Since the news of the recommendation to cut six sports teams from the athletic department was made to director Bubba Cunningham, there has been widespread concern over the lack of presence of student representation at meetings held to discuss the cuts.
Justin Hinga, one of three student representatives on the athletic committee, said he has been on the Ball State campus all summer and heard about the event from sources other than from the athletic committee.
"I didn't hear about the meetings until I read the newspaper," Hinga said. "I saw that the meeting was by an ad hoc committee, which wasn't the athletic committee. So I thought I wasn't supposed to be involved in that."
As he later learned, there was a necessity for his attendance, but he received no invitation to take an active role in the meetings. Carma Swager, a Ball State instructor of communications, said she put effort into contacting the representatives.
"According to campus records, the students were not present on campus," Swager said.
She said that she still attempted to call those students.
According to other reports made this week, student representatives on the athletic committee were described by Swager as "poor at best," but Hinga, also a member of the Student Government Association at Ball State, said there is a reason for the reported bad attendence at athletic committee meetings. Hinga said his commitments to the SGA as well as to the athletic committee have conflicted. At times, he appeared before the SGA instead of at a meeting of the athletic committee held at the same time.
Hinga also said the problem with a lack of student representation can be attributed to communication ties not being properly used in getting information transferred from faculty committee members to student committee members.
"The problem now is a lack of communication," Hinga said, "and it's not just to blame on the faculty or just the students. It's all of us. However, with so much of the student fees being used in the athletic department, there should have been more of an effort to try to contact (the student reps)."
Knowing the magnitude of the issue as well as the importance of student representation in this issue, Hinga said he is going to be present at the planned meeting to be held today by the athletic committee. Swager said she awaits the presence he will bring.
"I welcome the presence of student representatives, and I'm happy to have them getting involved in this process," she said.
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