FROM THE PRESS BOX COLUMN: Are the waivers fair? No
HOLLI L. RAPP
Tuition waivers are coming to the college. But how was the decision made about who would receive the waivers? The College Board approved issuing of the tuition waivers at its April 19 meeting, but without much discussion.
While I am not arguing tuition waivers being issued, I am arguing the numbers that were received. Fifty waivers are to be given to athletes, and only 10 to other activities.
Beyond the 50 athletic waivers is the breakdown of the waivers. The breakdown is unfair for the more populated athletics. For example, tennis has only 6 members on the team and is going to be given 4. This equals out to about 67% of the team receiving a waiver. Baseball has between 23-26 players, and has been given 9 waivers equaling about 35 %.
Another comparison is that golf is receiving 5 tuition waivers for 10 members of the team, but only five scores count. Isn’t that really 100 % for golf?
One last question is how was the decision made about the activities that would receive waivers. For example, the American Chemical Society does a great deal, and they will not be receiving a waiver.
The tuition waiver issue should have been brought up at an open forum for the students and for the staff, informing them of the breakdown, so they could have voiced their opinion.
The entire issue should have been decided more openly and the people and organizations affected should have had more input.
The Apache April 29, 1999