With the recent doubts concerning UCSD’s ability to secure another waiver from the NCAA regarding the required athletic scholarships for Division II schools and the administration’s subsequent proposal to fund these scholarships with registration fees, the future of the UCSD athletics program remains uncertain.

It has consistently been the stance of this page that expansion of campus-based fees – in both amount and scope – should be left up to the students so as to more accurately cater to their interests. The best policies are those proposed by and directly voted upon by students, because it’s ultimately the students who are affected the most.

The present situation is no different. The university should not use registration fees to pay for these new athletic scholarships but should instead leave it up to the students to decide, through a self-assessed activity fee, whether the well-being of the athletics program is worthy of a fee increase. If students are willing to foot the bill for the scholarships, as the recent student satisfaction survey would suggest, then so be it. But the possibility that students might not care enough about athletics to warrant a fee increase is reason enough to put it to a vote.

While the “”democratic”” nature of the university’s proposal – that each student athlete will receive approximately $500 – is commendable, it doesn’t address the fundamental question of whether the plan is needed, which is precisely what a student self-assessed activity fee is designed to answer.

It is important that the university stay consistent in its funding policies. If it can’t afford to fund outreach and is intent on letting students make the decision for themselves, as the student-initiated outreach referendum illustrated, certainly the university shouldn’t reverse its policy on lesser priorities such as student athletics.