Arena

Katie D.

February 26, 2012 - 11:32 AM

As you know if you've read my blog for a while, I am not a sports fan. Never have been, and probably never will be by this point. So I've mostly stayed away from sports-related blogging, letting those who are fans write about it, and I know many alumni are very involved in Ducks sports and in that culture.

But today I read the paper, and the first big story was "Lower Goals: The UO athletic department may have to sharpen its budget pencil as new arena revenue falls short." http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/27626038-57/arena-department-revenue-athletics-projections.html.csp

As I've said, I'm not a sports fan. I don't go to games, and I don't identity sports with my school life.

So I wish that news like this didn't make the headlines. I'm glad for my fellow students who are also athletes, and wish them success in both their academic and athletic lives. But I mostly feel that the way in which athletics and academics are linked on this campus (and other campuses too, I imagine) does not serve neither the athletes nor the academic goals of the institution in any real way. Some athletes I have known have been great students and have worked hard through difficult schedules and demanding athletic lives. But I've also seen many athletes who are not truly engaged as students, and who neither add to the classroom nor are well served by it.

And it honestly made me angry and upset when that huge coliseum was erected on the edge of campus, now the first thing you see of the school when you come in from the eastern side of town. That is not my campus, not my experience.

So when I open up the Register-Guard on a Sunday morning, I always hope that sports won't be in the headline. And yet, here it is: that the Matthew Knight Arena will be running a deficit, and that the debate over the self-sufficiency of the athletic program will continue.

I've got to say, I'm tired of all of this. I wish this wasn't a discussion, and wasn't such a dominant part of the public face of the University. I wish donations came for the central academic mission of the University, rather than with a special designation for arenas and special centers for athletes. I wish that all students on campus were able to focus primarily and intensely on their school work, and were able to add to the experience of the academic community, rather than having a segment of the student body who is here largely to entertain the rest of us.

I hope that the budget problems get sorted out, and that the arena continues to draw big concerts and other events. I hope that the athletes get the support they need and that the image of the school is enhanced by our athletic excellence. And I really, really hope to see fewer headlines about sports and budgets. As I prepare to leave the UO when I graduate this spring, I will not take a single sports-related memory with me. I am a student, with a plethora of wonderful student experiences and campus memories.

The sports arena is just a spot on the map to me. A very visible and expensive spot.