Letters to the Editor
In light of last Block’s article on “Questions of Honnen Arena’s Financial Stability,” we feel that it is important to provide a context that was not fully articulated in the article.
To headline the article with the implication that the college may unnecessarily be “subsidizing” Honnen—as if Honnen were a separate, non-CC entity—is misleading and disregards Honnen’s invaluable contribution to the life of the college.
The article fails to mention that no other CC facility (e.g., Schlessman Natatorium, the tennis courts, the track, the CC library) is expected to make money or routinely analyzed for “financial sustainability.”
The CC administration itself seems to forget this point and continually puts pressure on the arena to make money, even though it is a CC facility and therefore exists to serve the (non-paying) CC community.
Historically, the ice rink was run out of the CC Business Office and was expected to generate revenue; at the time, it was forced to do this by removing almost all access from the CC community.
This issue was heavily discussed within the CC community about a decade ago and, consequently, supervision of Honnen was switched to Student Life because (as a CC facility) the primary function of Honnen is to serve the CC community.
Given this background, it is misleading to state that “Honnen Arena Manager Linda Alexander prefers to spend her day learning the names and skate sizes of students and community members who visit the arena, rather than laboring over facts, figures, and bottom lines…” as if these two tasks are in opposition to one another, or even as if the bottom line should be the primary concern. Her job is multifaceted, as is the purpose of the Honnen Arena as a whole: to provide a unique resource for CC that makes us stand out among our peer schools, to be an ambassador for CC to the Colorado Springs community, and to bring together the CC and Colorado Springs communities in an organic way.
On that note, at a time when there is more discussion than ever about the problem of the “CC bubble,” it seems misleading to emphasize Honnen’s “financial stability” as if such stability should be a main determinant of the arena’s success.
The programs hosted at Honnen are one of the few opportunities for CC and Colorado Springs community members to interact organically, which is by far the most effective way to establish a lasting, positive relationship between the two communities.
On any given day at Honnen, CC students and Colorado Springs residents build team camaraderie while playing Open Hockey, members of the CC figure skating team get to know and informally mentor younger Colorado Springs skaters who are practicing on the same sessions, and local community members are welcomed into the friendly campus atmosphere on which CC prides itself.
In these ways and many more, Honnen’s programming truly bursts the bubble, rather than simply allowing Colorado Springs residents to peer into the bubble (which is the most they can do when invited to sit passively in any formal lectures/programs hosted on campus).
The article does incorporate this perspective, but its emphasis on financial stability far misses the mark on Honnen’s invaluable contribution to addressing our real struggles with the bubble.
– Francesca Mastrianni, Class of 2018
Julia Liao, Class of 2015
Dr. Bob Jacobs, Department of Psychology