Down it Goes
As an alumni of UTK's College of Business Administration, the serious ramifications of UT's continuing funding cuts concern me. The piece in Metro Pulse about the economics department is quite disturbing ["UT's Downward Spiral" by David Madison, Vol. 10, No. 12]. Not only are we losing key faculty and students, but those left behind must find ways to do more with less. As a parent who has shouldered college costs for seven years (with four more to go), it also concerns me that UT has announced yet another 10 percent hike in tuition.
Given Coach Dickey's recent contract renewal, the huge salaries of coaching staffs, the bonuses they will earn for post-season accomplishments, the stadium's large replay screen, and now the new skyboxes at Neyland Stadium, I would call on UT's new administration to re-think the relative autonomy of its venerable Athletics Department. Yes, they run what I would suppose is a self-sustaining program; yet it is an overstuffed budget and certainly appears to know no modesty.
Imagine if the athletics program had to feed 45 athletes when there is food and table space for only 30. Better yet, ask those senior econ students to imagine it. I bet they can. Is it possible that some of them may have been athletes needing the course to graduate on time? Inadequate academic resources impact both the non-athlete and (despite their graduation rates) the athlete (noted exception re: women's programs).
I'm not carrying a torch for the econ department nor am I trying to burn down the athletics department. But then the Torchbearer does not carry a jock strap in his hand. Rather, the statue represents the enlightenment of all students—not just those who are gifted athletically.
If there are to be budget cuts, then they should be across the board; dollars raised by one department (i.e., Athletics Department) should not be feasted upon while others (i.e., Economics Department) in the UT family go hungry. Publicly-paid funds, television revenue, commercial licensing fees, endorsement contracts, and the legion of other revenue sources enjoyed by the athletics department should be more wisely used, especially during these times when the rest of the family is starving to death.
After all, if the reputation of UT's educational excellence continues to slip, it will be all the harder to attract those top-notch student athletes we've grown accustomed to having at UT. Coach Dickey and the entire athletics department should be embarrassed to drive past underfunded classrooms; to read stories of top graduate students fleeing for post-graduate degrees elsewhere; to see their academic colleagues leave for better-paying positions at competing universities.
Well, I doubt Coach Dickey is bothered by it. Perhaps if it was the University of Florida...
William McBee
Knoxville
Adios and Gracias
It would be a shame to let the oldest Mexican restaurant in all of East Tennessee close with only the one brief paragraph of notice in your "Ear to the Ground" section ["Mexicali Blues," Vol. 10, No. 12]. The Mexicali Rose deserves more of a tribute than that! Because Zippy the Restaurant Rover [Actually, Zippy is just a beloved sidekick to food critic emeritus Bonnie Appetit—Ed.] enthusiastically recommended the Mexicali Rose, we knew we would be in good culinary hands for our first visit many years ago.
This family owned and operated restaurant is so welcoming, and most customers and their children are greeted by their first names. Because many of the customers are police officers, I wondered if there was a problem expected on my first visit. Robert, owner of the Mexicali Rose, quickly explained that he was retired from the Los Angeles Police Department and Knoxville's finest liked to visit.
What gracious hosts! Placemats colored by patrons' children adorn the walls between booths. Robert makes sure each child is treated to a complementary "pink squirrel." The kids are usually shy the first visit, but are soon enthusiastically "helping" Robert fix their special treat. There are not many entrees on the menu, but each is wonderful. The food is just the right shade of spicy hot. Just enough to tingle, but easily extinguishable by the best iced tea in town. Knoxville is blessed with some fine chocolate-serving establishments—Brownie by Carrabas, Chocolate Suicide Cake at Naples, and Chocolate Bar Cake by Grady's, but Carrie's homemade chocolate cake is the best in town.
April 29th will be a sad day for us chocoholics. Enjoy your retirement!
S. A. Sharp
Oliver Springs
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