On April 8th, 2014, six of the intramural debate team members took the stage to discuss and debate the very happening topic- should college athletes be paid? Jessie Rojas, Jordan Lopez and Matthew Kalap stood on the affirmative side and asserted that student athletes gave enough time and energy to raise billions of dollars for the universities, and a monetary compensation was only fair and fitting. On the other side, Unaiza Batool, Ruchika Agarwal and Mike Varkalis contested that the scholarships, coaching and facilities provided are more than enough compensation for their efforts, and that while NCAA member-colleges may have high revenues, they don’t necessarily make a profit. Just a day prior to the debate, University of Florida’s President Machen said that he believes that student athletes need to be paid. However, the judges, Evan Cartagena, Eran Del Castillo, and Stepanie Cone were not convinced, and the debate was won by the neg team. The debate still continues in the world of college athletics, and only time will tell if the battle will be won by the proponents or the opponents of the issue.
