Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
At universities and colleges, sports and social activities are just as important as classes and libraries and should receive equal financial support.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Some people claim that universities and colleges should not spend a great deal of money on sports and social activities, as their budgets should prioritize classes and libraries. However, as educational institutions, universities and colleges have an obligation to provide a wide range of knowledge to their students to help them develop academically and socially.
More and more businesses require people who are not only specialists in their fields, but also skilled in social interaction. In the rapidly changing environments of science and the economy, no task can be done by a single person. Given the need for collaboration, social skills and team spirit are necessary qualities for any successful person. Clearly, sports and social activities in universities and colleges provide students with the perfect settings to practice their social skills. By playing football on a team or joining in a protest, for instance, students can develop a sense of belonging and experience team spirit, both of which may prove very important in building a career.
Aside from fostering social skills and team spirit, sports and social activities can greatly improve students’ efficiency. Students need not play sports or participate in social activities at the expense of their academic study. Indeed, for some students, playing sports and joining in social activities are good stress reducers. Even the most enthusiastic people feel tired if they concentrate on one thing for too long. Frustrated and tired people can do nothing well if they do not recover from their bad situations. Students who have been frustrated in their academic work would be well-advised to play some sports or join in social activities.
Academic education will always be at the heart of a university. In universities, sports and social activities should by no means take the place of a focus on academic study. What I believe is that universities and colleges should spend adequate money on academics as well as sports and social activities. For instance, in the United States, almost all famous universities have plenty of sports teams and social groups, and universities provide adequate financial support with these events. None of these universities have weakened their academic standards because of social movements or sports.
For these reasons, I maintain that universities and colleges should spend enough money on academic education and social movements to prepare students for their future development.