Dear Editor:
I know I shouldn’t even bother and, while I still can’t help myself, I am reminded of the old tired joke about arguing on the Internet. In the interest of good taste, I will leave it to the readers to google the punch line for themselves. Meanwhile, as I simply can’t contain my temper, I will begin to flesh out the myriad of misconceptions and misinformation that has pervaded the football debate since its inception. I have no better example of this than the uninformed invective provided by James Villanueva in the Aug. 30 edition of the East Tennessean.
First of all, I would like to compliment Mr. Villanueva on his cute little arrogant tone. It is very “art school” of you, but I have to tell you that snobbery is quickly becoming very pass. So, if you want to stay on top of the current trend, you should learn to express yourself with a measure of eloquence rather than veiling your infirmities in sarcasm.
Now since that is out of the way, I can get to the heart of my anger. I cannot wittingly defend anything said by “Daniel” as he is obviously not a student here anymore. This was an issue for the students and faculty to decide. Therefore, “Daniel” had no dog in this fight and had no right to criticize the decisions made by people actually involved with the day-to-day function of ETSU.
However, I did vote on this matter, so I have every right to complain. So when I hear pathetically misinformed arguments about why it was good that football was voted down, I must respond to Mr. Villanueva because, in much the same way “Daniel” does to him, people like Mr. Villanueva truly disappoint me, too. They disappoint me because they did not even bother to learn the truth behind an issue they were voting on. Kind of helps you realize why the American political system is such a joke these days doesn’t it?
Mr. Villanueva’s argument fallaciously posits that it was frivolous for the administration to finance a football team while Ball Hall remains in a state of disrepair. Although I cannot disagree with the latter claim, I must point out the condition of Ball Hall has nothing to do with the rebirth, or lack thereof, of a football team. To remind you, the item appeared on the ballot in terms that asked if students were willing to pay an extra fee in order to help finance a new football team at ETSU. The new fee would be put in place to prevent diversion of current resources away from any academic programs.
If you had even bothered to find out why football was disbanded by President Stanton in the first place, you would have known that it was done to, and here’s the kicker, prevent the football team from diverting any money away from academic programs or any other items on the university’s budget. If you had bothered to look into the proposals put forth by the Football Task Force and Stanton, you would have known that the new fee would have allowed the development of a new football program that could be sustained without any funding being removed from any current program. But, you didn’t bother, so you were a misinformed voter and, thus, a discredit to the democratic process.
In other words, the university is not funded or ran with a big pile of money that the president divides as he sees fit. So, when there was a great deal of noise from the community and student body lamenting the fact that we do not have a football team, the task force was told, basically, well why doncha’ do something about it? So, instead of idly complaining they developed a realistic plan that met the president’s terms in order to bring back a football team. This plan provided for a great deal of pledged funding from within the community but also required the student body to help share the financial burden. At any rate, the disrepair of Ball Hall had nothing to do with this issue. However, in hindsight, it is readily evident that the task force fumbled this one because they did not do a good enough job informing some students of the facts. So, if there ever comes a time where the student body is asked to share the financial burden for improvements in your program, you would do well to make sure the students know exactly what is at stake.
This is not to say that everyone should have voted for the fee increase. If you didn’t want to pay the extra fee to finance a football team, that is your prerogative, and I am glad you bothered to make your voice heard. Sadly though, I feel that many of your fellow students voted no in ignorance of the true issues at hand. Considering we are all, or nearly all, of legal voting age at ETSU, I desperately hope that, in the future, when you are voting to elect the leaders of our country you will actually take the time to look into the facts yourself instead to paying credence to the mindless babble of the peers that shepherd your flocks.
-Zackary Cope, Graduate Student

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