Freshman reaction to cuts

With tempers flaring from all sides following last week's Athletic Department decision, one group feels that it has been lost in the shuffle despite having the most to lose; the freshmen. After committing to the University for four years less than one year ago, some freshman feel now that they have been placed in an almost impossible situation. "I am in no way shape or form ready to make this big of a decision right now, especially with midterms coming up, the timing was awful," said freshman golfer Billy Lacey. "At this point I have no idea what I'm going to do, and where I'm going to go. It's a traumatizing experience." Lacey added that he felt that the school had not given the freshman the special treatment they deserved, especially considering the magnitude of the decision. He said that transferring would be difficult on a number of levels. "College in general is tough - having to meet new people, having to get used to a new environment is difficult in and of itself," he said. "But when the school turns around and pulls the rug out from under us, it's ridiculous." Many freshman find themselves scrambling to meet transfer deadlines for other schools which can be as early as March 1st. AU's deadline for transfer application is July 1st but the priority deadline for financial aid and scholarship consideration is March 1st. Athletes are given special consideration when transferring and while it's true that not all deadlines apply for them, the process can actually be more difficult in some ways. Athletes must find a school that is compatible with their academic needs, has room on it's roster, and has a likeable coach. "Transferring will be like starting as a freshman at a new school and it was tough to adjust to a new school the first time," said freshman tennis player Emily Anderson. "I made all these friends here and I expected it to be so much better." Anderson, who is from Florida, said that she was considering a number of schools all over the country. She added that transferring would be tough after the experience she had gone through at AU. "I signed a contract and I was expecting to have lifelong friendships with these people and play for four years," said Anderson. "I'm really disappointed, I don't really want to leave next year." While the transfer deadlines and compatibility issues are certainly things that give them problems, for some freshman it is the only choice after what happened. "I never felt I was treated in the right way by the University," said Lacey. "Regardless of what their ideas behind the decision were, they definitely should have told us much earlier and now I have absolutely no desire to be here." Others disagreed. "I love it here," said Anderson. "Now I have to go start over at a new school"