Save UNCG Wrestling!

At the SGA meeting this past Tuesday the Athletic Director Kim Record, at he invitation of the student government, was in attendance to shed light to the decision to eliminate our wrestling team. Suffice to say Director Record came to the meeting wearing her battle armor and she was very much on the defensive. She didn’t come prepared to really take in and listen to the comments and concerns from the wrestling team, UNCG students and the community at large. It didn’t even seem as if she felt she had to explain the decision to us. She acted like we should have been grateful that she even showed up. She had her little entourage fawning over her the entire time. I also found it very telling that no other administrator came to her aid. Weather or not they feared how it would turn out the administration should feel that interfacing with us is part of their job. Which it should be.

Director Record was not honest when she explained that the decision was talked about with the various committees that have students as members. Students weren’t consulted and we weren’t even told till the decision had been made. She talked to the leaders of those committees and those people are faculty members. NOT STUDENTS.

The administration is quick to spout that these sorts of choices are made with out best interests at heart. Well I for one know that if you want to know what’s best for Letitia Jones. You ask me and I will be more than happy to tell you. You don’t have to speculate or hold a powwow and try to set up a focus group. Just ask me. Higher education doesn’t seem to be about education anymore. Its a business. They are taking our money, raising tuition and fees and still making choices without consulting us. Now I’m not saying they have to send out a memo when they change the TP in the EUC from two-ply to one-ply, but when meetings are held where full departments, programs, teams...ect are being cut or curtailed I think as students, or shareholders we should have a say.

UNCG is a business and we the students are the shareholders. What company would make big life changing decisions about a business without consulting its shareholders? None, well not if they wanted to keep their stock up and their businesses running.

I just really felt like Kim Record told us, “And what?” And that’s not how this should have been handled. It was just a very unsatisfying meeting.