VIEWPOINTS

Staff Editorial | Support your local jock?

 Student fees benefit 24 campus organizations. Your student dollars – 2.1 million of them – foot the bill for events such as the Artist Lecture Series, Homecoming, the operation of your student government and even this newspaper you’re reading. But the biggest chunk of your dough goes to the athletics department – $545,000.
You probably aren’t surprised to learn that. Athletics on most university campuses are highly revered.
What you probably don’t know, though, is that your money is financing scholarships for MSU athletes and cheerleaders.
The revelation came last week at the Student Allocations Committee when Kurt Portmann, associate athletic director, presented a letter which stated: “We appreciate very much the fact that we are fully funding scholarships for each sport and realize this will substantially increase the overall athletics budget. However, without receiving any state funding in athletics, the burden is placed solely on the University’s shoulders.” Later, Portmann said: “With the addition of women’s cross country, the increase in tuition, fees, room and board and the rising energy costs, we respectfully request an increase of $36,000 in student service fee allocation for the athletics department.”
Cheerleaders asked for $49,870 and got $49,000.
The money granted to the athletic department and cheerleaders makes up a total of 28 percent of the $2.1 million budget, meaning that more than one-fourth of your student service fees goes to pay for another student to go to school.
This is adding insult to financial injury to students. It’s one thing to pay for services or products that benefit all students, but why should one penny of student money go toward athletic scholarships? Do you want to pay for another student’s scholarship? Forget that he or she is an athlete. Students shouldn’t be paying for anyone else’s scholarship. That money should come from other sources.
Documents submitted to the Student Allocations Committee show that athletes are currently receiving an estimated $1,077,590 in scholarships. The question is, how much of it is your money? We’re willing to bet no one on the allocations committee can tell you. No one asked at last week’s meeting. Since allocation money goes into the athletic pot, we seriously doubt if they know exactly how much, either.
If you’re happy with this arrangement, then by all means do nothing. If you’re upset, bend the ear of those in student government and ask them to justify this expenditure. Then, ask them if they’ll fund a scholarship for you.
Let us know what they say.


Wresting fan Acknowledges Obsession
Marianne Lechuga | Staff Reporter

You might not know this, but I’m a huge fan of World Wrestling Entertainment. For some reason, people are always surprised when I tell them this. In their opinion, I don’t match the profile of a typical wrestling fan, whatever that is. The reason I love wrestling is that I am completely in love with “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
I am convinced that if all the ladies took one look at him, they would know why I’m so crazy about him. Not only do you get to look at his sexy, half-naked figure in tights every week, but he has this presence in the ring that is spellbinding.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with wrestling, Michaels was for the 90s what Hogan was for the 80s. He took sports entertainment to a whole new level. He first came to professional wrestling in 1988, and has been wrestling on and off ever since. He made history by becoming the first ever Grand-Slam champion, capturing every championship belt in the business, including four world championships. Charismatic and flamboyant, they call him “The Icon” and “The Showstopper.”
I fell in love with Michaels when I was ten years old. My twin sister Micaela and I have always had a special bond, so naturally, we enjoyed the same things. She got into wrestling because of Bret “The Hitman” Hart. It was Micaela who introduced me to the love of my life – The Heartbreak Kid. From that moment, he has been my passion. When we were children, Micaela and I would watch our favorite wrestlers faithfully every week.
Sometimes, the intensity was heightened when HBK and Hart stepped into the ring against each other. Wrestling brings back many good memories of our childhood. We weren’t tomboys, but were actually very “girly” about the whole wrestling thing – we were in love with the wrestlers’ good looks, and just knew we were going to grow up and marry them.
Their posters adorned our bedroom walls, and our father even bought us life-sized stand-ups of our wrestlers. Micaela will be embarrassed for me to tell you this, but her Hart stand-up still has lipstick marks from where she used to kiss it. I still display mine proudly in a spare room at home.
There’s just a feeling I get when I watch him perform. If I’m having a bad day, all I have to do is put in my Shawn Michaels DVDs, and I’m instantly cheered up. About three weeks ago, my boyfriend, Philip, made my dream come true when he took me to Fort Worth to see Michaels wrestle. I had never seen him live before, and it was one of the best days of my life because I had been waiting for the chance for so long. The anxiety I felt in anticipation was excruciating. The minute I heard his entrance music, I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. I was literally shaking because there is nothing like being there live. I couldn’t believe this man I had idolized as a girl was right in front of me. It was surreal. Nothing can compare to having Philip on one side of me and Micaela on the other as I watched him. I was in heaven! You can call me obsessed, because I freely admit I am.
My passion is evident in the “HBK” shirt I wear proudly, my “HBK” teddy bear on my nightstand, and my personal checks displaying his gorgeous face. I even have his entrance music saved on my I-pod. I made Philip read out a trivia quiz on HBK from a magazine to see how well I know my man. It was multiple-choice, but I didn’t let him read the choices because I didn’t want any hints. Of course, I scored a perfect 100%. I may not know my algebra, but I know Shawn Michaels. Some day soon, he will retire and I’ll leave my wrestling-loving days behind me the way Micaela did when Hart left the ring. But no matter what, I’ll always be HBK’s #1 fan.


Alcohol Abuse Rampant in American Society
Britton Sauerbrei | Copy Editor

Do you remember the Budweiser frogs, those adorable little amphibians who croaked “Bud – wei – ser” on the Superbowl TV ads? We have forgotten the football game, but all remember the commercial; it was cute, funny and well-produced, and it provided an enjoyable diversion from our humdrum lives. But it was also indicative of a troubling aspect of our culture: American drinking practices.
From an early age, we are immersed in a society that tolerates, encourages and even celebrates drinking. Alcohol companies spend millions of dollars pushing their products with ubiquitous billboards, bold magazine ads and – most visibly – slick TV spots. A familiar rite of passage comes when someone’s friends – or parents – buy him drinks on his 21st birthday until he gets drunk. Social – and often excessive – consumption of alcohol is so ingrained in our culture that we rarely pause to contemplate the effects it has on our lives and the lives of those we insult, slight, or run over while we are intoxicated.
Alcohol, in small doses, induces a state of euphoria and mild disinhibition. In larger doses, it causes intoxication, coma and even death. Alcohol is more addictive and, on the whole, probably more destructive than marijuana, yet we consider it, along with nicotine and caffeine, to be a “good,” or at least an “acceptable,” drug. It strikes me as a little hypocritical that we approve when someone caught with an ounce of marijuana goes to jail but laugh at the drunken antics of someone who has had too much beer at a party. This is not to say that cannabis is safe – it is not – but alcohol seems to present a much greater threat; no one has died from a marijuana overdose, but alcohol poisoning kills about 4,000 Americans a year, and about 15,000 more die in alcohol-related vehicle accidents.
Though even a single drink can impair judgment, coordination and reflexes, this impairment is relatively slight in many individuals. The problem is that Americans rarely consume drinks singly. Instead, we down alcohol until our stomachs can’t handle any more. We don’t seem to recognize heavy drinking for what it is: dangerous.
This problem is worsened by the fact that we seldom label alcohol as a psychoactive drug; this is attested to by the oft-heard phrase “drugs and alcohol,” which reflects the distinction we make between “good” and “bad” substances.
Alcohol abuse occurs in many settings, but it seems to be most prevalent on college campuses. When 18-year-old freshmen are out of the nest for the first time, they often attend parties, binge and puke their guts out, exhilarated by their newfound independence. This behavior, though illegal and dangerous, is frequently ignored or even seen as an appropriate part of the college experience. Students, parents and the authorities all too often shrug off irresponsible behavior with the convenient phrase, “boys will be boys.”Contrary to popular opinion, underage and excessive drinking is not harmless fun. It often leads to actions that result in heartache, ill health and prison.
Of course, alcohol can be consumed in moderation. I realize that a glass of wine over dinner, a toast of champagne in celebration of a promotion or a mug of ale with teammates after a hard-fought victory can enhance a social experience. But I don’t understand why so many Americans insist on drinking until they are intoxicated, when this practice is clearly hazardous to their health and the welfare of their families, friends and society as a whole.