I predict a riot. As a writer, I am obligated to get the news to the public and along the way take a stand for something I believe in. The time has come for me to take a stand, and the issue I’m choosing is the athletics fee. Hopefully, we can keep the riot part out, though.

I, like many students and faculty on campus, was not thrilled when I found out another fee could be added to the tuition at Nicholls. With my student loan debt growing larger by the semester, the thought of being in more debt by graduation is not an appealing idea.

Looking back on that statement, I realized it was a horrible way to look at things. Just because I don’t use all the facilities on campus doesn’t mean they aren’t important to others. This is the way students should look at this athletics fee proposal.

I hear the complaints of the Nicholls student body and teachers. Yes, the faculty could be compensated better, and yes, other things around campus also deserve attention, but athletics has been put on the back burner for too long. It’s time that something is done about it.

One of the major complaints I’ve heard is athletes do not need more money because they are already getting a free education. Yes, they are getting a free education, but what few realize is the amount of behind the scenes work athletes put in to be able to have an education. Just as a person in high school works to get TOPS or scholarships to go to college, these athletes do the same.

As my colleague Kyle Carrier pointed out in his column last week, there are other sports on campus that hardly receive the same attention as football, such as volleyball, soccer, tennis, golf and track. All the signs are evident.There is a lack of intrest in these teams who also work hard to produce winning programs in their respecitve sports.

Across the street from John L. Guidry stadium is a field where the Colonels soccer team practices and plays its games. Most people drive past it coming to and leaving campus but hardly notice it. It’s not a surprise either; it’s basically a field with two small sets of bleachers, an old scoreboard and a tent for sports information and the teams. No locker rooms, no bathrooms.

The soccer field is just one example, but it’s the best example to use to convey the necessity of this fee. Our athletic facilities and equipment are laughable at best, and it’s heinous and ludicrous because nobody cares about it.

The funny thing is, I hear people say the higher-ups in the University are trying to turn Nicholls into a sports school. The problem with this logic is when people think of sports schools, Texas, USC and LSU come to mind. Nicholls cannot compare to any of those schools and is not trying to; we have neither the enrollment nor the funding. It’s just not possible nor attainable.

At Nicholls we have great departments such as business, education and culinary, just to name a few. Nicholls will always be known for these programs, but at the same time, why can’t we be known as a sports power as well? Athletes aren’t taking money away from education but are merely trying to help the University by bringing in more money. But this cannot be done unless the playing field is leveled and fairness is spread across the board.

Community of Nicholls State, look at it not as another fee to be added to the tuition, but as an accomplishments toward the growth of the University in the state and nation. Don’t say no because you could care less if Nicholls has an athletics program, because that is a horrible way to look at it, and as a student body I know we are better than that.