Okay, I have been meaning to do this for a while, and hope it is not too late now. I would like to start a serious campaign to keep the Brandeis swimming and diving team around. Last I heard from Brandeis S&DT members, the swim team was cut after the ’09-10 school year due to lack of funds, since the team has had to use Regis and Bentley Colleges’ pools to train. However, cutting the team would mean giving up a great tradition, and throwing members of the current swim team into the wind.
There is an online petition started by Shawn Kerns in 2009 which requests that the administration not suspend the swimming and diving team, since the team has proven it can achieve success even without its own swimming pool. It currently has 1137 signatures, and I encourage you to sign onto it. Managment of the petition has since lapsed, but the petition can still be used to prove to the Brandeis administration how much we care.
However, there is further action we can take. As the petition states, there are over 500 alumni who were a part of the team, but we can contact alumni who were not active members of the S&DT team as well. Just like any academic program that is in danger of being cut, the swimming and diving team represents something to many of our students and alumni, and many people care about this cause, even those who participated in other activities while at Brandeis.
If anyone has any questions about the cause or information about the current status of the team I would greatly appreciate it. Suggestions are also welcome, since this is still in the early stages, although the deadline to save the team is fast approaching, since athletics start early at Brandeis.
Suggested Reading:
- The Justice
- InnermostParts
- CollegeSwimming (Note: The petition on this site is no longer active)
Lastly, if anyone can put me in touch with some members of the swim team that would be GREATLY appreciated since I don’t know any by name. Thanks!