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Show Forum Page 2 MU' Athletic Scholarships Should Include Soccer Team Players Westminsters soccer team didnt end the 1983 season feeling like winners, contrary to John Dahmens upbeat assessments in his column of Nov. 1 1. It wasn't solely the losses on the field (14 during the season) that defeated the Parsons. A sense of loss off of the field was the greater victor. One of the toughest games lost for the Parsons players was called in August, before the start of the season, when players were officially informed that there would be no soccer scholarships. One player said he was specifically told last year that he would receive a scholarship this year, and other players say that the possibility of scholarships was used to recruit most of Westteam members. Regardless of where the minster's idea came from, it died hard in August with students who had come to view scholarships as probabilities; and the Parsons were already a disillusioned team when they started their season with the Air Force All Stars on Sept 16. out-of-sta- letteustothe edrtoR The Utah Jazz Explain Ethics of Balloting All-St- ar I was quite disturbed to read the editorial written by the Forum staff on the unethical nature" of Westminsters particiballoting. pation in the NBA All-St- ar I feel a few things must be cleared up. The Jazz, as a member of the NBA, has always had a good relationship with Westminster as it was the home of the Jazz" and has always felt that it was a mutually beneficial marriage". Along with Westminsters support of the Jazz, the Jazz is supportive of Westminster as was evidenced by the intrasquad game that raised over $1,000 for Westminster to be used for a wide screen television for the students.. pre-seas- Westminster has 1 4,000, not 50,000 ballots, to be filled out and only 2,000 have yet been returned to the Jazz office. The Jazz has several groups in town filling out ballots and in turn are giving back to the groups which include West High As the season progressed, the disillusionments fermented. Hostilities developed toward players and coach. One key player left the team; another was kicked off the team; and after the season ended, all of the players signed a petition threatening not to play next year. Now the coach, on which so much hope has rested, has resigned. This is a sad state in which to leave such a talented young group of athletes and a poor example of what the return of varsity athletics was intended to accomplish at Westminster. Expansion of the varsity programs to include basketball and tennis next year wont improve the example, either, if emphases on the new sports are greater than efforts made to revive the ailing soccer program. and Judge Memorial such things as player clinics, balls, shoes, player appearances and the like. The Jazz has been given 250,000 ballots to be filled out and returned by Jan. 10. If more ballots are requested from Miller Distributing, the sponsor of the program, we may receive them. 250,000 is a minimum for each team. The Jazz home attendance during the entire 1982-8- 3 season numbered just over 355,000 fans. Therefore it would be impossible to leave the entire balloting to fans in the arena on game nights, however, ballots are available on all game nights during balloting time for interested fans. Students at Westminster were told that they could fill out the ballots and vote for anyone they wanted, however voting for their home" team members (members of the Jazz) would, of course, be appreciated. Anyone who has attended a Jazz game, Westminster students included, may at any time decide that Player A on Team B is their favorite and cast as many votes as they wish for them. I would hate to think that Westminster students dont have the fortitude to pick their own favorites and in turn vote for them on the ballot The ballot stipulates that 10 votes (entire teams for both Eastern and Western Conferences) must be punched or the card is invalid. There is room for write-i- n candidates from either conference and with the current ballot counting procedure, if too many ballots come in together with the same players punched, one third of the cards in that sequence will be eliminated. School There are measures taken to make sure voting is as ethical as possible. The NBA feels that professional basketball is the sport of the fans and that is why fan balloting is used to pick teams rather than media votes or something similar. Any other form of voting would be easier, but not fair to the fans. All-St- are provided for new sports, but not for soccer, not only will If Westminsters students arent fans, I, for one, am surprised, thought they were. It also amazes me, having a background in journalism, that a letter such as that would be written without the facts being checked with the campus representative or the Jazz. Very poor reporting on someones part I hope the Jazz and Westminster can continue their good working relationship and that if any Jazz players make the team they dont forget to thank the Forum staff for their support of their home team. soccer players remain disillusioned, but competition and bitterness between the programs will threaten to defeat them all. I Staff All-St- The forum of WMtmimtef College o! Sell Lake City it published end distributed weekly during spring end fell semesters, while desses ere in session, by the Associated Students of Westminster College, 1640 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 6410S. Editor and Sale Manager Managing Editor Sports Editor Accounts Receivable Manager Layout Assistants Reporters Kathleen Hammond Mike Moser Scott Kaiser Sheri Dearing Kristine L. Basra. Jon Butler, Sheri Dearing, Jennifer Thomas Gail Allison, Valerie Allison. R. Colleen Arrington, Julie Bell, Paul Booth, Stacy Butters. John Dahmen, Sheri Dearing, Carmen Jones, David K. Neidert. Photographers Adviser Kathy Neuschwander, Jennifer Thomas Joel Hastings, Bob Marselle Ray Ownbey The forum welcomes letters and editorial opinions from students and other readers. Submissions must be signed, with phone numbers, and avoid profanity and libel, lengths are limited to two, double-spacetyped pages with lines not more than 60 typed spaces wide. The forum will print four submissions per week, with student submissions given priority, on a Editorial Policy basis. Deliver editorial copy directly to forum offices in the basement of Shaw Center (under door if necessary) by 12 noon on Monday, for publication on Friday of the same week. Opinions expressed in the forum are those of the writers and are not to be construed as the opinions of the Associated Students of Westminster College or of college administration, faculty or staff. ar We felt we were giving Westminster a chance to add some new intramural equipment to their inventory by having the school participate in the balloting procedure. No one stands with a gun to anyones head making them vote for any player, Jazz or otherwise, and so therefore no matter how many ballots are distributed to the fans of Salt Lake City and Westminster, it doesnt amount to ballot stuffing, because results are unpredictable and ballots may not even be returned, as is the the case with Westminster thus far. All varsity athletics will need extra support from students and administrators to make their return a positive experience for the college next year. Scholarships would make the burdens of all athletes easier to bear. A word of warning, though if money is available for athletic scholarships, that money should be distributed between the different programs and not offered solely to recruit new athletes for a new program. If scholarships The Forum December 9, 1983 And Your Idea? This semester was my first as a journalist, and 1 must admit, I learned a great deal. However, there are several things that have come to my attention, in regards to the Forum, that I find to be annoying, if not maddening. Firstly, I, as many of those who work on the Forum, find it irritating that so many people complain about the quality (or lack thereof) of the paper, and so few are willing to do anything about it Criticism is fine, but without some positive suggestions to accompany it it is useless. Secondly, I have a difficult time dealing with the limited budget that the Forum receives. Nine thousand dollars with $1,000 in matching funds is hardly enough to publish a paper of high quality. There has been a lot of negative comment to the effect that the funding should be cut but what about some constructive criticisms? I have yet to hear any. Lastly, I am appalled by the apathetic nature of the Forum readers. If you are so displeased by what appears in print you are more than welcome to drop by the Forum office, located in the basement of the Shaw Center, and offer your advice. But remember, criticism without some kind of constructive comment wont help to change the Forum content Stacy Butters ar Sincerely, Laura HerUmch Director of Public Relations Utah Jazz Lets Clean Up the Custodial Problems In the November 18 issue of the Forum I read an article about the custodial service here on campus. The custodians, who asked not to be named, felt that they were not able to complete their custodial assignments because they were constantly being asked to do set ups (the setting up of equipment). Because of this problem the campus is an eye sore. Many offices, including the Forum and Etosian offices, and rooms are not being cleaned at all. The administration, in trying to build the College after recent troubles, should remember that the first impression a prospective student gets of our campus may be the lasting impression. that the administrators and custodial staff work to together get this problem cleaned up so that Westminster can continue to be a firm financially stable institute of higher learning, as it was originally supposed to be. I urge Jennifer Thomas |
