Letter to the Editor: SPHS Extracurricular Funding Needs Fixing

The Riot, 

As a student who has witnessed the impact of extracurricular activities on our communities, I can see how important it is and how much of a positive impact it has on the people involved. As someone who sees this, I would like to address the fact that there is inequity between the drama and athletics club. Both the drama and athletics club have equal importance to our communities and help bring many people together. However the athletics club gets significantly more funding than the drama club, which is getting none. 

The drama club, having no direct funding from the high school, has to gain this money through another form, like fundraising and asking for donations. The athletics club, or rather the sports in general, on the other hand, receives funding from the high school and generates a high revenue by itself. You can even see this in the referendum that was passed to have the track and field replaced, though the funding for the new theater was removed from the funding for the new high school when they rebuilt it. There is a big disconnect between the two extracurricular activities and their funding, even though they have the same importance to our communities.

 One example I have seen from being at our school is that it is easier for people to fit in and find people who share similar interests when we have clubs for these interests. Going into high school can be scary, seeing as it is a big change. Having communities where people who are new feel like they belong can help them with that change. 

So I would like to say that a way we can fix the imbalance between the two fundings is by sharing the large amount of funding and revenue the athletics club gets with the drama club. That way their individual groups can both thrive and help new students have an easier time in high school.