SSFC continues to ignore student desires
The Student Services Finance Committee loves to allocate large amounts of funding to student organizations that serve very small proportions of the student body. At Wednesday's budget hearing, SSFC denied Recreational Sports badly needed funding.
Over 85 percent of the student body utilizes the campus recreational facilities, including the Southeast Recreational Facility, the Natatorium and the Shell. The students on this campus overwhelmingly approved an addition to the SERF in a past referendum because we desperately need additional recreational space. People wait up to an hour to get on equipment in our crowded facilities. You could have had more needed equipment to allow more students to exercise, but members of SSFC denied you that equipment.
As a result, students who wished to use the equipment to better their health won't be able to exercise as much and will still face long lines at machines. The student body and Rec Sports professionals spoke out with incredible support for new equipment and space, but SSFC rejected the new equipment I proposed at the meeting to meet the high demand.
Other campuses have over twice the number of club and intramural sports as UW-Madison, but SSFC gave the Rec Sports budget an effective decline in the total value it received. Note that Rec Sports is utilized more than any other service on campus, but every other service received a substantial increase in its student fee allocation.
You do the math. Then contact the SSFC members and let them know how badly we need more equipment.
Travon Davis deserves recognition for skills
No matter how, when or where the Wisconsin men's basketball team finishes the 2002-'02 season, the player I'll be most proud of will be Travon Davis. As a native Illinoisan, Travon left the fast-paced Nazareth Roadrunners to come to UW-Madison (1) for a degree from a nationally recognized academic institution where he will graduate in four years, and (2) to become what I believe is Wisconsin's best team player.
In his first three years, Travon backed up Mike Kelly. Travon never complained or bragged that he should start. He accepted his role, contributed when asked and always gave 100 percent for the good of the team.
This year, with the opportunity to start, Travon exemplifies what UW-Madison, the city of Madison and the men's basketball team is all about. Like progressive, knowledgeable, idealistic UW-Madison students, Travon learned, worked hard and matured. And just as students move down Bascom Hill through the State Street spine of Madison and up to legal/political implementation at the Wisconsin Capitol, Travon advanced as an important part of a successful Dick Bennett Final Four basketball team. This year Travon has displayed his honed court skills by involving all team members and utilizing each player's maximum potential. Travon was a role model in providing valuable leadership, which has quickly contributed toward a highly unexpected 2002 NCAA Tournament appearance.
So the future high expectations of this year's young Wisconsin men's basketball team are in large part due to this year's Most Valuable Player on and off the court, Travon Davis. Travon's family and friends, UW-Madison, the city of Madison and his teammates are proud of his positive, successful, team-oriented contributions.
I also hope UW-Madison fans will rise and recognize the scope of Travon's quiet, unselfish contributions in maintaining Wisconsin's academic and athletic standards on Senior Night, Feb. 27, against Michigan.
