Letter to editor: “Cuts are unfair”

While reading the latest issue of The Olympian, I came across a letter to the editor in which it was stated that though no student will be excluded from sports because of inability to pay the requested donation, the continued existence of the athletic program depends on further fundraising efforts like those in past years.

The letter I read put it nicely, but I will put it plainly: if teams do not pay, there will be no sports. While defending the fairness of the system that has been set up because of the cuts and even quoting a section of the California Constitution which guarantees “a free and public education” (which includes free athletics), the writer does not address the greater injustice of the cuts themselves. The letter rather seems to conform to the idea that, while budget cuts are unpleasant, there is no concrete solution. Unfortunately, this theory only satisfies those relatively unaffected by cuts and is woefully inadequate for student athletes, at-risk students, and staff alike.

No matter how you word it, cuts are unfair. It is time to search for alternatives in solving this problem, whether it be through petitioning, protesting, or working with our representatives. It is time to stop telling ourselves and each other that, tragically, there is no solution.

Emma Leathley, junior