In the Oct. 17 issue of The Mac Weekly, Dhruva Jaishankar’s article “Is football necessary at Mac?” asked a question that has already been answered by a committee of students, faculty and alumni two years ago when the football program faced termination. That committee resoundingly decided to keep football at Macalester and furthermore pledged to find ways to improve the program. In light of the comments made in Jaishankar’s article, however, it appears necessary to reiterate why Macalester decided to keep football.

First I will address the financing of the football program. It was suggested in Jaishankar’s article that the football program’s budget could be redistributed in more effective ways, but I think that such a suggestion fails to take into account certain intricacies of the athletic department’s budget. The administration, headed two years ago by former President Mike McPherson, told football’s defenders early on that money was far from the deciding factor in whether or not Macalester would keep football. That was the case in part because of concerns over alumni financial support.

Jaishankar noted in his article that alumni donate funds for the expressed purpose of aiding the football program. However, without a football program, the aforementioned funds would not exist, and support for the athletic department would dwindle. Bear in mind that many large contributors to the Macalester athletic department are former football players themselves. What the department’s net loss in funding would have been if football were cut is difficult to postulate, but it is clear that the football program’s budget is not the secret source of disposable income it was made out to be in Jaishankar’s article.

So if money is not a reason to cut the football program, what then is a reason to keep the football program? The answer to this question is far more important than any concern about finances. Macalester needs a football program far more than most colleges because Macalester needs the people that play football. At an institution that prizes diversity among its most precious ideals, football players represent a vital piece of that diversity.

The Macalester football program attracts a rare type of student-athlete, one that is looking not only to get a degree from a nationally respected liberal arts college, but also to compete on a football team that has a history of struggling through numerous defeats for every victory. Such student-athletes are unafraid to face challenges that may well be beyond their skill to conquer and it is that bravery in their nature that helps make them an invaluable addition to the Macalester community. The football program attracts students that come from backgrounds that are atypical for Macalester students; thus, these students bring with them perspectives that are similarly unique. To point out one example of this, there are probably as many students on the football team that vote Republican as there are on the rest of the campus combined (though believe me when I say that a Republican has yet to receive my vote). Opposing viewpoints from the right are in short supply around campus to say the least—and yes, Macalester needs that kind of diversity as well.

Because Macalester holds diversity in such high regard, a football program becomes an absolute necessity. Wins and losses, for any sport, are ultimately immaterial in considering the value of an athletic program. What is important to consider is the impact of the athletic program on the students who participate and on the community as a whole. I will vouch for the fact that the football program has been a positive influence on my personal college experience. It is also fair to say, I think, that the football program is a positive influence on Macalester, if for no other reason than it adds to the great variety of perspectives and personalities that make the Mac community exceptional.