In the first issue of the semester a letter from “Daniel” was published that basically dressed down the current ETSU students for voting “no” to the football program. The issue I have with his letter is that first and foremost, alumnus or not, current students really don’t need a “you’re fools for not having football” lecture from someone who doesn’t have to deal with the situations on campus, athletic fees, etc., that we do. Daniel goes on to say that we are spending millions on a soccer stadium but have no football. Well Daniel, we don’t always get to choose the battles we fight, and when we voted on football many of us thought that perhaps, maybe certain things like solid and steady stairwells in our academic buildings were a bit more important at the time. Perhaps allocating funding to assure us that our classrooms were in buildings that are safe to be in should be more of a priority than say . 20 people going to a football game (making a note that attendance at our football games was not overly impressive to begin with). You see Daniel, you don’t have to climb stairs that move under your feet to get to your classes, sit in a building that was literally splitting in half (a former problem with Ball Hall) and wonder if you are going to make it out of class in one piece because you no longer attend this school. For some of us, the idea that we would rather graduate without injury is a top priority. I am sorry that you have little to talk about around the water cooler, perhaps you can watch the next season of 24 and see what Kiefer Sutherland is up to and strike up some sundry discussion about that. I, like many other students, believe that there were, and still are some safety and health issues that need a little more attention around campus before we go blowing money on a program that people were less than enthusiastic about in the not too distant past. This is why I personally voted “no” to football. The administration of this school needs to get its priorities straight. The top of the priority list of this school should include a safe, functional campus with adequately maintained classrooms and facilities. This includes ALL classrooms and facilities not just the pet projects or “favorites” of certain individuals and it should take only a matter of hours for someone to address maintenance problems when they arise and not months or years. People like Daniel are truly disappointing to me. When it gets to the point were prestige, ego and image are put before the best interest of health and safety, then we know there is a problem. I am sorry that I am more concerned with the well being of my fellow students than I am of Daniel’s Monday morning office banter, but I am just that kind of guy.– James Villanueva

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