A funny thing happened over the summer when most of the fee- paying NIU students were home probably working for the money they give to this university. The athletic department found money without the students’ help.

Yes, we are speaking of the same NIU athletic department that had enough audacity last semester to suggest a student fee increase of $60.15 per semester to foot the bill for a $500,000 budget reallocation targeted by NIU President John La Tourette. At a time when every department was trying to hold its head above water, the proposed fee increase was insulting at best.

Over the summer the athletic department announced that it was prepared to come up with the $500,000 on its own and without cutting programs. This is a very different version of the tune Athletic Director Gerald O’Dell sang when he was still trying to get the money by increasing student fees.

If the department could make up the $500,000 without cuts, why did it even ask for the student fee increase?

Not only did O’Dell say last semester that if he did not get the fee increase he would be forced to cut programs, but he also implied he would have to chop from the administrative side. Well, the department must have done some real shoddy budgeting or else it mysteriously found a money tree?

Mr. O’Dell has rescinded comments he made earlier in order to save what little face is left in the athletic department. The sad truth is O’Dell and the department got greedy. This is too bad for the students who participate and work so hard in the athletic department because they are the ones who get the brunt of students’ bad feelings toward the actions the department takes.

It was the students that said no to the increase and gave the athletic department no choice but to handle the reduction. Now the students know that the decision was a good one and their strong front paid off.

There are some lessons to be learned from the events of last semester and this summer. One is students should always remember that by standing together they can win some fights.

A second is to not always believe a department that is “crying wolf.”