti it should be up to tin*
voters to consider what does
and what does not tip the
stales one wav or the other
Watson should know that
Fortunately for Watson, tin
results ol her actions may never
he known With only t> percent
ol the student body voting Iti
last spring s election, the likell
hood that a full 10 percent ol
the student body caring enough
to sign .1 recall petition is low
And even if it is put on the
ballot, getting another i. percent
to vote i n a rei a II elect ion
shows the issue is moot and
shows student government lor
the joke it is
With all this i n mind,
though. I would like to think
that we could hold oor leaders
(and I'm not talking about
piddly student senators, hut the
people who represent students
outside the University) to a
higher standard, that we he al
lowed to consider something
other than a golden trac k re
( oril, if It exists
That we be allowed to ques
turn Clarence Thomas alxiul al
legations of sexual harassment
or berate Ted Kennedy lor his
womanizing, and that however
trivial, we question Watson's
judgment for stealing and her
unremorseful attitude about
possibly violating the public
trust.
The answer is uncertain, hut
the question is right And Wat
son should know that
Chris Uouncff is news <s]itor
/or //re Fmeruld.
ALSO MAK./VG
A SP£C7ACLE. OF
VOUQSELF IN FQPNT
of twg class
AND showing no
CAPAClTV POfc
CHANGING YOUft WAVS
you n'ARch
^TpAlGHT to
TME CDfiAltk
AND PuT ON
THE CONGRESS CAP
oa*w r f at
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