Day of Action/Reaction: A Reflection from an Athlete

I think the strikes against the school-wide budget cuts, like the one that took place on October 7th, 2010, are completely necessary. I have been personally affected by these actions, especially recently when they reached the athletic department. Cal instated a department-wide budget cut, and therefore chose to cut five athletic teams. I am a member of the women’s lacrosse team, one of the five teams chosen. The day I was informed was quite possibly one of the hardest days of my life; I felt like my life had been ripped out of me.

I attended the walk out last year, and I was astonished at how many people were affected by the budget cuts. It was a meaningful, but peaceful protest and I was very proud to be a part of it. I heard this year’s rally was not the case, as we people pulled fire alarms and acted in a very angry, immature matter. While it is sad to hear, I can understand the actions taken. Serious budget cuts were made last year, and now apparently have no end in sight; how much more can this University take from us before we start getting angry?

I think after the most recent and drastic cuts, it has brought to light how clueless and ineffective our administration is at Cal. The recent athletic cuts have outrageous amounts of evidence supporting why those are some of the most important sports to keep at Cal, considering those particular five are practically self-funded anyways. But before any sports needed to be cut, why would our administration support the construction of a multi-million dollar athletic facility, when they knew that we were entering a recession and could not afford it? And instead of allocating their resources to fundraise, they would rather find the quickest fix to their problem, regardless of whom it affected. While admittedly we are in a recession and money is tight, I find it extremely surprising that the only things left untouched by these budget cuts are the administrator’s yearly salaries.

~M.H.