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WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY OUTCOME - 11/12 - INJUNCTION ORDER IN FAVOR Judge Surrick has ruled in favor of the women's gymnastics team and ordered the University to reinstate the program immediately. More details to follow on the events leading up to the decision and what else we can expect in the future. Below a couple of pictures of the team with Sharon McKee of Hangley, Aronchik, Segal and Pudlin and Leslie Brueckner of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.
BACKGROUND On April 28th, 2003 the university announced the elimination of women's gymnastics as well as men's lacrosse stated by Athletic Director Ed Matejkovic as "we are now faced with a second system-wide major budget cut and West Chester University no longer has the ability to sustain these two varsity programs." Gymnastics had been one of four sports that were evaluated by a committee beginning in the Spring of 2001. In the spring of 2002, the decision was made to end the evaluation and retain all four sports. The elimination came without warning and without giving the program an opportunity to defend itself. The athletes and their parents are outraged at the way this announcement has been handled. Three parents are leading the way in the battle to restore this program. Please check the UPDATES as they will be posted with regularity. Also consider getting involved by writing and/or e-mailing the people responsible for making this decision and showing your support (contacts below). If you live in PA, then also copy this letter to the legislature and send it along to your representative. The A.D. has already received a few phone calls from State Representatives, so this DOES work. Please help, losing one program puts every other program in danger. A letter from Bob and Cecile Allen Dear Friends, I may know many of you personally or you may know my daughter Cecile Allen, this week taking her final exams at West Chester University and finishing her second year as a gymnast on their team. As most of you know, Cecile, her teammates and the families and friends of the gymnasts at WCU have been fighting at different levels for almost two years to keep the gymnastics team in place. Some months ago we were assured that we had won and that the team would be there for the future. On April 28th, Cecile's birthday, she and her teammates were suddenly and summarily informed that the team was eliminated for alleged "budgetary" reasons. The bottom line is that we will fight this again and we ask for your help. We ask you to
Thanks for your help and solidarity in this fight, cheers! Bob And Cecile Allen ContactsMadeline Wing Adler - President - madler@wcupa.edu - Dr. Edward M . Matejkovic - Director of Athletics - ematejkovi@wcupa.edu - 610/436-3555 West Chester University Gymnastics Support GroupDr. and Mrs Bob Allen - lhadd@aol.com
Nov 12 - They're back!! more details to follow shortly Sept 4 - OCR investigation stopped in favor of a lawsuit against the University by six members of the team. The lawsuit is being handled by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. The intent is to get the program re-instated as soon as possible. Lawyers have asked for a court date as soon as possible. June 10 - OCR has notified the University of the complaint that was filed and at the moment all there is to do is wait. May 19 - Article in the Patriot News - Harrisburg, PA May 10 - Article on the DaileLocal.com May 7 - Official complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in Philadelphia. May 6 - Story on the Philadelphia Inquirer - Parents fight to keep gymnastics team April 30 - e-mail letter from Bob and Cecile Allen goes out asking for help. April 29 - Story of announcement on z-wire April 28 - Official University Announcement (pdf) This is a copy of a letter written to the PA Legislature. Please copy the letter and send it to your representative. You can find your State Representative here and your State Senator here. NOTE - The Athletic Director has already received phone calls from Representatives. Please contact yours to keep the phone call coming. They WILL make a difference. Dear Friend in the Pennsylvania Legislature, Some of us have been in touch with you or with your office staff in the last few days in order to make you aware of a very serious concern. We are the parents, friends, and supporters of the fine women's gymnastics team from West Chester University. The team was notified this past Monday, suddenly and without any public discussion, that their team was eliminated, effective immediately. The WCU Administration announced that this was a final and irrevocable decision. They have also stated rather baldly that the pretext for the cut originates in Harrisburg and diminishing resources for the state system of education. As taxpayers and voters, we rather resent the notion that we, through you as our representatives in the legislature, are being blamed for the disruption and harm caused our daughters' lives by such a program elimination. Please understand that we are clear that times are tough, and that state funding has been a controversial and hard issue for everyone. However, as evidenced by our last meeting as a group, just 48 hours prior to this announcement, we have been preparing and attempting to raise monies toward the athletic and gymnastics team budgets at WCU. Yet, WCU administration has not been willing to cooperate with our initial efforts and instead saw fit to eliminate a good and historically significant program for our youth and future youth. We understand that there are two sides to every argument and urge you to seek out theirs and understand ours as well. We prefer that this dialogue be carried out now and publicly rather than, beginning very soon, in the courtroom. We engaged the WCU administration on this issue for nearly two years and thought we had finally shown them the need for and worth of the program. We appeal to you, our representatives in Harrisburg, to urge the WCU Administration to reconsider their position. We will make every effort to resolve this situation amicably, but time is of the essence. We are preparing very shortly to enter every corner of the legal arena to turn back this unwarranted WCU administrative fiat. We ask you simply to use your good offices to urge the WCU President and her administration to do the right thing by our daughters. We are asking no more than a return to the status quo, a move which will then allow us to garner and bolster support for the future continuation of the team. We do not want the WCU budget, nor ultimately the taxpayers, burdened with the costs of a lengthy legal battle which we are determined to pursue, if necessary. We stand ready to meet, discuss, and move beyond this present lowpoint, and we urge you to help us in that effort. Another parent has addressed the appended letter to WCU President Adler. I urge you to read it carefully and know that our appeal is heartfelt. Yet, we are determined to move beyond our emotions, our conciliatory appeals and stance of today and gird ourselves for the unfortunate legal struggle we might have to undertake in the days to come. Sincerely, Dr. Robert v. Allen |
