Petitions have been started to save the Dartmouth College and UMass Dartmouth swimming programs cut at both of those schools this month.<\/p>\n
More than 4,000 people have signed the petition<\/a> for UMass Dartmouth, whose men\u2019s and women\u2019s swimming and diving programs were cut July 1<\/a>. The petition was started by Sydney Cayer<\/strong>, a UMass Dartmouth commit in the high school class of 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe disbanding of the team severely hurts the lives of the athletes, but the reputation of the school,\u201d Cayer wrote. \u201cAs someone who was a swimmer for ten years, I always knew UMass Dartmouth as a force to be reckoned with. So many students want to swim for this school because of how successful it is. Not only for the success, but for the family created. Taking away the swim and dive team means taking away a family. Swim and dive is always a sport that is fought for. No one takes it seriously and I am willing to fight for it again. I have fought my whole life for an opportunity to swim. I will continue to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dartmouth College campaign has an Instagram account<\/a> with more than 2,000 followers as of Saturday afternoon. The petition<\/a> was just shy of 3,000 signatures by Saturday. Dartmouth\u2019s swimming program was among eight cut by the college this week<\/a>. From the petition:<\/p>\n \u201cThe men and women of the Dartmouth Swimming & Diving Team stand united in the face of the College\u2019s unjust decision. We have trained together, competed together, and learned side by side the rewards of hard work and endurance. If our experience as a multidimensional family of student-athletes has taught us anything, it is to not be deterred by a challenge. This is no exception.\u00a0 We implore you, our fellow Dartmouth students, family members, friends, and alumni, to join us in the fight to reinstate our team.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The campaign includes ways to help beyond signing:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n