ASF needs to fork up cash
Campus Times
October 17, 1997
Just what does $15,000 mean to the Associated Students Federation (ASF)
Forum?
At their meeting on Oct. 8, the Forum briefly addressed a request from
the Athletics Department, asking the Forum to allocate $15,000 towards a
new gym floor. Though it decided to table the idea until Homecoming is over,
it has got to be thinking about the coming decision.
A new gym floor is a major necessity for the University of La Verne.
The number of injuries acquired by athletes clearly shows just how important
a new gym floor is to the University of La Verne.
How must it feel for basketball and volleyball players to know that
simply playing on the gym floor puts them at more risk for injury? Is this
student concern enough for ASF to step in with their support?
It seems to be a tough question to answer. First off, the allocation
is only a drop in the bucket, as the gym floor, will cost $165,000 total.
ASF knows that their contribution wont solely make the gym floor appear.
The University will therefore have to wait for other donors to contribute
the other $150,000 in order for the floor to eventually be built. With students
not instantly benefitting from such a huge allocation, the Forum faces the
question of if this money directly serves their constituents.
On other hand, aren't athletes part of the student body too? Part of
the Forum's job is acting in the interest of the students, especially when
administration looks beyond them. The gym floor is a perfect example of
how the University has looked beyond the injuries of student athletes. After
all, they financed a pool and created an entire aquatic program before dealing
with this problem.
If ASF made the large allocation, they would be acting as advocates
for the athletes that are asking for a safer environment to play. The student
athletes are not asking for frills, they simply want a floor that wont injure
them.
Looking at the hundred budget ASF receives every year, it seems that
a measly 15 grand would not be a problem. The fact is, after money for committees,
Homecoming, activities and expenditures, much less money is leftover. Though
ASF could probably find $15,000, other ASF ventures would probably feel
the effects of the loss in funds.
Is an allocation toward a better floor in the future a worthwhile cause?
Is it smart? Is it fair? ASF members would probably like all of the answers
to those questions, but they will most likely encounter, instead, a huge
mix of answers from the huge mix of students at the University.
Athletes are likely to tell them that it is a need-that it is only fair
and just and right that the Forum steps in and represents them, using their
money for this need.
Other students will look at their own problems on campus and question
why so much money has to go toward one venture, when 15 grand could surely
be put into several other improvements and activities that would benefit
many more students.
ASF represents everybody, but they wont make everyone happy when it
comes time to face the issue of the gym floor. That's probably because there
is no longer a happy solution to the problem. Administration should have
solved it a long time ago, but like so many things, they couldn't find the
money.
Will our student government find the money? I hope so. After struggling
with both sides of the coin, I think there are too many young athletes getting
hurt for stupid reasons. If administration can't pitch in enough, ASF should
set the example and put in part for the students.
Fifteen thousand dollars is a lot of money and we may not see the benefits
of it tomorrow, but for the sake of the students, enough is enough.
I, like the majority of the undergraduate population, am not an athlete.
I don't use the floor, and can think of many things that need improvement
around here.
In this situation, however, I see a need for a precedent to be set.
That precedent is for our student government to step in when students need
them most.
Andrea Gardner, a senior broadcast journalism major is editor in
chief of the Campus Times. She can be reached by email at gardnera@ulv.edu.
