Ohio University's administration is alienating its proudest students.
I once was so proud to represent Ohio University as a varsity swimmer. The men's swimming and diving team used to go out competition after competition representing the school proudly, chanting O-H-I-O. We collectively sat in the stands at soccer games, volleyball matches, basketball games and football games, displaying our Bobcat pride while cheering on our fellow athletes and taking every opportunity to support and represent our school.
Now, there is no Bobcat pride left to share. Ohio University betrayed us, and there is no getting around that. Few, if any, male swimmers would have attended Ohio University had it not been for the reassurance by the university that there were no Title IX issues, that we would be able to swim all four years and that the university was committed to our program. We relied on that representation and have found that the administration is less than credible.
I can no longer speak proudly of this university, because this administration has let me down. The decision to cut men's swimming and diving is tearing my once-proud family apart. I will no longer show my Bobcat pride, because I have none left. I will no longer recommend OU to family and friends, because I am no longer proud to be here. In a time when Ohio University could use some student pride and support the most, it will no longer receive that pride and support from me and many others. I ask that President McDavis and Kirby Hocutt reexamine their decision to cut four varsity sports so that maybe I can once again be proud of this institution. I ask President McDavis, how many more students can this university afford to alienate?
Branden Burns is a freshman political science and recreation management major.
17 Archives
Letter to the Editor
