Dear Editor,
The controversy over the cancellation of the Ludacris concert is all over campus. Unfortunately, we have all lost money because of this event. Whether or not we have a concert is, however, not the real issue.
The real issue has to do with the fact that we have a student activity fee at all. The truth of the matter is that we shouldn’t.
The purpose of coming to a university is to get an education, not to be entertained.
It is fine for student groups to get together and put on an event, but the students who wish to participate should be the ones to fund such events.
Mandatory student fees should be limited to fees which directly relate to classes and purely educational purposes.
Activities which are not required in order to attain the required credits to get a degree should be paid for by those who wish to participate and not by the entire student body.
I have heard the argument that students voted on both the student activity fee increase and who should be asked to perform for the concert, but the truth is that many of us were never given the chance to vote.
Approximately 25 percent of the students attending ETSU this year were unable to vote because they were not ETSU students at the time that the elections on these issues were held.In addition, about 25 percent of the people who had the opportunity to vote were unaffected by the outcome of said elections, because they are no longer students at ETSU.
Special events and extracurricular activities are fine, but paying for them should not be a required.
Julie Dickey

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