TO THE EDITOR:
The damage UNC’s administration has caused in the name of athletic eligibility cannot be understated. Multiple accreditation reviews harm the school’s reputation, which in turn jeopardizes the careers of all faculty and students, regardless of whether they were involved in the “paper classes.”
On Oct. 30, The Herald-Sun reported that UNC athletics saw a profit of $326,731 in the 2014 fiscal year. The 2014-15 breakdown of student fees shows that undergraduates pay $279 per year to fund athletics. There are 17,500 undergraduates at UNC; students are funding the athletic department to the tune of $4,882,500 every year. What are they getting in return for this annual contribution? A comparatively minuscule profit and widespread skepticism of the value of their degrees.
Let me be clear: The majority of UNC students are getting a top-flight education. But without solid proof of that education, students will have a hard time paying back the debts they incur in procuring it. The NCAA and the school should demonstrate that they are serious about making sure this never happens again. In order to salvage its reputation as a serious research university, UNC should be willing to accept the harshest penalties available for its sports teams. UNC’s basketball and football teams should be stripped of all victories and titles “won” during the paper class years and should be banned from playing for at least a year. It’s time the administration proves its priorities lie in the true purpose of the University: scholarship and education.
Monica Locker
Class of ’11
