Angry, frustrated, and ready to transfer. This is how some SF State students feel about the possibility of massive cutbacks to the athletics department.

“As it is, we don’t have enough classes, and now they are going to get rid of our sports programs too?" 19-year-old sophomore Vincent Reyes said. “It just sucks. If they take away sports there’s nothing to cheer for, and nothing to be proud of.”

Defeated by a mere 2 percent, of nearly 8,500 students who voted on fee increases in early March, the future of sports at SF State is still in doubt. Of the 8,509 students who voted for under the category Athletics and Intramurals, 4,138 students, 48.6 percent, voted yes, while 4,371, 51.4 percent voted against the $33 a semester fee increase.

President Robert Corrigan has stated that he will honor the students’ vote not to increase funding for the athletics department, however, CSU Chancellor Charles Reid has the power to override Corrigan’s decision.

Nevertheless, the possibility of eliminating sports-related classes, as well as cutting back on the tight existing athletic budget is not sitting well with many of SF State’s students or faculty. Dr. Susan Zieff, an Associate Professor of the Department of Kinesiology, who specializes in Socio-cultural Studies in physical activity, is dead set on keeping the diversity of a sports program in the forefront of the Kinesiology Department.

“Regarding the referendum, I think that possibly losing athletics will be unfortunate for this campus. The definition of a ‘university’ implies that diverse programs and activities are available that attract a diverse student body to the institution,” Zieff said. “We all learn directly, or indirectly, from the variety of activities and programs available on the campus. It is also important to reiterate broader social messages about the importance and value of physical activity. Lack of opportunities in this area has health consequences for the entire society; access to physical activity is most effective when it is made available under several kinds of conditions.”

The lack of athletic opportunities is on the minds of many athletes who came to SF State to pursue a career in sports. Tori Smith, a 25-year-old dance major, is deeply frustrated and concerned that she may not even be able to continue her major if the referendum stands.

“Dancing is my whole world. That’s why I came to SF State, so I could become a dance teacher. So now that this referendum is here I might have to start all over,” Smith said. “It will just mess things up for so many people who have worked so hard to get to the level that they are at. Our department is thinking about writing letters to Corrigan to see if there is something we can do.”

Other athletes are considering transferring to another school, and leaving SF State. Twenty-year-old Tyler Jensen of Pacifica who is on SF State’s track team and is majoring in Industrial Technology is seriously considering transferring to a school that has a solid budget for athletics.

“I’m really looking to transfer to a different school. I mean I don’t know how it will turn out, but I need to expand my options and look for schools that can afford to have a quality track team,” Jensen said. “My older brother, Russ, is also on the track team, and I know he is looking at other schools too. I mean even my high school had a track team that I was on. I just can’t believe that the referendum is hitting the department that hard over a $33 a semester increase.”

Jensen is not the only athlete who is frustrated with the lack of support for SF State’s athletics. Senior starting pitcher for SF State’s baseball team, and Liberal Arts major, Chris Spencer, who already transferred in from Cal Poly, a division 1-A school, is just glad to be nearly finished playing for SF State.

“So where is all of the money going anyway? I mean we don’t see any improvements in academics, and no new computers in the labs,” Spencer said. “As it is right now, it’s not a top notch academic school, or a top notch sports university. I have one more year of eligibility, but if there’s no sports here, I’ll be pissed off and just have to graduate and continue with my life.”

However, 4,371 students, like 19-year-old psychology major Angelica Picazo, did vote against the fee increases. “I voted against the sports referendum because I thought, why should I vote for something that doesn’t seem to bring any revenue to the school?” Picazo said. “I would be really upset to have to pay for something that I don’t even use.”

Yet numerous other students who do use the pool and the gym during open hours are concerned about the possible athletic cutbacks. One of those students is Jen Williams. Williams, 35, who has lived in the east bay for six years, will be graduating this year with a degree in psychology. Williams, who spends the majority of her day in a wheel chair due to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue, depends upon the pools open hours for her weekly exercise.

“I swim to help me deal with my disability which causes me persistent pain,” Williams said. “As a once dancer, hiker, bicyclist and ex-rugby player I have a great desire, and a physical need to participate in sports. Currently, swimming is as close as I can get.”

Williams, who voted for the athletic fee increase, knows firsthand how much the athletics department is in monetary need. From a consistently broken wheel chair pool lift, “bone-numbingly cold water,” and very few wheel chair accessible showers, Williams is very worried about the future of athletics at SF State.

“I came to this school to receive a liberal arts education with emphasis on psychology and human sexuality. If this is going to become a trade school, then I’m very glad to be getting out while the getting’s good.”