A Few Minor Suggestions

It was nearly 40 years ago that Columbia athletics began its embarrassing downfall. An athletic powerhouse in the 1960s, the University disastrously failed to build a cutting-edge gymnasium, causing the athletic program's resulting plunge into irrelevance.

Now, there may finally be an opportunity to stop the bleeding.

With plans for expansion into Manhattanville finally being formulated, it is imperative that Columbia build an athletic facility in its new campus. It's time for Columbia to right the wrongs of '68 and finally build the gym.

Columbia possesses what are, without a doubt, the worst athletics facilities in the Ivy League, facilities reminiscent of a Division III program. A gym-which would ideally include a real basketball court, new aquatic facilities, weight rooms, and so forth-could be a centerpiece of the Manhattanville initiative and finally correct some of University's egregious mistakes of the past.

The political ramifications of announcing such a plan would obviously be significant. The usual cacophony of complaints from both students and the community will only be aided by the symbolic value of Columbia's attempt to build a gym. The community will throw its usual set of buzzwords, ranging from gentrification to racism (that's my favorite word-it's used so bizarrely and so often in these protests that I wonder whether it has some second meaning that the rest of us are unfamiliar with). And even more embarrassing will be the response of "concerned students," who apparently feel that Satan himself is planning to colonize the current waste of space that is to the north of Columbia's campus. But this time, it will be important for Columbia to ignore this illogical opposition and simply build the gym. The more attention these malcontents are given, the more they are legitimized, and it is in the University's best interests to let them perennially scream in their own bubbles.

If athletic director Dianne Murphy can finally build a gym, it will represent a meaningful step forward for a program that has repeatedly failed its athletes. A gym was previously set to be built on top of the tennis courts in front of Pupin, but former athletic director John Reeves was unable to raise the required funds from alumni. The proposed aquatics center fell apart as well. Murphy showed promise when she delivered a new field hockey stadium, but an athletic facility in Manhattanville has to be on the top of her priority list.

Now, a new gym, while a step forward, would be far from the solution for all of Columbia's athletic woes. In my four years, it's been pretty shocking to see the administration and coaches at this school regularly fail their athletes. Reeves obviously did not deliver on his grand promises and hired a number of incompetent coaches, ranging from Jay Butler to Scott McKee. Murphy has definitely been an upgrade over Reeves, but even she has some learning to do. While she's aggressive enough to fight through parts of the Columbia bureaucracy, she, at times, appears to be a bull in a china shop. Her handling of the Traci Waites firing, Baker Field alcohol policy, and club hockey team were public relations disasters. Norries Wilson, for example, didn't help the department's image problem with his rant after the Penn football game (considering his experiences in large-conference programs, such as Minnesota and UConn, I'll never understand why the pressure at Columbia, of all places, seems to get to him).

That's not to say there aren't some diamonds in the rough at Columbia. Joe Jones could very well be in the process of building something special with his basketball program. Unfortunately, it seems as though for every coach like Jones, there's a program like women's lacrosse, which has won one conference game in its history. To be frank, there isn't a high school that would tolerate that kind of a record, forget about a Division I program in one of the nation's most competitive conferences.

It would help if the athletics department and University were more sensitive to the complaints of their fans and alumni. I'm not quite sure if they realize the level of anger that alumni especially feel regarding the performance of Columbia's teams. Just as a newspaper columnist, I've gotten hundreds of angry e-mails and voice-mails complaining about the teams' performances. That's not surprising, considering the school's track record. But the frustrations with the lack of accountability and hypersensitivity of those officials with whom people have interacted does not bode well for the future. These are the stakeholders the department should embrace while developing the thick skin needed to withstand criticism.

The losers in this culture of incompetence are students, which, ironically, is emblematic of Columbia as a whole. Student-athletes with substandard resources are forced to fight through losing season after losing season, and students in general are deprived of the sense of community that a successful athletic program can create.

Can all of that be changed? It's a long shot. But considering the University's past history of failing its student-athletes, it's at least worth a shot, and that starts with building a gym.

Since this is my last column, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank those who made my experience at Spectator so memorable. Phil Wallace was my mentor and first taught me the importance of relentlessly seeking the truth in the face of many obstacles. Nick Summers built Spectator sports from the ground up and was the first sports editor I worked under. Theodore Orsher pushed me to fight against institutionalized mediocrity and to think as big as I dream. Jake Olson was the reason I enjoyed my year as sports editor and did a great job of balancing out my many weaknesses. I couldn't have asked for a more talented set of associate editors, and I learned pretty early on that my talents paled in comparison to Jon Kamran and Joshua Robinson, who took the section to new heights. And, of course, Jonathan Tayler and Jonathan August are continuing the excellent tradition of the past. But more than anything else, I appreciate the support of the entire section and staff. Starting from Nick and Phil, we have fought destructive internal and external forces to transform the culture of the section from that of a day camp to that of a newspaper.