Missouri College Media Award: Honorable Mention, Editorial Writing
As previously reported by The Current, Longview is considering a proposal made by the Ban Johnson baseball league to build two new fields at Longview. While the fields may benefit the school in several ways, The Current feels as if it does not fit the goals of an academic institution, and believes there are various foreseeable problems with building of the fields.
One problem is the construction. Each of the proposed sites is plagued with large rolling hills. It is obvious that the current facilities here at Longview attempted to use the land as part of the design for each building. However, the Ban Johnson fields would require the land to be completely reshaped to their liking. And if the plan is approved soon, construction could start as early as next fall. So, as biology students are learning about ecosystems, they can listen to one get destroyed right outside their window.
Furthermore, the current plan looks as if Longview is a staging ground for a Ban Johnson party. Part of the plan is to renovate the current field; however, this is not until the final phase, and after $10 million has been raised. At this point, the benefit for the college is not near as great as the benefit for the Ban Johnson League.
Longview is a growing institution. With enrollment in community colleges on the rise, Longview may need to use the field for future academic facilities to accommodate students.
An argument made to justify spending this kind of money on athletics at any college level is that sports are a form of recruiting. That argument may be applicable at the university level, but it is not at the community college level. Ask the reentry student raising three kids and working a day job and going to night classes why she came to Longview. It wasn’t for the sports. Ask the recent high school graduate who can’t afford to go to a university why he or she attends Longview. Again, it wasn’t for the sports. These students chose Longview because it is convenient, affordable, and, most importantly, it is a nationally recognized academic institution.
Longview, like all other community colleges, should be focusing on the academic growth of their students.
April 20, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Longview has a nationally recognized baseball team that plays on fields that require constant maintenance. This maintance cuts in to study time for the players. The field the baseball team plays on now is a disgrace to campus. The buildings on campus are beautiful. Why would you not want to let someone build a field that would look good with the surrounding campus? Any protest against a gift that cost $6-10 million is plain retarded!