By Cherie Noe
Academics must be the priority
With all the attention that U of L has received, it is fair to say that a great deal of it has been because of the wonderful coaches that this university employs. However, in U of L’s strive for excellence; it appears that they [the administration] have decided to “use the alley way to get to the front door”.
If U of L wants to be “great”, then they need to refocus their attention more on the academic programs and less on the athletic programs. It is my opinion that they are ignoring the majority to cater to the selective few; how many registered students are scholarship athletes? Better yet, how many are not?
This campus is made of others, who are just as gifted, that are striving to excel in academic programs in order to become lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, business hierarchy, or other human service specialists. These are the ones interested in the Real World, who have come from every city, state, and nation; from every religion, race, sex, and income bracket.
It is our needs, desires, concerns, and feelings that need to be taken into consideration, and most of us are not athletes. We are the faces you pass every day. We are the ones that are focused on success in the Real World. The Real World does not care if you can make a 50 yard field goal or if you are an excellent 3-point shooter. The Real World needs those that are well-educated role models to organize and lead the World of Tomorrow.
Yet, it is those very students that are reaching out to better themselves through education that are being treated, by this administration, worse than secondhand fiddles, almost as if we were no better than someplace to wipe their feet (after we pay our tuition, of course).
It is time for a change. It is time for effective, responsible and competent leadership from this administration and from the elected student government. We need a university president that will shift focus back on academics where it belongs, for that is where we will find true greatness.
We need a university president who will concentrate on the students first; the happier the students, the better the grades; the better the grades, the more recognition and respect from the Real World; the more recognition and respect, the more contributions ($) to the university. We need a university president who will deal swiftly and harshly with incidences of racism and sexism; not just dress them up, slap a band-aid on them and sweep them under the carpet until the next time.
We need someone who will spend the time to address the concerns and desires of the non-athlete, then follow through and deliver with fairness and swiftness. We need CHANGE. Not more empty promises and useless rhetoric. We need BALANCE for all regardless of income, race, religion, sex, or athletic ability.
As for the elected student government, remember you are supposed to represent STUDENT views, not sell us out to the athletic department when we are out of session. The student body clearly said no to funding the athletic department and yet you allowed us to be “railroaded” into an additional $25 per semester on top of our already increasing tuition.
At this point, it is obvious that you don’t care about our opinions, we are losing 480+ parking spots when we have asked for more parking; we have to “flip the bill” for the athletic department’s overspending, and only the devil knows what you will sell us out for next.
Your representation, what little you are providing anyway, has not gone unnoticed. I urge my fellow students to become more involved in student government. Know what is going on and who is doing it. After all, it is our money that they are playing with.
