It was a long day at UC Berkeley on October 7. I did not know what the idea behind the teach out was, but I did know it was about the budgetary problem. Being an rugby athlete, we have gotten a small taste of the budgetary cuts. Because of the budgetary cuts, we will have to pay for all our own medical bills, pay someone to tape our own ankles. I know it does not sound like it would be cheap enough, but medical bills can get very expensive.
The rugby program is trying to save the "tagging" ability for admissions. As a varsity sport we get academic "tags" which are like our scholarships. They allow our recruits to get into the school. This budgetary cut may give us less likely to bring smart student athletes into Cal and be able to compete for a National Championship. It is also a slap in the face to the rugby program. We win 25 national championships, bring a revenue to the school and they still want to cut us as a varsity sport.
The teach out really brings the student uproar and it helps me to sleep at night that the students look out for us. We made an impact on the school and it shows through the action from the students.
~J.B.
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I completeley agree with you in terms of athletics. Not only is rugby one of our finest sports, it is probably our most successful one on campus. It is especially sad to see the team downgraded to"varity club" status even after winning national championchips year after year. However, I do feel that if we have to make cuts in order to meet the budget, athletics should be one of the first things hit. At a public university, academics have been, and always will be, the most important aspect of our curriculum. It is equally frustrating, though, to see the chancelor and other administrators' salaries continue to increase as the resources ofevery ote program continues to decrease. I think that with proper allocation of resources, they could have found a much better way of meeting our reduced budget without cutting some of our finest sports teams on campus.
ReplyDeleteIt is very frustrating to hear all the stories about the impact that the budget cuts have brought to the students. The Canadian high school which I graduated from is going to cut out an entire symphonic band and fire numerous teachers. I'm also informed that many students in California have lost the opportunity for higher education because of lack of funding. If what Alexander said is true - that the salaries of the chancellor and other administrators are actually increasing - then I would feel angry rather than frustrated. I think a better allocation of resource can definitely bring a change to the current situation. Meanwhile, I doubt the last walkout on campus has brought any significant impact on the school. I hope to see more organized and impactive protests to speak out the need for a change.
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