[Abstract: An abstract is a rather odd odd thing to find in a blog where posts are supposed to be short. This one isn’t. The subject does involve the academy though and therefore one is provided. What follows, however, is not academic. There is only one mention of ‘post-colonial’ and the word ‘hegemony’ appears not at all (except for there). It concerns sporting and recreational matters at the university nearby. It is likely to be of interest to only a few old coots who used to sit perspiring by ‘the cage’ after using the courts, or those old enough to have played handball in Thames Hall.]
Up at the Odditorium
A report was released recently at Western University and I am certain it passed unnoticed by those in the town, and was unread by the gowns who are long-gone. It covered two subjects which, I can also say with some certainty, are not of much concern to most faculty or administrators: sport and recreation. In a campus competition between the Hearties and the Aesthetes, the latter would win hands down (to use a good, old sporting term). Most faculty would argue that collegiate sports and the scholarships that go with them are best left in the States and recreational activities should not be allowed to distract the students and drain dollars from the coffers. Although I did not read the full report, I gather from the summary of it that money is the issue - isn’t it generally? (see: “Current Sport and Rec Model Unsustainable,” Jason Winders, Western News, July 12, 2017.)
Sport and Recreation
Given that the subjects are not of much concern and we know that after more deliberations and committee meetings additional funding will not be forthcoming, why am I wasting our time on this? Partially because I will offer a solution below and it will explain the picture and title above. It is also the case that I am a contrarian by nature. Although I lost interest in most sports years ago there are at least a couple of reasons why they might be considered of some use on a campus.
One of them is that the University of Western Ontario had a solid tradition of fielding some fine teams and producing some excellent athletes. Perhaps the best example is provided by the squash team. I am sure it is the only Canadian university team in any sport to win an NCAA title and the only one to ever have any NCAA All-Americans, as well as a coach who is in that body’s Hall of Fame. Although the Mustang squash team just won the OUA title for the 34th straight year, it no longer competes in the top tier of the NCAA and support has dwindled. They play and practice off-campus and it looks like they will soon be just a club.
So what, say the Aesthetes? Well, I would think that the students learned something on the trips to Harvard and Princeton and the students there learned, at least, there was a University of Western Ontario. As well, I would think that such a tradition must translate into some alumni loyalty and even dollars. One could argue that it is perhaps better to retire with a strong reputation while winning, but generally winning looks better than retiring in the promotional literature. There will soon be yet another ranking in which Western doesn’t appear.
Campus Rec
The case for ‘recreation’ is a little harder to make, especially to taxpayers. If you are going to compete with other universities in the recruiting race, however, then you better have great recreational facilities if you wish to attract good students. You certainly need to have them if you ‘brand’ yourself by saying you offer “Canada’s Best Student Experience”: “At Western University, we pride ourselves on offering the best student experience - inside and outside the classroom! We have an entire portfolio dedicated to Student Experience so when you arrive on campus you have the support you need to engage in student activies [sic] and fully enjoy student life at Western.”
Finding funding for even the very popular and more utilitarian STEM subjects is very difficult. Creating a PowerPoint in support of a bowling alley for the rec center on campus is even more so. Here is one bullet that might help: Our Competitors are Offering Water Slides and Lazy Rivers. (that is not a joke; sources to follow). That’s all I can think of.
Campus Wreck
It is highly likely Western is soon only going to have a few very inexpensive teams and just in those sports that are popular. One of them, ironically enough, is now recognized as being rather unhealthy for those who play it. All the other athletic activities will take place in very cheap clubs.
Students in some sports will be okay. Those interested in soccer, for example, can bring their own ball and play in the remaining corn field over at Brescia. Administrators and Aesthetes will argue that one does not need institutional support to be successful while running around in shorts. That is true. Our son played a lot of Ultimate at University. He played, as did his wife, in international championship games in Toronto and Sarasota, FL and she played in the World Championships in Perth. He played in the World Championships in Sapporo, Japan where his Canadian team won the world title. (You probably didn’t know that “Ultimate” is the name given to the sport played with a plastic flying disc more commonly known as a ‘frisbee’ or that the Canadians held a world title in it). The point is, they did it on their own dimes and were successful.
Students needing more than a frisbee, however, may expect and require a little more; a gym or rink, for example. Eliminating teams and offering nominal support to clubs also presents a problem for the university recruiters: Come to Western and for a great student experience be sure to bring your racquet and cab fare for the ride to the London Squash Club.
Having enticed you this far by offering the promise of a solution I will confess that it is a limited one. Nor is it entirely surprising since it is a product of the current entrepreneurial Zeitgeist. In short, students will have to raise the money themselves and be diligent about ensuring that the money raised is not diverted for other purposes by the administrators and those in the Development Office(s). A case study is presented to show how the future of campus rec might evolve.
A Shooting (or RIfle or Pistol or Revolver) Club
Your first objection to this case is likely to be that currently there is no such club on campus. That is correct. I do recall, however, that when playing squash in the bowels of Alumni Hall years ago, the smack of the ball was often matched by sound of a rifle - from the firing range behind us. (As a very relevant aside, the doors of the squash courts were locked at some point, apparently because no one was willing or able to pay the university rent, or pay for having them cleaned. When we offered to sweep the courts, I think the the issue of liability was raised - isn’t it generally? What if someone slipped in the dust? They remained vacant and unused for years).
Since you probably do not trust my memory and since I realize it is often faulty, I went looking for supporting evidence. None is found anywhere on the Western website, but, it is found in the Occidentalia. A “Rod & Gun Club” is mentioned in 1966, a “Revolver Club” in 1968. A “Rifle and Pistol Club” existed on campus even in more recent and enlightened times. An account of its demise in 1997 is found in full below and is provided because: a) it proves there was such a club; b) more data are needed for our case study; c) you wouldn’t be able to find it; and d) it shows how little has changed in 20 years. What follows is from the Gazette.
“Campus Club Gets Shot Down”, by Maija Ambrogio Gazette Writer.
Western's Rifle and Pistol club no longer has a home in Alumni Hall and no longer carries the Western title.
Recently, three decisions were made regarding the immediate future of the club. Firstly, Campus Recreation's support and endorsement of Rifle and Pistol club activities was terminated, said Elizabeth Elliot, coordinator of physical fitness and sport instruction at Campus Recreation. "This was done because the club was not filling the recreation mandate including a component of physical activity," Elliot said.
Due to withdrawal of support, Campus Recreation closed the shooting range facility in Alumni Hall as it was no longer needed.
This decision was supported by Western's senior administration, said Beverly Green, assistant to Peter Mercer, VP-administration. Western's name was then removed from the club to protect the university from potential liability, Green said.
Rifle and Pistol Club president Jason Brown and vice-president Terrence C. Biggs said they are unable to explain why the club's support was withdrawn and are skeptical of the reasons provided.
To correct the lack of physical activity, Biggs proposed events which involved cross-country running accompanied by target shooting in which the competitors' times are recorded.
"Although a formal proposal was never received, the university does not have a venue that is suitable for that type of shooting," Elliot said.
Green argued there is an element of risk associated with the Rifle and Pistol club as well. However, Brown said during the club's 35 years, there has never been one accident or complaint.
There was one more issue outlined in a letter to Biggs from Elliot. "In the current fiscal climate, it has become necessary to streamline several programs within the organization."
In order to offset the $14,513 annual cost of the shooting range, Biggs proposed the club pay half this amount, which would be taken from the $50 membership fee paid by the 230 to 250 members each year.
Green claims that currently the Chief Provincial Firearms' office is in negotiations with the club and she hopes a suitable solution for all can be found.
This piece was followed by a letter that is perhaps a trifle overwrought. But, it certainly proves that clubs can matter to some students.
Volume 91, Issue 15
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Tuesday, September 23, 1997
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“Will Your Club Be the Next to Face The Firing Squad:”
To the Editor:
This letter is directed to students, alumni and clubs on campus to alert them to a situation currently affecting the UWO Rifle & Pistol club. Although the club has operated on campus for more than 35 years and has an exemplary record for safety and education, Campus Recreation and the university administration has, without consulting the club, assigned room 18, The Range, located in Alumni Hall, to another tenant and de-affiliated the club without cause. I urge all students, alumni and Western clubs, to offer their support by contacting Dr. Peter Mercer, VP-Administration and General Council, requesting this arbitrary decision be rescinded, to ensure the continued operation of this club as part of Western's heritage.
Please consider the following quote by Pastor Martin Niemoller: "In Germany they first came for the communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. They came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade Unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade Unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up."
Speak up! Be heard! Will your club, organization or group be the next target?
William R. Sherman
HBA Class of 1977
The second objection to a gun club was raised above by the canny administrator who noted that the activities within it do not constitute “physical activity” and others will say it is not a ‘sport’. To that, one can respond that “They shoot at the Olympics don’t they and Western has an Olympic Center.” To end the argument one can mention that the European Court of Justice just ruled that BRIDGE is a sport.
Another objection to using a shooting club as an example is that it is a dangerously dumb one which is unlikely to be very popular among those students who are not members of the alt-right. That may or may not be the case, but gun clubs and teams are very popular south of the border. “Teams are thriving at a diverse range of schools: Yale, Harvard, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, and even smaller schools such as Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and Connors State College in Oklahoma.” If you are not impressed by the example of Connors State, consider MIT where “We literally have way more students interested than we can handle,” said Steve Goldstein, one of MIT’s pistol coaches.” Note especially that he is just one of the pistol coaches.
Perhaps students up here are different, but even if not, a club might attract more American students with stronger dollars. Western could be an “early adopter” (which will look good on a PowerPoint slide) and beat our Canadian competitors to the gun. The administrators involved with Western’s facilities probably know all of this as members of ACUI (the Association of College Unions International). The ACUI, among other things, held the recent Collegiate Clay Target Championships from which the picture above, of smiling male and female students, was taken. Over 800 students attended from 85 schools.
The final and major objection to supporting a gun club or team is that firearms are very, very bad and kill people. Do we really want to follow the example I provided of a bunch crackers enjoying themselves at collegiate shooting contests? (I think it is still okay to demean white southerners, as long as they are either male or female.) Besides what about Virginia Tech where a student recently shot 32, about twice as many as the guy shot from the tower at the University of Texas?
Good points, but one can support guns without recommending “campus carry” laws” and guns can be used recreationally to shoot at clays rather than pigeons. As well, the guy in the tower could have driven to campus and mowed down just as many, a not infrequent maneuver these days. Still we drive cars.
Having dealt with the objections to our case study example, we can now turn to reasons for supporting such activities. A powerful one can be summed up simply by using the word “Diversity”, a construct not to be questioned on a campus. Surely supporting multifarious activities is intrinsically a good thing.
Having proven that the shooting sports are currently popular ones we can now defend them by reverting to tradition. There were, after all, gun clubs at Western in the past just as Yale long had a Skeet and Trap Shooting Team. Hunting is also traditional. I think the Queen only missed shooting last Christmas because she was sick. Hunting and shooting are also sports. Loyal readers of this blog may remember the definition I provided from an English gentlemen in the 19th century who insisted that sports were only those activities involving guns, not silly little balls. (I hope that the hunting example may have some support among the indigenous on campus to offset all the post-colonials who will oppose anything relating to the English.)
Another minor point, before I move to the big one. Efficiencies will result from having students involved in a shooting club. Any who apply for admission and express an interest in such a club could be granted admission without further scrutiny. Such people will have had to pass the Ontario Hunter Education Course and the Canadian Firearms Safety Course which suggests they have the potential to pursue a Ph.D.
The main reason for choosing a gun club to illustrate how clubs could be successful in the hard times ahead at Western is because it is the only sport I could think of that could get a lot of cash. The rise of the shooting sports on campuses is not just an accident or an incidental fad. As proof consider this: “The firearms industry has poured millions of dollars into college shooting clubs, and many students’ views about guns have evolved. Although some collegiate teams date to the late 1800s, coaches and team captains say there is a surge of new interest from students, both male and female, finally away from their parents and curious to handle one of the country’s most divisive symbols. Once they fire a gun, students say they find shooting relaxing — at MIT, students call it “very Zen” — and that it teaches focusing skills that help in class.”
As a practical example of how this might play out on campus consider this one: “MIT’s rifle team has varsity status and competes in NCAA-sanctioned matches with funding from the athletic department. The pistol team has club-sport status, meaning it must get its funding elsewhere. For that, it relies heavily on the MidwayUSA Foundation, which sets up an account for each school that alumni or others donate to. The foundation then matches donations and invests the money. Teams can draw 5 percent of their funds each year. The pistol team’s account balance is more than $363,000.”
I hinted earlier that the solution of student fund raising for teams and clubs is somewhat limited and that their entrepreneurial actions are likely to work only for certain sports - such as shooting. I was pleased to learn recently that Western has a polo team. That is the type of elite activity that may attract some attention and money from the very rich. As well, students might harness their fundraising to the Liberal Party and suggest that the polo team is assisting in the efforts to revive the horse racing industry in Ontario. Imagination as well as entrepreneurship is required. That will likely not be enough for the wrestlers and fencers who will have to fend for themselves.
It is easy to predict that the Aesthetes will emerge from the scrum in possession of most of the cash (of which there is not nearly enough) and that is as it should be. It is also easy to take pot shots at the process from a fair distance. It is worth taking them, however, to make the point that in the highly competitive academic arms race all flanks need support and protection.
Sources:
The formal title of the recent Western report is: The Weese Report SRS 2.0: Ensuring a Foundation for Success, July 2017.
Competition for students is intense and is likely to increase. Tuition costs continue to rise, Incentives are required - even rather frivolous ones. See: Making a Splash on Campus: College Recreation Now Includes Pool Parties and River Rides,” Courtney Rubin, New York Times, Sept. 19, 2014. The lazy river pictured can be enjoyed at Texas Tech.
Canada does have a world championship in Ultimate. See: “Nomads Win World Ultimate Championship Trophy: The Nomads, a Displaced Team of Former UVic Students, That Won the Men’s Over-33 World Ultimate Frisbee Championship in Japan Last Week,” Travis Paterson, Victoria News, July 19, 2012.
It is a very popular sport, especially on the West Coast and clearly such teams and clubs create some comradery. There is a team at Western.
“Gun Industry’s Helping Hand Triggers a Surge in College Shooting Teams,” Michael S. Rosenwald, Washington Post, March 15, 2015. To see the extent of the support see the site of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Perhaps it is not a bad thing to have some of the NSSF and NRA money go to recreational activities rather than more lethal ones.
Coming up soon (perhaps): FISHING AT WESTERN
Intercollegiate fishing is probably more popular than shooting and even more lucrative for the students involved. I was glad to see that a few students have formed a club at Western. Western does have a rich tradition in intercollegiate fishing, believe it or not, that pre-dates the current fad. I may reveal more later (perhaps).
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