After having worked on this campus for many years and having seen many football games held here, never have I seen the destruction I saw Monday morning after the MSU/LSU game. After weeks and weeks of rain, and rain predicted on game day, people were still allowed to park on the green spaces? The spaces that when someone comes on campus is the first thing they see – destroyed!
The question that begs to be asked is, “What in the world were you thinking? When did a football game become so important that you would let people come to this campus and destroy it?” And I guess the biggest question of all is, “Who is responsible for the repair of this destruction?”
In a time when departments are being asked to “tighten their belts” with budget cuts, and we have been told it is not going to get better but worse, who is responsible?
I know my department does not see any of the money from games played on this campus. I know my department does not have any scholarships funded by any of the revenue from a football game. I know our complex is overflowing with students and we are continually seeking spaces for more students coming in, but we don’t have a new practice building or field or new grass planted on a “playing field” or a huge TV screen or new score boards.
We make do with what we have and provide! I understand most if not all of the perks for the athletic department comes from private funding, but really if there is no university how can there be a football team? Someone needs to realize the university makes the football team, not the other way around!
And the statement was made “I paid to park on campus.” Really, this gives you license to enter our campus and trash it? Once again, I have questions that need answers. First question, where does the money go? Again, I haven’t seen it used to benefit my department. How about yours?
Second question, are there not enough actual parking spaces on this campus that football fans could use instead of parking on the grass? I have not done the research but have asked several times, and no one can give me an answer.
There are supposed to be four main points of entry to this campus. Why can they not be used to bring the traffic onto the campus leading to the actual parking areas such as the Hump and the other large parking spaces the students have to park in during the week.
As for the fee, let it apply as an entrance fee to the campus, like passing through a toll booth. Walking to the stadium is good but if this is a problem, the last time I checked, we have a shuttle service on this campus and parking fees could go toward to the maintenance and gas for Saturday use. Also, what about the big buses that the athletic department travels in? Could they not be used to bus people in from off campus locations?
We have been kept in the dark for so long about how things work and where the revenue goes that most people cannot answer the questions. I do know, however, there has been a lot of finger pointing and blame, but I neither see nor hear anyone stepping up to explain how this happened to our university. And the one time I did hear something, it was someone telling a news reporter, “They are checking with other universities to see how they have handled similar situation?” What do I care about the “other universities,” I care about this one!
What are the answers? Anyone?