Why Ithaca shouldn’t eliminate its Sport Studies major

In April of 2014, Ithaca College announced it would be eliminating the Sport Studies major from the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance by the spring of 2018. Since then, students and faculty have been fighting to keep the major alive, specifically citing the poor decision-making and lack of communication displayed by the dean, Linda Petrosino, and other administration members involved.

The process, dating back to the Spring semester of 2013, is detailed in a letter published on April 27 in The Ithacan, written by senior Communications and Sport Studies double major Elijah Breton, who, along with seniors Kristen Gowdy, Kyle James and Allison Robinson, have become some of the driving forces of the fight to #SaveSportStudies.

In about 48 hours, the letter gained nearly 300 signatures from students, alumni, and current and former faculty who believe the major should be reinstated.

Seniors Kristen Gowdy (above) and Kyle James give a presentation at the Whalen Symposium. Gowdy is a Sport Studies minor, James is a double major in Sport Studies and Intergrated Marketing Commincations. (Photo credit: Kristen Gowdy)

I was one of the students who added their names. As a Sport Studies minor, I have been lucky enough to have four years of classes that taught me as much about life as they did about sports, but unlucky enough to have to watch as pleas to save the program are continuously ignored.

Many of the classes required for the Sport Studies major and minor transcend sport. As the college was in turmoil over the unacceptable racial injustices and lack of adequate leadership on campus, my “Sports in the Civil Rights Movement” and sport seminar classes were the only courses I was in that would discuss such topics. The rest of my professors seemed to act like it wasn’t happening.

Not only were these classrooms safe spaces to have intelligent conversations, but as mentioned in Breton’s letter, nearly 50 percent of the major is made up of minority students. This meant that included in these conversations were students of color, who could tell us first hand what was REALLY going on. I became twice as educated: once by my professor, and again by my peers.

One argument from administrators listed in Breton’s letter I find the most fault with is that the major is being eliminated to “free up resources,” while the Sports Studies minor will continue past 2018 when the major is ended. Many of the required courses for both the major and minor are the same, so these courses must continue for the minor to stay alive. What is the justification for the removal of the major if the classes must remain anyway?

The Hill Center and the Center for Health Sciences are two of the buildings that most often hold Sport Studies classes.

I have often said that I believe everyone could benefit from taking a “Sport Studies” class. They are about so much more than sports. They incorporate philosophy, social issues, economics, and teach life lessons. Classes in particular with Dr. Stephen Mosher have changed me both as a student and as a person. They encourage me to think broader and more deeply about the world. I am encouraged and challenged to be better in a way I sometimes struggle to find in other courses. The thought of students being deprived of these classes saddens me beyond words.

I do not believe Sport Studies, in my four years here, was ever given a fair shot to begin with. While applying, I was never given information about the major or minor, but had to seek it out myself. The full brevity of the negative marketing of Sport Studies can be found in detail in Breton’s letter, and are far worse than even I experienced while making my college decision. Sport Studies students are among the hardest working I have ever met, and their determination to not sit idly by only strengthens my opinion.

This fight is far from over, and the issue is evolving as we speak. But I encourage all Ithaca College students to educate themselves on what your administration is doing to your college, and what your classmates are trying to do to stop them. #SaveSportStudies.