When I came to Sonoma State, it felt full of life. Now it feels empty.

I transferred over from a community college for my junior year of college, when sports were still in place and there was a good amount of students and a lively campus spirit amongst the campus. I remember being excited to be at a school that has been a well known school in my town for generations and to be able to create new experiences with different people and to further my education.

For the first part of my Junior year, I had a lot of fun. I met many people from different places in my classes and I was trying to adjust to a new environment and living situation.

Then almost out of nowhere, the university sent out a devastating email announcing cuts of over a dozen majors and minors, the elimination of staff and faculty positions, and the potential discontinuation of sports.

It created a situation where a school that used to be so lively and full of student life, became very quiet and ruined the trust and experience of many students concerned with the direction the university was heading in and for their college career.

This year, Sonoma State is feeling the effects of the cuts as sports provided a large number of enrollment. I feel like I wasn’t able to get the full “college experience” at the university now that it’s almost a ghost town and no students are really involved on campus. 

When interim president of the university, Emily F. Cutrer announced these cuts, I initially felt confused. At first, I didn’t realize the university was suffering so much with their finances, but after reading all of the emails, it made me realize how deep the debt was. It also made me feel very frustrated because it changed my whole college experience and how I felt about being a student at this university. 

The news reached all over, and students from other universities started to make comments about the university and it made me feel embarrassed to be at a school that was failing so many students and faculty. I especially felt bad for the student athletes who attended SSU for the sports, and having to quickly find different schools to play sports at such a late notice. 

With the newly elected president, Michael Spagna, I hope that he will be able to create some positive changes to the school and find a way to bring back athletics and instill student life back into the school. Even though this is my last year as a student at SSU, I hope that those who are still enrolled at the university will be able to have a proper education and college experiences as other students have at different universities.