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As students embarking on perhaps the most exciting new experience of your lives, The Cardinal would like to offer a little guide to the issues that have become contentious in campus life over the last year, many of which will continue to be issues into the future.
Perhaps the most fractious issues affecting students involve questions of diversity. Recently, the student Senate voted for specific funding for the Association of Black Students to be reallocated to a generalized diversity fund available to other minorities as well.
This drew the ire of the ABS causing some members to physically overtake the Senate, preventing Senators from conducting further business, which included reconsidering the budget.
The division on this issue is clear, as the ABS may have interpreted the changes as a slight to the group or even their race. Senators who proposed the changes claimed that the ABS needed greater accountability in how the group’s funding was spent, similar to oversight of other Recognized Student Organizations’ spending.
As the diversity fund is larger, it is possible for the ABS to receive even more funding from SGA as a result of the change.
This issue is complicated by the fact that most of the student representatives for SGA are not black. In SGA elections earlier this spring, the all-black Progressive slate was elected to none of the top four positions.
In fact, another slate, composed of SGA veterans, who had one black candidate, took all four positions after a heated campaign.
Representation is an important issue, and if black students are being underrepresented at the university, the system needs to be changed to ensure that they are not. However, an organized coup over a democratically elected body is not the most appropriate way to draw attention to issues.
As most people are probably aware, sports are also very important to students at U of L. Many are concerned about sizable coaching salaries, including men’s basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino’s deal – $4 million per year over six years – and incoming football Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe’s $1.1 million contract. Others contend that the contributions athletics programs make to the revenue and prestige of the university are necessary.
In the fall, the U of L football team will have at least six nationally televised games, encouraging prospective students who may be interested in a lively athletic environment to attend. Is it worth all the fuss? You decide.
In the beginning of January, the football team won perhaps its greatest victory ever, and, in rapid succession, lost its coach. On Jan. 2, the team won the Orange Bowl 24-13 over Wake Forest University.
Only five days later, before the smell of oranges had faded, and six months after signing a 10-year contract extension, Head Coach Bobby Petrino accepted the same position with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Many were angered by his sudden departure because of loyalty issues, while others felt that he deserved to accept the higher paying position after continuing the football team’s rise to national prominence.
Then again, if new Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe is as successful as Petrino, this debate will be a short one.
So, the editors welcome you to U of L and hope this helps as you continue to acclimate to your new circumstances.
