It’s been a long, downhill road for the proposed student athletic fee increase. From $100 to $90 and, now, $45, it has softened over time — but not enough. Today, the student fee advisory subcommittee should vote the fee down or further delay the vote so that more work can be done to deflect a blow to students.
This proposal is just the latest in a string of attempts by the University to tap into students for revenue. Earlier this semester, two similar fees were shot down for their unfair burden on students: a $1,240 special fee increase on dental students to pay for equipment, and a $50 application fee for students applying to the Kenan-Flagler Business School. This one deserves a similar fate.
What makes this latest proposal especially egregious is its source: the athletic department. It was this department that paid former head football coach Butch Davis a $2.7 million severance, even when the University had a case for firing him without a severance. That severance would almost cover the $3 million athletic director Dick Baddour said non-revenue sports have requested during the past three years.
Baddour said his department has already implemented cuts and a hiring freeze. By halving the $90 proposal, he said the department would have to look elsewhere to fund scholarships, which became more expensive this year after the state legislature repealed an in-state tuition waiver offered to out-of-state student athletes on full scholarships.
He should have ruled out all options before turning to student fees, which should be a last resort. That’s especially true for a 16 percent increase to an already hefty $274.50 fee — and in a year when administrators say tuition might have to rise above the 6.5 percent cap.
If any increase ultimately passes, it must come with a clearer rationale. Baddour is understandably hesitant about throwing any one sport under the bus, but he needs to provide a clearer understanding of how the department will use this recurring, higher fee.
If not, sacrifices might have to be made. It’s great that the University has been able to fund 28 teams — the most in the ACC — largely through football and men’s basketball.
But if those sports can’t support the full load of athletics, the department should look to donors and alumni for help. What they should not do is treat students like a bottomless cash supply that can be manipulated at will.
