Laurier Athletics has decided, after all of the negative reaction from students having to pay for admission to home football games, to now add ticket prices to more varsity sports teams.
Students were pissed off last year when told that they would have to pay $5 despite having their OneCard, which used to be enough to gain admission to football games for free.

The university’s response this year? To keep ticket prices the same as well as charge students admission to basketball, volleyball and hockey games.

Of the other eight teams competing in OUA Football, only Ottawa charges admission; though their stadium belongs to the city and not the university, so it makes some sense.

I realize that the university’s athletics program has received financial cuts, but charging students for tickets will only deter them from attending games, thereby lowering attendance, which could also lower merchandise sales and sponsors’ desire to advertise.

Critics will say that football attendance didn’t change last year, which may be true. But charging for other sports is a disaster waiting to happen. These teams have a hard enough time getting fans to come out and charging them will only add to the difficulty of maintaining attendance.
It’s time for the university to stop charging students to support the Golden Hawks. If there is a need to raise money, there must be other ways aside from breaking students’ wallets even more.
Sell the naming rights to University Stadium or go after local businesses and corporations for increased funding.

University is expensive enough for students with tuition, books and living expenses, don’t make us pay for supporting our Golden Hawks!