Mune ib ae eh eae ea)

Inside

Bither Press

November 4 1998

Volume 23 ¢ Issue 8

Will you pay or will they go?

The fate of DC’s athletic department hangs in the balance as students

vote on fee

increase

AMISH KNOX

ne of the best athletic departments in the province could vanish if students don't tify a fee increase for next semester. As reported in the October [4 issue of be Other Press, the Douglas College Student ciety (DCSS) has proposed a nine dollar crease in student fees, which will pump fe back into the Athletic Department and elp out Fine Arts. “Because of the last ition freeze, the college cannot increase pes, so the fee increase must be student irected,” said DCSS Vice President xternal Amanda Wheeler. “If it [the fee] asses, $5.50 would go to’ Athletics and .50 would go to Fine Arts.”

at Happened?

Inder the old contract between the DCSS d the Athletic Department, which

pired in April, 18% of DCSS fees bllected was to go to the Centre for Sport, ecreation and Wellness, or in other words, e Athletic Department. However, because e contract was not resigned, Athletics is bw balancing its chequebook with red ink.

e got our money for the summer, but

pt the fall,” said Athletic Rep Kelli

Semple. “We're operating in the red, but under the assumption that we-will get the money.”

While many students may be complain- ing that the $5.50 that goes to Athletics will only line the pockets of the varsity teams, few realize that when they pay their student fees they are paying into Athletics and Activities and that the varsity teams receive little of the collected money. Take for instance, the women’s basketball team. Over Christmas they will be travelling to Phoenix, Arizona to take part in a tourna- ment. Despite serious fundraising efforts, each member of the team will have to pay about $300 dollars out of their own pock- ets so they can represent their school. “The varsity teams don't get a lot of money,’ commented Kelli Semple. “Most of it [the money] goes to buy things like new bags for the boxing club and running the

Continued

“| want my athletics back.”

weightroom.”

Although the varsity teams don’t get much money, they have managed to bring a lot of success and recognition to Douglas College. In the past two years DC has won the BCCAA Aggregate trophy, given annu- ally to the best athletic program in the province. If Douglas loses its varsity pro- grams, it would be like the Montreal Canadiens folding because they didn’t have the money to stay in business. “This will be the last year that we operate unless we can re-negotiate that activities fee,” said Centre for Sport Recreation and Wellness Director Lou Rene Legge. “I mean that quite seriously. There is no way to do it [stay in operation] otherwise.’

This will effect students who, while not in the athletics program, like to use the athletic facilities. They will face being shut

out of the weightroom or being asked to

Page I5...

pay a user fee every time they want to use the gym. “We will become a health club,” explained Kelli Semple when asked to describe the effects the failure of the refer- endum could have on the Athletic Department.

“T think that to be able to attend a col- lege that has an active Activity, Recreational, Athletics program is a feature [of the college] that people don’t realize until they get away,” said Director Legge. “These are things that make an institution better.”

Where’s the Cash?

So where is this money that athletics is missing, and why must we increase our fees to replace it? The 18% of the student fees that Athletics was supposed to get this semester is sitting in the college coffers, waiting for transfer to the Centre for Sport, Recreation and Wellness. Douglas College's VP of Educational Services, Al Atkinson, couldn't tell the Other Press where the money was being held, but he did say that, “The money has not been transferred from the college to the Athletic Department at this point in time.” When asked why the Athletic Department hadn't received its portion of the student fees, he replied, “It is my understanding that the contract [between the DCSS and Athletics] has not been resigned and it has not been re-negotiated.” If the proposed fee passes, distribution of the money would not be in the hands of administration, but. in the hands of the students. Each semester two committees, one for Athletics and one for Fine Arts, will be formed and the students sitting on these committees will have the opportunity to decide where the money goes. “Students will be able to decide where their money goes,” said Athletic Rep Kelli Semple. “If they want to spend more money a certain activity, that’s where it will

go.” Yet another reason Another reason for the fee increase is

under-budgeting on the DCSS building. “It