Brava.

She’s a columnist for the San Diego State University newspaper.

After being fired from his coaching position in November 2008, Chuck Long is still on the San Diego State payroll. His salary: $715,900 per year until Dec. 31, 2010.

In a poorly planned decision, SDSU officials signed Long to a four-year contract in hopes that he would bring back our Aztec football pride. Now, after three losing seasons, a 9-27 overall record, and the lowest stadium attendance in seven years, officials are desperately trying to find a way out of paying Long.

Their solution: hiring Dan Kelley, former Labor Relations Manager for the City of San Diego, to act as a mediator between SDSU and Long in effort to work out a settlement. SDSU has signed yet another contract, this time with Kelley, agreeing to pay him $125 per hour until the dispute is resolved.

This would all be fine and dandy if I hadn’t just been dealt a painful fee hike through the Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) that goes to pay for the athletics program. This would also not be as big of a deal if we all had a multitude of classes to choose from, no crashing necessary. But with SDSU’s budget slashed in half, and the students seemingly the only ones suffering, I’m enraged with SDSU’s belligerent spending on sports and Long’s ridiculous expectation to be paid in full. Both parties have acted incredibly selfish[ly], and need to keep in mind it’s the students that have to pay the price.

Long should settle for a third of his contractual agreement, Kelley should be fired, and SDSU should be more logical when considering funding its consistently disappointing athletic program.

The IRA fee was imposed on us, increasing students’ tuition by $160 a year, supposedly to meet its Title IX requirements. Title IX mandates there be equal opportunity for male and female athletes, which means students have to pay to ensure that we have as many women’s teams as we do men’s.

Yet, most of the money is going to make up for the massive deficit accrued from a poorly performing football team. Only a small portion is actually going toward improving gender equity.

When I went to pay my fees for registration, I looked at the cashier in utter disbelief. My fees had doubled, costing me $500 more than last year, and with financial aid not being disbursed yet, I had to dig deep into my savings in order to pay the bill. While the fee itself is frustrating, the reasoning behind it is outrageous. We are paying for a football team that I have not gone to watch in more than three years.

But wait, there’s more than just massively increased fees. SDSU, along with the state of California, is experiencing such massive budget shortfalls, that the 2009-10 class schedule has been practically cut in half. As many students are currently realizing, there are much [many] fewer classes being offered this semester, and still more money is being spent on our football team.

Given the dour news of this upcoming semester, Long still expects SDSU to fulfill its contractual obligation of paying him more than $700,000 for this and next year. His greed is appalling, considering his termination was based on under-performance. Failing to transform our pitiable Aztecs into winners for three consecutive years merits termination, and if Long thinks he’s due his salary in full, he’s completely out of line.

What’s worse is that Long is unwilling to see how he directly affects the finances of the student body; his greed is now costing us the pricey fees of [a] mediator.

The students, staff and educational standards of the university can’t take any more unnecessary expenses. Long should understand this and be more empathetic to our situation. He should settle for $250,000 – the most SDSU could reasonably pay out – and find another coaching position elsewhere.

SDSU on the other hand, needs to completely rethink its athletic program. Is the university really willing to risk education over athletics?

Before another class is cut, or professor laid off, SDSU should consider canceling a sport. Whether it be tennis, volleyball, or preferably, football, President Stephen L. Weber would be wise to let go of an unneeded, unwatched and unsupported team.

Let Weber know your frustration. Whether it’s writing letters, e-mails or stopping by for a visit, make sure Weber understands the burden the athletic program is putting us through. Weber can be reached by email at presidents.office@sdsu.edu, by phone at 619-594 5201, or by appointment in Manchester Hall, room 3340.

As we the students suffer in the name of sports, we need to unify and pressure Weber to make better decisions.

You’d think, with California reviewing all of its budgets, it would fire Weber. In so doing, it might be able to save the university he’s very close to grinding into dust.