Generally, the main function of universities is giving advanced education to students and nurturing experts of various intellectual fields. Now and then, some people excessively emphasize this educational funcion of universities so that they tend to think that funding to athletic facilities is not important. However, this kinds of consideration is a little dangerous in that they underestimate the importance of physical education facilities. In my point of view, I maintain that athletic departments should receive same amount of funding as university libraries. There are several causes of this. Firsty, physical education facilities such as gymnasiums, swimming pools and fitness centers are very helpful for physcal health of university students. Largely, students' living in universities is too concentrated in their academic courses. This can cause significant problems in students' health. But, with well-equipped health facilities, students can get lots of help to stay in shape. In my own experience, when I was a freshman in college, I was exhasted by a great amount of academic loads such as experiments, assignments, and exams so I'd became quite feeble. To come over this, I took swimming program which was provided by the university swimming pool. As a result of constant exercises, I regained my health. If the univesity hadn't have the swimming program and swimming pool, I would have had difficulty in exercising alone. Secondly, atheletic departments keep students mentally heathy. students often get stress due to hard courses or interpersonal troubles in colleges, and sports are one of the best way to relieve stress. While running, swimming or playing football, students can forget all things irritating him and enjoy that moment. In addition to this, Team sports such as basketball or baseball allow students to make friends and build social networks. This also contributes to escape stress. In short, atheletic departments are very beneficial for students because they keep students in physically and mentally healthy state. For these reasons, I strongly support the idea of funding atheletic departments and university libraries equally. |