Department reluctant to listen to concerns of it's own athletes

As former members of the Women's Varsity Basketball Team, we are aware of the decision that will soon be made concerning the rehiring of Coach Ann Gilbert. Twelve players quit the 1995-96 Basketball team after an extremely negative experience, due to problems with the coaching. Since the 1995-96 season, we have expressed our concerns and have not been heard. We are frustrated that an already suffering athletic department is so reluctant to listen to the concerns of it's own athletes.

At the beginning of the 1995-96 season the team consisted of 14 players, and over time it slowly diminished. Our problems with Ann Gilbert's coaching style consisted of lack of communication with her players, poor organization, and no respect for her players. Although problems began early on in the season, we felt dedicated to the team, hoping to build Oberlin's basketball program. We were recruited to play and optimistic about the season. To put it mildly, we were sadly mistaken.

After the season we promptly met with two members of the Athletic Committee, Mr. George Andrews and Ms. Heather Hogan. We were anxious to voice our problems about the season, and work to correct the wrong that had been done. We made lists of specific instances and problems that arose during the season, hoping to make our points clear to aid the Coach in evaluating her own performance. As a result of this meeting, team conferences were arranged with Coach Gilbert. These meetings allowed the players to freely voice their opinions concerning Ann Gilbert's coaching strategies and other ways of improving the program. However, these meetings often left us feeling frustrated with the tense lines of communication between the coach and players. It was unclear who would return the next year.

During last year's season, Coach Gilbert repeatedly told us that she was going to be bringing in top recruits, and therefore wouldn't be needing us next year. After the summer most of the returning players were hesitant to come back, and were never contacted by Coach Gilbert. Notices of an organizational basketball meeting came out after it occurred, indicating Coach Gilbert was not interested in the team returning. We hoped that changes in the program were being made, and after training all summer we were interested in resuming a position on a reformed Varsity team. However, after two of us attended pre-season and talked with the coach, we couldn't fathom engaging in another painful year under the direction of Coach Gilbert. We wondered why a coach trying to build a struggling program could so easily dismiss the majority of the team. Twelve committed, hard working female Varsity Basketball players did not return this year. Despite this large number, the athletic department still failed to recognize this incident and question the reasons for this major change. After two months into the season, we set up a meeting with Don Hunsinger, the Athletic Director. This began as a formal complaint with regard to the Intramural Program. We and other members of the ex-varsity team attempted to play competitive basketball on an intramural level but we were refused on the grounds that an all female team could not play against the most competitive players: men. During this conversation Don Hunsinger could not understand why we were not playing on the Varsity team. We talked briefly and once again felt our problems were quickly over-looked. The quality of the coaching was not questioned, instead the finger pointed at us. Suddenly we were to blame for all the misconduct that occurred during the season.

Not willing to give up, we took this complaint to the next level. We made an appointment with Dean Koppes and discussed both our Varsity and Intramural experience. We felt that finally someone had heard our complaint, hoping that the administration would step in and play a role in the development of the Athletic program.

Oberlin's deep tradition in encouraging students to stand up for what they believe immediately attracted us to the college. This issue is not just about one sports team, but the voices of students have been disregarded. We are not only unable to play the game of basketball competitively, but none of our attempts to correct an unjust situation within the athletic department have been heard. The athletic department and the administration have taken little interest in the loss of an entire women's basketball team. In light of the current state of the athletic department, can we afford to lose any athletes?

Beth O'Brien, Whitney Smith and Jana Caylor are College Sophomores.