On Jan. 22, Sonoma State University (SSU) announced the elimination of its entire athletics and theatre program, as well as 20 majors.
“It was very devastating news, because on Wednesday, we got the whole email from our university. My major will be discontinuing in the fall of 2025,” said SSU sophomore and AV Alum Rachel Glenn.
Among the majors cut include economics, geology, and philosophy. According to the Pressdemocrat, more than 85 students will have their major removed.
“So the choice is, you have to have 60 units in order to continue the degree so you can finish on time,” said Glenn.
Many athletes are fleeing from SSU, chasing their dreams of being professional athletes in other schools. Other students who’ve had their majors removed must switch their programs or look to other colleges to continue their education without uprooting their future plans.
“I do know lots of my friends who now aren’t able to graduate. And those friends need to decide whether to change their career path or if they want to transfer schools. Pretty much all of them are transferring schools, so that’s extremely unfortunate,” said SSU junior and Amador Valley Alum Leila Brown.
These changes take place and affect many departments, staff, and students in their academics and careers, but the spirit of SSU has also taken a huge hit.
“I know a lot of people are feeling frustrated and I feel like since Wednesday and a lot of my peers have said the same thing, it’s a lot quieter at the school. I think everyone is just trying to digress this information and it’s also a tricky subject because you don’t know who’s been impacted and who hasn’t,” said Brown.
Hundreds of students are not only losing their majors, but also their community. Aside from athletes, the entire theatre program no longer has a home at SSU.
“We will no longer do any plays or musicals ever again which is so hard. I founded a performing arts club for our school which is going to be the only theater related thing on campus. I’m very hoping that we could expand it and potentially do some student written material and still be a place for the theater community,” said Brown
Over the next few weeks, the fight for SSU will be ongoing, to create a compromise of students’ lives and a balanced budget.
