University Athletics offers smelly solution
Ferguson Clatsworhty
Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: The Edge
Due to the recent drop in athletic funding through student fees, the Western Illinois University Athletics Department has announced they will be accepting all charitable shoe donations beginning
Friday, April 3 at Hanson Field.
According to athletics spokesman Kim Lee Van Sholshtine, the shoe drive "is just something we have to do right now, given the current state of funding."
"We just can't afford to supply our field teams with shoes anymore," Van Sholstine said. "But if there's one thing that's for certain, it's that these young men and women need to play, regardless of what type of shoes they're wearing. If they've got laces, we're game."
Van Sholstine added that the drive would not only supply athletic teams with a set of "decent kicks," but would also serve as a valuable source of rubber for the track around Hanson Field.
"There's much that can be done with your everyday, run-of-the-mill shoe," he said, pointing to his own shoe, a pair of red and black 1997 Michael Jordan signatures. "I mean, shoes were made for walking, of course, but the fact still remains, when all life is handing you is a bunch of lemons, you'll have to find a way to make lemonade, eventually, or something like that."
He added that the university has already assembled a team of student delinquents to dismantle shoes for the track in the bowels of the Heating Plant.
Furthermore, the drive will not be limited to Western Illinois students. Local residents and surrounding communities are welcome
to contribute.
Local shoe salesman Alvin Mundy said Tuesday that he's already began gathering a "wheelbarrow's worth" of shoes from his catalog's back log, those shoes that never sold particularly well, but are still in fairly good condition.
"Oh, I've got a bunch of stuff lying around the back," Mundy said. "I've put together quite a few packages already with a decent variety of models to choose from, including, but not limited to, UGG boots, Jelly shoes, Crocs, Timberlands and Reeboks of an assortment of
Friday, April 3 at Hanson Field.
According to athletics spokesman Kim Lee Van Sholshtine, the shoe drive "is just something we have to do right now, given the current state of funding."
"We just can't afford to supply our field teams with shoes anymore," Van Sholstine said. "But if there's one thing that's for certain, it's that these young men and women need to play, regardless of what type of shoes they're wearing. If they've got laces, we're game."
Van Sholstine added that the drive would not only supply athletic teams with a set of "decent kicks," but would also serve as a valuable source of rubber for the track around Hanson Field.
"There's much that can be done with your everyday, run-of-the-mill shoe," he said, pointing to his own shoe, a pair of red and black 1997 Michael Jordan signatures. "I mean, shoes were made for walking, of course, but the fact still remains, when all life is handing you is a bunch of lemons, you'll have to find a way to make lemonade, eventually, or something like that."
He added that the university has already assembled a team of student delinquents to dismantle shoes for the track in the bowels of the Heating Plant.
Furthermore, the drive will not be limited to Western Illinois students. Local residents and surrounding communities are welcome
to contribute.
Local shoe salesman Alvin Mundy said Tuesday that he's already began gathering a "wheelbarrow's worth" of shoes from his catalog's back log, those shoes that never sold particularly well, but are still in fairly good condition.
"Oh, I've got a bunch of stuff lying around the back," Mundy said. "I've put together quite a few packages already with a decent variety of models to choose from, including, but not limited to, UGG boots, Jelly shoes, Crocs, Timberlands and Reeboks of an assortment of
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