Speak Out 11/08/03

Not enough revenue

A SPEAK Out caller recently said Southeast's athletic department "does create revenue." This is absolutely correct. The problem is that it creates $3.8 million less in revenue than it costs to run the programs. After you figure in the boosters' contributions, the ticket sales and all the other income, athletics have a net loss of $3.8 million a year, which is made up by the students and the taxpayers.

Not for young children

MY 15-YEAR-OLD daughter enjoyed going to the haunted house at the Arena Building on Halloween. However, she noticed several parents with small children there. One mom was standing in line with her daughter begging her not to take her in, but the mom said she had already paid. Can't the arena folks better monitor this and advise people that the haunted house is not meant for pre-schoolers?

Unhelpful manager

MY WIFE and I went out to a restaurant for breakfast. There were dirty tables and booths everywhere. After seating ourselves at an unclean booth, we noticed one waitress was serving the customers at about five tables. I asked the manager if we could get someone to clean our booth (disturbing him from reading his magazine and conversing with another person sitting at the counter). He looked at me like I was stupid for even suggesting that he should help the overworked waitress. I can assure you that I will not come into this establishment until the owner changes the management.

Growing gap

AS POINTED out in the fair and balanced column by David Broder, the Bush administration's credibility gap concerning Iraq is not yet cavernous but is continually growing.

Caring people

THE OTHER day our sons were on their way to school and lost control of the vehicle on Route OO. The truck overturned. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the truck was totaled. Our boys were scared to death. A passer-by was kind enough to pick them up and drive them home. By the time we went to the door to thank her, she was gone. We are very grateful to her for putting herself out to aid our sons. May God bless her. Minutes later a neighbor noticed our overturned truck and came by to see if we were OK. Missouri surely has a wealth of caring people.

Great production

I ATTENDED the fall production "The Dinning Room" at Notre Dame Regional High School. It was just magnificent. The students and Cindy King deserve the highest praise. I laughed. I cried. I shared great memories. Great job. It is nice to see such talent and work at the high school level. We all should be proud of our teenagers.

Sorry situation

IF AREA residents are to understand what is happening at SEMO, they have to understand the change that has occurred in the interrelationship of the parts of the university. As late as the Bill Stacy era, the administration saw a major part of its role to be advocacy of the university to the regents. President Kala Stroup began a reversal of this role, which has been completed by the present administration. President Ken Dobbins now sees his primary role as advocate and henchman for the regents back toward the university. Can there be any wonder why faculty and staff have no faith in their administration when administration assumes an oppositional role toward them rather than a partnership role? It's a very sorry situation.

Chinese pollution

MISSOURI SEN. Kit Bond just doesn't get it. The reason so many of our jobs are being exported to China is not because our pollution standards are so high. It's because their pollution standards are too low. Bond's current proposal is that we sell our jobs to the government which will allow the most, not least, pollution. We need senators who will represent American workers, not Chinese workers. It's time for a change.

Learning aids

IN RESPONSE to the caller who asked, "Do T-shirts increase our children's learning?" Do sidewalks on campus increase children's learning? Do nice landscaping and interiors increase our children's learning? How about air conditioning? Kids should be rewarded for some things, and other things make the environment of school a more pleasant one in which to learn. I get in a good mood when someone gives me something, and I learn better when I'm in a more joyous mood.

Another name change

I AM livid about the Cape Girardeau City Council's action denying a harmless request by enthusiastic, now disillusioned Central High School students to rename a portion of Silver Springs Road as Tiger Pride Drive. The council obviously caved in to pressure from political heavyweights. As a result, I formally propose changing the name of that portion of Independence Street that runs in front of city hall to Lackey Lane.

More bang for buck

ATHLETICS AT Southeast is not priceless publicity. It costs precisely $3.8 million annually, or about 10 percent of the academic budget. If we took that money and spread it between marketing activities and scholarships for minority students who had a genuine interest in academics, we would probably get greater value per dollar than we get from intercollegiate athletics.