Letters to the Chronicle

Student-athlete opposes sports cuts

I have been a student-athlete at UMass for three years and in each of those three years, I have cherished my experience. The positive relationships that I have cultivated on and off the field will forever stay with me. Athletics has been the vehicle through which many of my fellow student-athletes could attend college. The opportunity afforded to these qualified students to access higher education is not one to play with lightly. In the classroom, student-athletes are no different academically than any of the other thousands of undergraduate students that populate UMass. We still hold ourselves to the high standard of academic excellence that is demanded of every college student.

In addition to our high commitment in the classroom, student-athletes also diligently apply themselves on the slopes, in the arena and between the chalk lines. For many years now, the University has been fortunate enough to have nationally recognized athletic teams, as well as individual student-athletes, that bring athletic and academic prominence to the University. Student-athletes help to diversity our campus academically, socially and culturally.

As a part of the larger student community, we will feel the budget cuts twofold: Initially as students and secondly as athletes. First, through the consolidation of academic departments, elimination of majors, decreased availability of classes, and of course the ever-decreasing population of full-time professors. Secondly, and just as important, some of my peers will not have a sport to return to in the coming academic year if the anticipated budget cuts are implemented. It is not only a frightening scenario, but also an incredibly disheartening realization.

This leads me to my plea: Athletics are vital to the lifeblood of this university and they enrich our campus exponentially. They foster a sense of pride, unity, spirit, and offer a common ground for individuals of differing backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs to come together in a positive venue. It would be a travesty to eliminate any one of our 29 varsity teams in hopes that this would instantaneously relieve our campus's financial woes.

Student voices must be heard. Encourage the voting population (parents, friends, and family) to also contact the University. Contact the Board of Trustees either by e-mail or letters. Sign the petitions available around campus. Get involved in this vital campus issue.

DOUGLAS WHITE
Class of 2003

Douglas White is a Finance and Operations Management major and is a placekicker and punter for the football team.

Alumni Association playing its part in advocacy campaign

Throughout my term as president of the Alumni Association I have stressed the importance of advocacy. I know that all of you who work on campus understand your role in this.

The economic problems of the Commonwealth have found their way into the University system and we here in Amherst have mobilized our efforts to obtain the best possible results for the system and this campus in the present budget cycle. We have attempted to engage students and parents as well as the alumni in this advocacy campaign. The budget issue is a very difficult one for the legislators to address given the many fiscal demands of the Commonwealth together with reduced tax revenues.

The legislators need to hear from us about the importance of support for the University in this fiscal year. Education is one of the most important obligations of a government. Public higher education cannot be pushed into the background despite other needs of the Commonwealth. Please let your legislators know your feelings and get involved with the fall elections to support candidates that speak out for our University.

Many of you may have read about the vote of the Faculty Senate to request that the Athletic Department cut its $17 million budget by $2 million. All of the departments on campus must share in whatever adjustments are necessary to meet budget concerns. We do not want to do irreparable harm to any program. Dropping a sport to meet a short-term problem should only be done as a last resort. No department should have to bear more than its pro rata share of the loss in funding.
It has been suggested that this vote by the Faculty Senate is an indirect message to cut the football program. This alumnus says "no" to that suggestion. Our University aspires to be compared to the top public universities in this country. Athletics is a large part of every major University program. I ask this question: How many state universities with national reputations do not have a major football program? The answer is none. Even the Lazare Report compared us to certain high profile state universities identified as our peers. Massachusetts was the only one in the report that does not have a Division 1-A football program. Cutting the football program would be a move in the wrong direction and would diminish the stature of our University on the national level.

Fiscal problems will always be around at various times. Our last difficult crisis occurred in the early 1990s. We got past that crisis and we will get past this one as well. The University of Massachusetts will come out of this period of fiscal hardship stronger than ever. I believe that, and we all need to know and understand that the crisis will pass.

The Alumni Association has been proactive on the issue of advocacy. Regional alumni clubs host events so alumni can meet with their local legislators. Results of the association's legislative questionnaires bring the candidates' views on public higher education to the attention of alumni voters. The association supports more than 30 organizations each year with special grants for programs that enrich the campus community and student life.

In this time of budget crisis the association has urged alumni to take action and we have helped publicize the "Act Now" (www.umass.edu/actnow) Web site. On Saturday, April 27, alumni club volunteers will join forces to host UMass Day activities in several communities throughout Massachusetts to raise awareness.

In addition, the association will host its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony on April 2 at the State House with 250 legislators, members of the executive branch, alumni and friends in attendance.

In April I will step down and Jess Kane, '70, will be the association's president. The Alumni Association is a full partner with the University, and the alumni of UMass are committed to helping in this time of need.

JOHN H. GOODRICH, JR., '65
president,
UMass Alumni Association

Professor 'stunned' by hiring of assistant football coach

I read that interim Chancellor Marcellette G. Williams warned the UMass staff not to "come adrift in a sea of cynicism." Sorry - it's way too late for that. The boat is already bobbing along, fairly far out in the ocean by this time. The announced hiring of an assistant football coach at a salary of $83,500 provided the latest off-shore gust of wind to carry us out even further.

May I say that, as a former member of Consumer Studies -- as yet the only department that has been totally eliminated -- I was stunned by this hire. I'd like to give a few personal facts. In spite of my department's closing for both financial and centrality reasons, somehow I was promoted to professor just this past year. Apparently my status was deemed significant enough both here on campus and in the wider world of historic costume to award this recognition. I have been a faculty member here for 14 years, and elsewhere for two additional years. It took me all those years to earn professor and the salary that goes with it. Alas, that salary is $12,000 less than the new assistant coach, who is being hired into a team that, after its first brilliant year under its current coach, has consistently lost. To equate an assistant football coach with a full professor at a research university, as spokeswoman Katherine A. Scanlan seems to have done ("His $83,500 salary is on a level with the average salary for a full professor.") puts the value of this institution clearly in perspective.

Further, I have moved into the Department of Theater. With coincidence of timing that even Thomas Hardy would admire, I have received word that the department will have no money to hire an acting teacher to fill the need for next year because of the early retirement of professor Edward Golden. As a new member of this department, one who freely admits to having no academic credential in this field whatsoever, even I can see that a fundamental need in any theater program is a teacher of acting. Ed Golden has fulfilled that role wonderfully. He has more than once been nominated for outstanding teaching awards. He has offered to come back as adjunct faculty not just next year but the year after. Yet the department has been told there will be no money, no support from the University.

What is more important? A new assistant coach, probably young and untried, or a seasoned, generous - and necessary - teacher? If Chancellor Williams wants us not to be cynical, she might well look to her own courage in dealing with the assaults on this university. If she refuses to fight for us, who will?

PATRICIA CAMPBELL WARNER
professor
Theater Department

Editor's note: New Minuteman defensive coordinator Tom Masella has been an assistant or head coach at the collegiate level since 1982, including stints at Boston University, Louisiana Tech and the University of Connecticut.