Though we regret that Chicago did not win the bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games, we hope that the International Olympic Committee’s delegation to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — the first ever bid to a South American country — signifies a dedication to sustainable development and lasting improvements for the Brazilian people. Given Brazil’s rising prominence as the business and diplomatic leader in South America, this honor is most certainly well-deserved.

Although we commend the IOC’s egalitarian approach to choosing the site for the Olympic Games — emphasizing a country’s potential for future progress over a precarious history — we are skeptical of their commitment to ensuring durable change. The 2008 Beijing Olympics signified China’s emergence from isolation, yet largely overshadowed the country’s extensive human rights abuses and environmental exploitation. While we recognize that the Olympics serve to unite nations around the world in the spirit of athletics and sportsmanship, in spite of animosities and policy disagreements, we oppose the misuse of the Games as a media stunt to fictitiously promote a positive global image.

On account of the international spotlight on Beijing last summer, the Chinese government endorsed initiatives to improve air quality and renounced human rights abuses. Yet the extent to which such measures have remained intact and how successful they will be in the long run is questionable. In light of these reservations, we encourage the IOC to adopt accountability measures to ensure adherence to Olympic principles, starting with Brazil.

Rio has almost seven years to prepare for the Summer Olympic Games in 2016. With a $14 billion overhaul plan to resurrect the city to its former glory, an opportunity has emerged for Brazil to crackdown on the violence, inefficiencies and corruption that detract from Rio’s tremendous assets. To jetsetters, Rio is famous for its beautiful Copacabana beach and spectacular Carnaval. But the city is in desperate need of revamped infrastructure and a government takeover of the infamous slums, in which two million people currently live under the jurisdiction of drug lords. We encourage Brazil to seize this opportunity to rectify Rio and cultivate lasting benefits for its people. Furthermore, we hope that the IOC holds Brazil accountable for implementing these changes by providing tangible means of support before and after the Games.

Based on the economic losses endured in past Olympic Games, the likelihood that Rio will profit is slim. Yet economic survival is not impossible. At the first ever privately financed Olympics, the 1984 Games in Los Angeles generated an unprecedented $250 million profit. With respect to the economic failures of the recent Athens and Beijing Olympics, we urge the IOC and Brazil to learn from the past and restructure their financial strategy. Given Rio’s current lacking infrastructure, a financial loss at the Olympic Games will only exacerbate the political and economic struggles plaguing the city. Thus, approaching the Games with pragmatic intentions is imperative.

Though the Olympics were not founded on the premise of profiting its host, there is no reason that the host-country’s citizens cannot be beneficiaries of the Games. In implicitly adopting a predisposition toward nations that have the potential to excel as global leaders, we hope that the IOC acts on their noble intentions and follows through with legitimate support.