A K LEO T H E
MONDAY, SEPT. 24 to TUESDAY SEPT. 25, 2012 VOLUME 108 ISSUE 14
Serving the students of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
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‘Wonder Blunder’ affects athletic fundraising
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‘FIVE CHINESE BROTHERS’ UH alumnus brings fusion style to theatre
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Student attendance at football games have not seen negative effects from the Stevie Wonder incident, with 1,803 students in attendance at the Sept. 15 game . A LEX BITTER Contributing Writer The effects of the “Wonder Blunder” on athletics fundraising are starting to appear nearly two months after the revelation that the University of Hawai‘i athletics department had lost $200,000 in a failed attempt to organize a fundraising concert. Vince Baldemor, president of ‘Ahahui Koa Ānuenue, the organization in charge of fundraising for UH athletics, said he has had to personally respond to donors concerned about how their money is being managed in the wake of the failed benefit concert. “Individuals have been upset, and some [have said] that they don’t intend to donate,” Baldemor said. “It’s been visible enough to me.”
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W hile he admits that raising money for UH athletics is more difficult when potential donors are skeptical about whether their contributions will be spent wisely, Baldemor focuses on student-athletes when addressing donor concerns. “When we talk with these individuals, it’s about the student-athletes … their education and their athletics,” he said, adding that regardless of what administrative decisions are made, his organization’s role will always be to support the university’s teams. Acting athletics director Rockne Freitas also acknowledged that he has heard of donors rethinking their contributions to UH, but insisted that such reports have come to him indirectly and that he has not been in contact with any angry givers personally.
Still, he said, any incident that drives fans away is a worry to him. “It concerns me when we lose fan support and donor support from everything that goes wrong,” Freitas said. In addition to an ongoing operational audit of the athletics department that will lead to suggested changes in the way the department functions, Freitas also points to UH’s student-athletes as a reason for the public to continue their support – both by attending games and by donating. “We are all here for the students,” Freitas said.
BU DGE T DE F I C I T Last year, the athletics department spent $10.5 million, or 35 percent of its total expenditures, on financial aid, medi-
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cal coverage and travel for its student-athletes, according to the Annual Athletics and ‘Ahahui Koa Ānuenue 2011-2012 Hawai‘i Athletics report. The reports also show that the total fundraising proceeds generated by AK A during the same period amount to just under $6.5 million, and that, when all other sources of revenue and expense are considered, the department will face a projected budget deficit of more than $2 million at the end of 2012. Despite the budget projections for the rest of the year, officials in the athletics department said they are not sure how many donations will change as a result of the Wonder concert controversy. See Attendance, page 2
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OPINIONS
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SPORTS
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BREAKING RECORDS
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