Columnist Erin Davoran reminds students that, as their dorms crumble, an exclusive sports facility is still in the works to be built.
Last week, The Post reported maintenance problems students are having in the new dorms. From freezing showers to weak walls, the new, expensive buildings already have issues. In old dorms, students expect pipes to burst and the boiler to break.
At the same time, enrollment for Ohio University keeps getting higher, so dorms keep getting more crowded. But the university isn’t concerned.
This might not be a big deal, normally. Students don’t expect dorms to be The Ritz. And maybe the university really does want to fix the problems. Perhaps that’s why the Board of Trustees voted last month to raise tuition.
But I can’t believe that. I can’t believe the administration really takes student living that seriously because if it did, why would it make students pay more to live in a building that doesn’t always have working water and heat and at the same time raise millions of dollars to build a new, unnecessary tutor center exclusively for student-athletes?
The planned building, the Sook Center, hasn’t been in the news lately, but we should not forget about it.
If you didn’t know, student-athletes already have a tutor center in Peden Stadium. But apparently it’s not big enough.
I get that Athletics are important for many reasons, including recruitment. And I know the Bobcats want to become a bigger sports program, and that’s fine. But for now, we students are still paying for athletics.
You know how students get into home games for free? That’s because we’ve already paid for it all through the general fee and whatnot.
We are paying for dorms and for athletics, and yet millions in fundraising go to a new building exclusively for student-athletes? They already got a new building when Walter Fieldhouse was built, which was partially funded with $1.2 million in student fees.
Though the fieldhouse is not exclusive to student-athletes, they still take preference.
If athletics was paying for itself and raking in the dough for the university, I would not take issue with the Sook Center. Especially since, at this point, it’s being funded through donations and not student fees.
But if the university can raise millions for a new, exclusive sports building, then take the money of the student body and put it where it will benefit the student body.
Most students are not student-athletes. But all non-commuting students have to live in the dorms for two years.
If the university wants to build up athletics for reasons including recruitment, I pose this question: Do you think prospective students care more about quality student living or fancy sports facilities?
Use students’ money on the students. That’s who we’re paying for.
Erin Davoran is a senior studying journalism. What do you think about the Sook Center? Tweet her @erindavoran or email her at ed414911@ohio.edu.
