Students Organized Against the Athletic Fee Increase would like to apologize for any misunderstandings that may have occurred regarding the athletic fee increase. Although our stance on this issue will affect all athletes, we hold no personal grudges against the athletes themselves. Our problem with the fee increase is with the administration. We feel athletics should be in the same positions as all other clubs and groups on campus. An example of this would be the Theater Department. The laboratory theater desperately needs floor renovations, but the Theater Department is expected to find outside funding for these renovations. If the Theater Department is expected to find outside funding, so should athletics.

The debt that the Athletic Department has accumulated is outrageous. If any other department went into debt for an amount even half that size, heads would roll. We understand that winning teams increase enrollment. However, we feel it would increase for the wrong reasons. People should come to this University first and foremost for academics. By allotting the Athletic Department such massive amounts of money, we as a University are stating that our priorities are in athletics. We feel it is ridiculous to improve on athletics without first having solved all of our academic problems.

There was a confrontation last weekend between an athlete and a student who opposes the increase. SOAAFI does not condone this behavior. We apologize for any misunderstandings caused by opposing views. SOAAFI encourages SIUC students to support our athletes by attending athletic events. Further participation by students would result in an improved performance by our athletes. We hope you realize this is not a personal attack on our athletes. We admire and respect their talents, yet we do not feel we should pay for their success.

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Students’ Organization Against the Athletic Fee Increase