2008 Woodie Awards
Questions arise at student open forum
Audit, marijuana arrests among discussions
Stephanie Encin
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: News
Hitt contended that the money given to UCF Athletics in the form of a $7.6 million loan is also legitimate.
"The issue is not how [the money] was spent," he said. "No one argues that the money was spent on things it shouldn't have been. The issue is, do we have the authority to pass the money under a written contract to the Athletics Association and have them then spend the money on behalf of the athletics program? [The auditors] say we don't. We say we do.
"But no one contends that the money was improperly spent. The money was spent on scholarships, coaches' salaries, trainers' salaries, support staff salaries, just as it is being spent now. The only question is, who got it first?"
Hitt called the loan situation a tempest in a teapot, adding that although there was no written plan on how the debt should be repaid, it was always the thought to have Athletics repay the money.
"I really think there's a group of folks who are trying to see this as the next Watergate, and it ain't," Hitt said.
Whalen was not convinced.
"I feel like he's trying to defend all this, but it's black and white," Whalen said.
Mark Ritner, an environmental engineering major, was also unmoved by the president's response to his concerns about academic dishonesty at UCF.
"It is a serious problem across the country, and we have been proactive here at UCF over the last eight or 10 years in trying to address it," Hitt said. "Are we where we'd like to be? I don't think any university in the country is."
Ritner called the president's answer a polished political response.
"It appears that undergraduate academic standards of integrity and competency are probably the fifth or sixth item down President Hitt's priority list," Ritner said.
Sophomore Caitlyn Hillyard, a hospitality major, left the forum more optimistic about her problem with New UCF Arena rules, saying she thinks something will be done about it.
Hillyard charged that UCF Arena rules change so suddenly from one event to the next that students do not know what they are allowed to do. As a member of Rowdy Knights, a group of UCF sports enthusiasts, new rules banning signs and costumes at basketball games especially upset her.
"Whether you want to believe it or not, a lot of people attend sporting events not necessarily for the game itself but for the overall experience, the atmosphere," Hillyard told the president.
Hitt promised to raise the issue with UCF Director of Athletics Keith Tribble, but said he supports some restrictions, such as prohibiting the UCF band from playing "Would You Be My Girl?" because at past sporting events, students have substituted foul language for the song's lyrics.
"I know that was unpopular with a number of people when that was changed," Hitt said. "So some things we're going to agree on; some things we're not."
"The issue is not how [the money] was spent," he said. "No one argues that the money was spent on things it shouldn't have been. The issue is, do we have the authority to pass the money under a written contract to the Athletics Association and have them then spend the money on behalf of the athletics program? [The auditors] say we don't. We say we do.
"But no one contends that the money was improperly spent. The money was spent on scholarships, coaches' salaries, trainers' salaries, support staff salaries, just as it is being spent now. The only question is, who got it first?"
Hitt called the loan situation a tempest in a teapot, adding that although there was no written plan on how the debt should be repaid, it was always the thought to have Athletics repay the money.
"I really think there's a group of folks who are trying to see this as the next Watergate, and it ain't," Hitt said.
Whalen was not convinced.
"I feel like he's trying to defend all this, but it's black and white," Whalen said.
Mark Ritner, an environmental engineering major, was also unmoved by the president's response to his concerns about academic dishonesty at UCF.
"It is a serious problem across the country, and we have been proactive here at UCF over the last eight or 10 years in trying to address it," Hitt said. "Are we where we'd like to be? I don't think any university in the country is."
Ritner called the president's answer a polished political response.
"It appears that undergraduate academic standards of integrity and competency are probably the fifth or sixth item down President Hitt's priority list," Ritner said.
Sophomore Caitlyn Hillyard, a hospitality major, left the forum more optimistic about her problem with New UCF Arena rules, saying she thinks something will be done about it.
Hillyard charged that UCF Arena rules change so suddenly from one event to the next that students do not know what they are allowed to do. As a member of Rowdy Knights, a group of UCF sports enthusiasts, new rules banning signs and costumes at basketball games especially upset her.
"Whether you want to believe it or not, a lot of people attend sporting events not necessarily for the game itself but for the overall experience, the atmosphere," Hillyard told the president.
Hitt promised to raise the issue with UCF Director of Athletics Keith Tribble, but said he supports some restrictions, such as prohibiting the UCF band from playing "Would You Be My Girl?" because at past sporting events, students have substituted foul language for the song's lyrics.
"I know that was unpopular with a number of people when that was changed," Hitt said. "So some things we're going to agree on; some things we're not."