Tell UW Athletics: Carry the Weight!

At our general membership meeting on February 11, the membership voted to adopt an amended version of the Executive Board’s recommended policy toward the Rec Sports Master Plan. Here is the full policy as amended and passed by the membership. Members amended the resolution to make it clear that the TAA opposes in general the practice of raising segregated fees — a practice that makes the UW less and less accessible for undergraduates and more and more burdensome for graduate employees. The resolution also notes the impossible situation students are put in: If we vote YES, students would pay $144.78 on rec sports seg fees starting in 2017. And if we vote NO, we will see the Rec Sports portion of our fees increase to $83.56 in the near term. Here’s the bottom line: Both plans impose an unreasonable burden on students. Therefore, the resolution proposes that the TAA act, in concert with undergraduates, to pressure UW Athletics — currently only promising to fund a paltry 3% of the project — to contribute more to Rec Sports, regardless of whether the Master Plan is adopted.

To that end, we’re asking our members and allies to SIGN ON TO A LETTER to Barry Alvarez, the Director of Athletics, to say: We know Bucky is strong enough to carry the weight! Feel free to leave the letter as it is, or to edit it yourself. The Regents and the Chancellor will receive a copy of the letter as well. We need to send as many as possible in order to begin to push for a shift from a “make students pay” model. Segregated fee increases are bad for all students, but also a wage cut for graduate employees. We can’t afford it; the 5th most profitable athletics program in the country can. Sign the letter!