4
Forum
December
Unfair sports funding undermines athletics program
a M ary W ood _________________
Staff Reporter
The football team has
impressive uniforms, many
players, and a huge crowd
that comes to every home
game. They also receive 14
percent of the district sports
budget. Though that figure
doesn't seem like much by
itself, it sounds like much
more when you're told the
next highest percentage of
the budget, 8 percent, goes
(shockingly) to Dance Team.
Other sports teams have
much lower percentages, the
lowest of which is the .9%
which funds cross country.
When a large, successful
team like cross country, that
recently made its way to
seventh place in State, receives
less than one percent of the
sports budget, one might
assume that sports funding
isn't exactly fair.
Though funding from the
district budget for different
sports teams is allotted
based on their financial
needs for equipment, fees,
coaches' salaries, and other
items, teams are also given
opportunities to hold fund
raisers.
This may seem to make up
for a bit of the huge difference
between football's funding
and the funding for other
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sports, but when you consider
that all the admission and
themom go? concession money from
football games is a fund raiser
for the football team, things
don't seem quite as fair. The
football team can effortlessly
raise funds every Friday
night, while other teams have
to put in much more effort to
increase funding.
Sexism is another funding
issue. Though the school is
legally bound to meet the
Title IX requirements of
giving equal funding to boys
and girls teams of the same
sport (like boys' and girls'
basketball,) that seems to be
where the equality between
boys and girls ends.
Both boys and girls are
given "team rooms" in the
locker rooms, but the boys
room is indescribably nicer
than the two tiny rooms the
girls have. While both rooms
have lockers, the girls' rooms
only have a couple benches
and a white board. The boys'
room has these amenities,
along with much more space
than both the girls' rooms
combined.
The boys even have their
names displayed on their
lockers. It is very unnecessary
and unfair that the boys
receive better accommodations
than the girls in the locker
room, of all places.
The team room issue
would take some difficult
construction work to fix, but
the distribution of funding
could easily be made more
equitable. The large number of
football players increases the
funding requirement, but the
extensive fund raising they do
will help them quite a bit to
increase their funds, and leave
room to give more district
funds to other teams.
There are teams like
volleyball that have
consistently done very well
and deserve a little extra
money. It seems to be only
right to allow every team and
every player, regardless of
their sport, fair funding.
The money from the district
needs to be more fairly spread
out, and the best way to do
that would be to take some
of the football team's funding
and give it to other teams that
need it.
Another possibility would
be to take some of that money
and give more funding to the
weight room so it could be
used by all the teams. As it
is right now, sports funding
isn't properly catering to the
needs of the teams (other
than football), which is an
embarrassment to the entire
program.
Political correctness overshadows positive characteristics
a I saac C allagan ______________
Staff Reporter
In today's society, people
are protected. We try not to
offend others, hurt feelings or
cause people to feel insecure.
The phenomenon of political
correctness pervades our
culture. In general, this is a
great idea, preventing people
from spouting cruel and
hurtful things. However,
some people have managed
to pervert this idea and
turn it into a monster that
is threatening sports in
particular.
Recently, a group of
students that are part of a
nationwide movement, have
appealed to various school
boards around Oregon. The
hot topic concerns the use of
Native American symbols
as school mascots. The
complaint details the use of
names such as the Warriors,
Indians, Chieftains or Braves
as offensive to Native
American students and that
they should be replaced.
This is hardly confined
to one or two schools in
Oregon; a total of 15 would
be affected by this change.
The main argument for the
change is that the use of
Native American names
and symbols denigrate and
degrade their traditions and
lifestyle. The cartoon images
used to represent the mascots
can also be viewed as
offensive, as they create and
exemplify the stereotypes
that Native Americans have
fought against their whole
lives.
A national example of this
is the Cleveland Indians,
whose mascot goes by
the affectionate moniker
Chief Wahoo. The Indians
and the Atlanta Braves
have both come under fire
for their mascots and the
images that represent them.
In Cleveland's case, Chief
Wahoo is a smiling stereotype
of an Indian, complete with
red skin and a feather in his
headband. These are just the
examples in professional
baseball.
There are also 62 other
teams in professional or
semi-professional sports
ranging from basketball
to rugby and even hockey
that feature nicknames with
indigenous connections. Not
every one of them has to do
with Native Americans, but
if a precedent is set in this
case, each of these teams
could come under fire. In
addition, 33 U.S. colleges
have mascots with a Native
American connection; each
could eventually be forced to
change, erasing or revising in
some cases a hundred years
of sports history.
This is wrong. It is
wrong in ways that defy
conventional definitions of
wrong. Although the mascot
issue would be a problem if
the mascots were demeaning,
this is the very part of the
argument that has the most
holes. Ever heard of the
Los Angeles Butterflies?
They are 18-0 in league
play and contending for the
national championship. One
problem, there is no team
nicknamed the Butterflies,
and if conventional wisdom
prevails, there never will be.
continued on page 10
Driving While Texting, the new Driving Under the Influence?
a S arah C hîcoîne _____________
co-Editor-in-Chief
A mere month ago I was
still begging my parents to
switch my text messaging
plan from 1,000 messages a
month to unlimited messages.
My brother, who is only three
years older, was astounded
that I could possibly need
more than 1,000 texts. Making
sure my older brother didn't
win this argument, I snapped
back with a sharp retort and
told him it was a 'generation
gap.' Although, at the time,
he scoffed, it's true.
Text messaging has
rapidly become the medium
of communication preferred
by high school students. No
longer are hour-long phone
conversations held in rooms
with doors closed; hours
aren't spent chatting on
instant messenger and letters
surely aren't being written. In
the world of today, texting is
booming. In December 2006,
18.5 billion text messages
were sent and that number
has grown by 250% each year
over the last two years.
There is no denying this
new fad in communication
and technology. With a society
that is progressively busier
and busier, multitasking is
essential. But where should
the line be drawn?
Text messaging is most
popular with those in their
teens, and coincidently,
these are also the years in
which teens learn to drive.
Incorporating this latest
communication fad into the
new freedoms of driving is
neither safe nor practical.
With driving skills still being
refined, this is not the time to
add one more distraction.
A recent study by Harris
Interactive Inc. showed that
91% of Americans believe
that text messaging while
driving is just as dangerous
as driving drunk. Not only is
a driver's attention distracted
from the road, but the driver
is no longer even looking
at the road. These seconds
of inattention could mean
someone's life.
Washington has already
passed a bill banning driving
while texting and six other
states are considering a
similar law. DWT is a serious
a problem. Next time you
hear the beep of a text
message while behind the
wheel, think twice about
checking, it could mean
taking a life—it could even be
yours.
Accidents caused by driving while texting are becoming a serious
problem since text messaging rapidly evolved into the medium of
communication preferred by teens. Washington has already banned
driving while texting, and other states are considering a similar
law.
Photo by Maiia Chong