Students are on-campus experts

The backlash following Shirley Raines' first announcement followed by her second announcement that said she never announced what her first announcement announced has been fierce.

Oh, what power our alumni and boosters have.

Oh, how many more ears are opened when men and women who give thousands of dollars to The U of M put their foot down on an issue.

So powerful are those voices that it makes me wonder why our most sacred alumni haven't voiced their outrage about other issues.

I know the stadium issue is important, but let's face it - it's not going to happen.

There is obviously some opposition to the idea with the powers that be.

Local neighborhood associations have been organized suspiciously to oppose the idea because it supposedly would destroy their neighborhoods.

Then there will be those who will point to how much money our football team loses every year and others who will say that no one cares about a football team.

Follow all of that with a football team that looks confused in stadiums, no matter where they are built, and you have a recipe for a Liberty Bowl renovation.

Under our current University administration, the on-campus initiative will be quashed, and we will go back to tailgating at a baseball field and parking in people's yards and hiking to the game.

But there is a deeper issue buried in all of this - especially to students.

Why didn't alumni stand up and call Dr. Raines when The University decided to raise our athletic fees by 100 percent?

Where were U of M alumni when our administration raised the student debt fee so that the school could pay for 100 percent of the construction of the new UC using student money?

For anyone involved in that ludicrous decision, please spare me the e-mails that excuse that fee increase by stating that the University Center building is for students and should therefore be paid for by students. Nearly every square inch of this campus is ultimately for student use and exists because of students.

There are so many important issues that are facing us "on campus" today and we need help.

How would you like to get an e-mail from Dr. Raines stating that tuition and fee increases are being reconsidered?

How would you feel if The U of M hired a consultant to figure out how our University could operate without raising fees every single year?

I'll bet there are all kinds of goodies that we could cut out of the administration budget.

I'd like to see alumni groups and Web sites organized for an on-campus walk way that would provide a bridge from the Central and Southern parking lots.

Why can't we get some big time donors contributing to that project?

If need be, we could get the entire football team to walk across it every Saturday.

Last time I checked, very few people where killed watching a football game off campus.

How about an on-campus parking facility that doesn't charge an hourly fee at ridiculously annoying little computers.

Or an on-campus library that actually has a big enough budget to buy books.

How does that bumper sticker sound?

"On-campus books now!"

Or an on-campus Taco Bell that ARAMARK doesn't take away because too many people are buying cheap tacos. God forbid we get out of the Tiger Den without spending $8.

Oh, the list could go on and on.

How about an "off-campus" railroad track? Sign me up for that one today.

Please don't misunderstand me, big University donors - we'd love to walk over from our dorms and rented University area homes and catch the game.

But while yall are organizing your alumni mob to surround the administration building with pitchforks and torches, how about dropping a couple questions as to what issues we students have?

For while you may long to watch hours of afternoon football games on campus, we are stuck here pretty much 24/7. You may ultimately regret the decision to attend games on campus when University police bury your car under a mountain of parking tickets. Trust me - WE are the "on-campus" experts.