Athletic Director Hugh Yoshida felt the heat last football season after he asked the Rainbow football, men's basketball and baseball programs to accept budget cuts. Football coach Fred vonAppen protested all too publicly about the austerity forced upon his team. The situation was worsened by what turned out to be a miserable season and correspondingly low attendance.
Yoshida plans to increase ticket prices for men's and women's volleyball next season, baseball next year and men's basketball in 1999, and to start charging for softball games in 1998. The current bill would allow him to raise prices for top games.
For example, he said, a ticket to next football season's closing game against Notre Dame could cost an extra $5. Last year's regular prices were $16 for sideline seats and $14 for end zone seats.
Raising ticket prices alone would not be sufficient to make UH athletics self-sustaining. Yoshida also plans to seek corporate sponsorships of games, more use of the Special Events Arena for concerts, a larger share of concessions and a share of parking revenue at the center. He legitimately complains that his department shouldn't have to pay the state $700,000 a year to play football in Aloha Stadium when high school teams can play there free.
Competition in Division I-A college athletics is expensive, but it should pay for itself. Yoshida should be given the authority he needs to make ends meet without diminishing the UH sports program.
NATO's problem is finding justification to continue to exist now that the threat it was formed to deal with has evaporated. Expanding to the east would make the former Soviet satellites feel more secure, but does the United States want to be formally committed to come to their defense against a non-Communist Russia? Most Americans probably don't think so. Yet that would be the inescapable result that Albright is trying to obscure.
Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, who had been Mexico's drug czar for only three months, aroused suspicion by moving into a luxurious apartment that he obviously couldn't afford on his government salary. In fact, authorities say, it was provided to the general by a top aide to the chief of the Juarez drug cartel.
On March 1, Congress will decide whether to certify that Mexico is doing enough. Failure to be recertified could mean an end to U.S. drug-fighting aid and an automatic U.S. vote against Mexico in international lending institutions. But such punitive measures might only make matters worse.
The problem is that the state Constitution prohibits reduction or impairment of the benefits of members of the state retirement system. Consequently any such change can only apply to future members.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor