University President Richard L. McCormick's Nov. 27 letter to The Daily Targum made several points that I agree with, such as insulating the process of selecting leaders for our board of governors from political and corporate interference. However, in his statements concerning funding for higher education, I was again offended by his tendency to propagate statements that seem to tip-toe around the matters at hand and ignore the true interests of your actual constituency, which consists of students, families of students, faculty members and taxpayers. I also felt it necessary to question Rutgers' "mission and statement." In the letter, McCormick claimed Rutgers "must address the recent decline in state funding" by realizing "state investment is far from the only source of support" and "demonstrating to all those who invest in them ... that their dollars are invested wisely and well." I found it quite depressing that he made no mention of how, in the face of a deteriorating campus and declining quality of education, Rutgers is even discussing a massive expansion of Rutgers Stadium while maintaining its very costly membership in Division I-A athletics.
As Ed Fu mentioned in his Nov. 19 column, "Scarlet Shame," Rutgers has cut six Olympic sports, cut 451 classes and fired 374 faculty members while putting projects that actually attempt to restore a decomposing campus on the backburner of the Rutgers' agenda. Even if this proposed stadium expansion were not on the agenda or if the football team had a winning season, Rutgers maintains a ludicrous athletics budget, whose costs include everything from Greg Schiano's salary to the athletes' academic tutoring, all of which is partially funded by student fees. Instead of merely questioning the stadium expansion, I think it is important to also question our Division I A membership. Does our membership in such a league, which requires an ever-increasing amount of financial support, lie within the interests of the students, families of students and faculty members of Rutgers? Does bringing in semi-professional athletes who offer no contributions to the intellectual atmosphere that a university is supposed to offer ring true to the "mission and statement" of a true university? I think not. By pursuing such goals, Rutgers is driving away New Jersey's best students by demonstrating that it seeks to attract students who would rather yell "R-U" than increase their intellectual capacity. By doing so, Rutgers is clearly is not a "wise and well" investment for New Jersey's tax dollars.
The interests of Rutgers' constituency of students, students' families, faculty members and taxpayers clearly lies in pulling out of the Division I A conference in favor of a more participatory form of athletics. It is clear that such a move would require substantially less funding. Based on my own experiences and the inspiration of Professor William Dowling's "Confessions of a Spoilsport," which has put many issues into perspective for me, I feel that this would create a more genuine form of school spirit. I envy a friend of mine who goes to a small school that maintains only participatory athletics. Her friends, who are members of the intellectual community that she is a part of, are on the school rugby team. Going out to support her friends, her rugby team and ultimately her school seems like a much more authentic form of school spirit than going out to support sports players who are nearly professional, would never be able to participate as members of a true intellectual community and have nothing in common with average students. With Division I A sports out of sight, Rutgers could again turn to focusing on the values of academia and participatory sports, which it has a history of fostering. It is critical to remember that the very first game of collegiate football was not played between the semi-professional teams of today, but between two teams that consisted of academically engaged students who were real members of their university community.
It is clear that the "mission and statement" that you and the board of governors espouse will only degrade the Rutgers experience to that of standing on a conveyor belt in a degree factory. I beg you to turn around before you reduce the value of a Rutgers degree to that of a mass-produced product. To my fellow Rutgers students, faculty, alumni and families: I oblige you to take action. Please recognize this is your University, and it is clear that even it is not insulated from political interference and corporate control, which is epitomized in the form of Division I A athletics.
Benjamin R. West is a Rutgers College sophomore.
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