Budget Increase

Recently, I wrote a story about how the war-torn country of Sri Lanka is using sports as a main medium for national recovery. It is interesting that this country can potentially use athletics to stimulate the economy while in America sports are cut because of the bad economy at places such as the University of Vermont. An article in the Christian Science Monitor mentioned the fact that the University of California -- San Marcos students recently voted to increase fees by $120 per year to help support the athletic program. Personally, I was surprised at this simply because sports are normally one of the first things that get cut when the belts are tightened. However, San Marcos must see some intrinsic value in preserving the sports program that many other colleges have not valued. I think I might see where they're coming from. For one thing, this campus obviously values the athletic department, so cutting it would most likely damage student morale. And, to be honest, college education is so expensive anyway that I bet most students would not mind paying an extra $400 to make their time on campus more enjoyable and filled with more activity. Honestly, what is the difference between $100,000 of debt and $100,400 of debt? It is still crazy. Also, there are just about 9200 students on campus. However, only about 1300 came out to vote. Therefore, it seems as though the only people who voted are the extremes who either really wanted to keep the teams afloat or who really did not want to pay that extra money. Therefore, I am glad that San Marcos did not cut the Cougars; I don't know much about the city of San Marcos, but I would bet that there are be a whole lot less to do without the athletic program.