POSTED AT 12:00 AM ON May. 2, 2005 | PRINT | Email | SHARE | COMMENTS (0)

In today's Indiana Daily Student, there is a report about blurry lines of funding between the athletics department and other parts of the University. Two separate issues present themselves, one more ready for debate than the other.

One problem in this situation is tug-of-war between athletics and academics. That issue of balance concerns the University's purpose, and we must resolve it as a campus, but we need more information to make a respectable judgement.

But the immediately troublesome aspect of athletic budgets is the fact that we have to dig for information about how our money is being spent. Granted, it's our job as journalists to find the story untold, and reveal its intricacies to the public. However, students have not been told the full story.

A healthy campus will never be free of friction, but it should be a place where students trust the administration to spend their money wisely, fairly and most importantly, openly.

Not only do we have a right to straight answers about where our tuition money is going but in-state students and other Hoosier taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent. The whole picture of finances is not yet fleshed out, but it shouldn't be so murky in the first place.

Then there is the other issue, less clear-cut, about how much athletics and academics should overlap and share funds and oversight.

Yes, athletes and athletics add an important cultural dimension to this campus. But so do musicians, scientists, graphic artists, journalists and businesspeople.

Yes, a few sports bring in big revenues. But there is little monetary profit that gets passed on to other students.

Yes, athletes may need help with academic endeavors. But so do the rest of us.

Yes, athletes have much talent and work very hard. But so do all the students who pay the bills on this campus.

We need a serious, deep debate about how much athletes should be entitled to simply because their talent is of a physical nature. Part of that discussion must cover how the programs like academic advising are funded and who will be responsible for overseeing them.

It's probable that debates like this have already taken place among the University's top administrators. That's not good enough. As it happens, policies concerning money and athletics affect almost 40,000 other students, their families and the taxpayers of Indiana.

The discussion must include these groups. The discussion also must be open and fair. We deserve honest answers about why changes are made and how the accounting books look.

Dissembling hurts this campus and its students by eroding trust and support of those involved, including this time the athletic department.

Both the issue of balancing athletics with academics and the issue of opening up campus operations need immediate attention from administrators engaging students.