Next quarter, UCSD undergraduates will vote on a proposed $28.25 increase to quarterly undergraduate fees for athletics. UCSD’s intercollegiate sports and club teams have been surviving on temporary funds since the move to Division II two years ago, and those funds will be gone next year.

The Guardian strongly urges students to vote for this fee increase. If the referendum does not pass, UCSD’s intercollegiate athletics budget will essentially be halved, gutting its programs.

We at the Guardian, however, must denounce the folly of the referendum’s organizers, the A.S. Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletic Funding Issues.

The A.S. task force excluded the Graduate Student Association from the committee that drafted the athletics referendum. Only at the last minute was the organization allowed one nonvoting member on the committee. It was irresponsible and unwise to exclude the official voice of 3,500 UCSD students.

As a result of its exclusion, the GSA has opted not to participate in the referendum. Graduate students won’t vote in it, and they won’t pay for it if it passes.

The only way to receive diverse support for higher fees is to include diverse groups in the planning process. The Guardian hopes that poor organization will not cause this desperately needed fee increase to be defeated.