The Undergraduate Council of Students hosted administrators and student-athletes at its final general body meeting of the semester last night, providing a venue for them to exchange their ideas and concerns about the recommendations made last Thursday by the Athletics Review Committee to cut four varsity sports teams.
Representatives of the men's wrestling and men's and women's fencing teams attended the meeting, where they listened to Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to the president, as he reviewed the rationale for the suggested cuts. Spies said the University is seeking to build and maintain a more competitive athletics program which would also allow student-athletes to pursue their academic goals more easily.
Spies told the council that an athletics program with 34 varsity teams would be more "sustainable" than the current program, which supports 37 varsity teams. But he said the committee did not use a "formula" to determine which teams to cut. Instead, he said the committee reviewed Brown's athletics teams using a broad array of criteria including competitiveness, facilities and cost.
To those who oppose the committee's recommendations because they believe the changes will not noticeably improve the athletics program, Spies said, "I don't accept that as a valid argument."
Members of the wrestling and fencing teams said the Athletics Review Committee's deliberations and decisions lacked transparency.
Kathy Nguyen '13, a member of the fencing team, questioned the "very large investment" the report said is required to sustain a competitive fencing program. She said the committee's report lacked sufficient quantitative data.
Members of the wrestling team also expressed their disappointment over the recommendations, saying the cuts would decrease diversity on campus and limit the college experiences of student-athletes.
"They're taking away our choice," said Marcos Aranda '13, a member of the men's wrestling team. "They're taking away our opportunity."
