LOCAL NEWS — Let’s face it, when it comes to internationally
renowned cities, San Diego is but a
dot on a map. Other than its sunshine and livability, the recognition and
mystique reserved for cities like Paris
or New York simply do not have a
place here in this city by the sea. That said, when a large, media-frenzied
golf tournament is looking for a place to roost, the San
Diego community is understandably quick to roll out
the red carpet.

But the burden that comes with such a colossal event almost
exclusively rests on the shoulders of students and faculty with no tenable
benefits for those inconvenienced by it.

After an e-mail half-heartedly apologizing for
inconveniences the event may cause from Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs
Steven W. Relyea, UCSD students, staff and faculty have been bracing for the
last week of Spring Quarter — finals week, that is — when the U.S. Open golf
tournament rolls into town. Hosted only a stone’s throw away from campus at the
Torrey Pines Golf Course, the highly anticipated event is expected to bring
close to 50,000 visitors daily to the San Diego
and La Jolla communities.

There’s no doubt about it: A golf tournament of this scale
brings unprecedented publicity and attention to a region, not to mention the
obvious economic benefits to be had in hosting such a venerable affair — but is
it worth it?

The U.S. Open, is, excuse the pun, an entirely different
ballgame. As one of golf’s four flagship championships, UCSD will bear the onus
of accommodating thousands of people, renting out its parking, security and
shuttle services to both casual and dedicated golf fans. Additionally, UCSD
commencement ceremonies will be postponed in light of the $7 million
championship.

The fact that UCSD agreed to it is no shocker — our school
has been doing it for ages. The university has been lavishing golf tournament
organizers with parking, hospitality and other things for which students
normally pay a fortune since 1968: essentially, since the school was founded.

Relyea has offered several suggestions to mitigate the
obvious inconvenience of accommodating an additional 50,000 people in the surrounding
area. For one, whenever feasible academic departments should “consider
telecommuting arrangements for the period of June 9-15.”

Finals week is a time when students need professors the
most, and the administration is shooing them away? Does UCSD want final exams
to be administered via telephone, too? It could be simple. After all, premed
students could press one for deoxyribonucleic acids and poli-sci kids could
expound on the virtues of a bicameral legislature using their cell phone, sounz
good 2 me.

Even more disconcertingly, Relyea hopes that staff will
consider including this stressful week in their summer vacation plans. Of
course, what UCSD student in his or her right mind, during the most taxing week
of the quarter, would need to eat at a dining hall or use anything else the
UCSD staff is charged with to maintain? By all means, enjoy Hawaii.

When asked how the U.S. Open will personally impact the
chancellor and her staff, lead university spokeswoman Stacie A. Spector’s
response was as evasive as it was vague.

“We are trying to manage several aspects for students,
faculty and staff to minimize disruption and inconvenience,” she said. Come
again?

Thankfully, the administration asserted, UCSD will be
handsomely rewarded for its sacrifices. The USGA will so graciously provide a
hospitality tent, and UCSD may have the honor of being mentioned in the
tournament program as an effort to advertise UCSD. Excellent plan, but how
would a university benefit from advertising to thousands of octogenarians who
have no intention of going back to school?

In any case, to the organization’s credit, the USGA has
pledged to compensate the school for all expenses, including repairs that may
be necessary after tournament organizers use UCSD land.

So why does UCSD yield so willingly to the whims of the USGA
and the city of La Jolla? According
to Spector, for no reason other than a compelling spirit of being good
neighbors. Usually, the phrase “good neighbors” implies some semblance of
reciprocity, and frankly La Jolla has yet to agree to
something that would benefit the UCSD community. This is surprising because, as
an entity, UCSD has brought more to La Jolla and San
Diego than any second-rate city could ever dream of,
namely jobs, prestige and thousands of students with cash to burn.

If anything, “The Jewel” has been anything but a good
neighbor, fighting UCSD over nearly every initiative that may somehow improve
student life, every step of the way. Just ask
members of the A.S. Council; they can confirm that most of the
grievances students have about life are directly connected to La
Jolla’s unwillingness to allow for any new development.

But as soon as the USGA wants to use our land for an
untimely, incredibly inconvenient golf tournament, UCSD is expected to bend
over backward just so that La Jolla and San
Diego can get their chance in the limelight and rake
in a few extra bucks.

Until UCSD gets more out of it than a hospitality tent and a
courtesy blurb on a piece of paper, there is absolutely no justification for
our school to bear such a heavy load at a time when students need absolutely
everything the school can offer them the most. Where are our priorities? Is
UCSD an institution of learning dedicated to its students and faculty, or is it
a crony at the mercy of its city and reputation?