09-26-2023, 01:03 PM
qwerty49 for president!
The IOC is facing financial woes. Increased production costs (security, transportation, size of Village, venue prep) haven't been balanced by any corresponding increase in revenue. The best they can do is broadcast rights (sounds familiar) and sponsorships, but iirc, the IOC has been losing corporate sponsorships recently, whether through one-off circumstances or otherwise. Furthermore, they've had to start selling out to the altar of popularity, hence adding new "X-Games-ish" events like breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing and removing baseball/softball (lightweight rowing events to be removed after Paris).
https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2021/04/19/w...pic-games/
https://www.corpwatch.org/article/corpor...o-olympics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk...n-decades/
IIRC, the IOC also sponsors the Youth Olympic Games and other various regional/continental events. Don't ask me if I think those are necessary elements of the IOC core mission. Don't ask me if any of the new sports adhere to the Olympic motto "Faster, higher, stronger."
Anyway, back to the main point, I think a lot of these BoT decisions need to be made to strengthen student life/experience and keep the university strong. Not the brand, but the entity. A lot of administrators in charge have been more concerned with the brand and procedure rather than the university itself, which is comprised of *people* -- the students, the faculty, the alumni, and even the small-but-faithful supporting community who are none of the above. Focus on the people the right way, and the brand will shine brightly.
As to the fiefdoms, that is a well-known, cancerous attitude that infects many corporations. It is beneath decision-makers at Stanford to hold personal interests above those of the university as a whole, and that kind of poor leadership comes from above. Root out that evil.
The IOC is facing financial woes. Increased production costs (security, transportation, size of Village, venue prep) haven't been balanced by any corresponding increase in revenue. The best they can do is broadcast rights (sounds familiar) and sponsorships, but iirc, the IOC has been losing corporate sponsorships recently, whether through one-off circumstances or otherwise. Furthermore, they've had to start selling out to the altar of popularity, hence adding new "X-Games-ish" events like breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing and removing baseball/softball (lightweight rowing events to be removed after Paris).
https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2021/04/19/w...pic-games/
https://www.corpwatch.org/article/corpor...o-olympics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk...n-decades/
IIRC, the IOC also sponsors the Youth Olympic Games and other various regional/continental events. Don't ask me if I think those are necessary elements of the IOC core mission. Don't ask me if any of the new sports adhere to the Olympic motto "Faster, higher, stronger."
Anyway, back to the main point, I think a lot of these BoT decisions need to be made to strengthen student life/experience and keep the university strong. Not the brand, but the entity. A lot of administrators in charge have been more concerned with the brand and procedure rather than the university itself, which is comprised of *people* -- the students, the faculty, the alumni, and even the small-but-faithful supporting community who are none of the above. Focus on the people the right way, and the brand will shine brightly.
As to the fiefdoms, that is a well-known, cancerous attitude that infects many corporations. It is beneath decision-makers at Stanford to hold personal interests above those of the university as a whole, and that kind of poor leadership comes from above. Root out that evil.