TO THE EDITOR:
I was saddened to read in Thursday’s article that the Belk track will be demolished to make way for a new indoor practice facility for the football team. The track is a valuable resource utilized by many students and members of the community: club sports, physical fitness classes, the Relay for Life cancer fundraiser and those running for fitness, to name a few. The proposed location for the new track is convenient for none of these.
On a campus where space is already at a premium, how much more acreage in the heart of campus must we devote to the football-industrial complex? Any rationale for this change seems especially dubious given that the football team already has an indoor practice facility in the Eddie Smith Field House.
And finally, one has to question the grit of a football team that requires an indoor facility in mild North Carolina. Perhaps UNC football can take a lesson in toughness from the women’s soccer squad — the lack of a dedicated indoor facility hasn’t stopped them from winning 21 of the last 34 NCAA championships.
Brock Baker
Class of ’09
