03/16/05
By Ryanne Forcht,
Sports Editor
Let’s face it, people: we live in a world where the majority of the population prefers football to Monet, basketball to Bach, even golf to West Side Story. Although I do not deem myself intelligent enough to dive deep into the darkest corners of the human psyche to tell you why this is, or why it should or should not be. I do want to relate to my audience why we should at least offer some respect to the hard-working athletes among us. If I could educate the mind of just one radical anti-athlete, this column might be worth the ink used to print it.
So often, while standing in lines in Lowe Dining Hall, waiting for the turkey-and-cheese sandwich on wheat I eat every single day for lunch (as a creature of habit), I catch pieces of conversations that are focused on (and expressing a quiet, inner rage about) school athletics.
For my fans who have been reading my work as a Setonian writer from day one, you’ve seen statistics that have supported the fact that student athletes are among the top recipients of academic scholarships, etc, and are not just the smelly oafs some people make us out to be.
Although there are the knuckle-heads among us, our group, as a whole, is quite intelligent.
In fact, aside from their commitment to the classroom, athletes offer many significant contributions to the campus as a whole, including their involvement in student government, clubs, residence life, etc.
Last semester, the Office of Residence Life employed nine athletes (who represented a staggering 30% of all Seton Hill resident assistants).
Those young, motivated people took on the pressure of coming up with magnificent floor programs, keeping the halls safe, keeping their grades up, and keeping their teams above 500, all with minimal whining and no special considerations.
Last year’s Seton Hill Government Association President was one of our campus’ very finest student athletes: Emily Ciak.
All while in the process of joining some of her cross country teammates in the prestigious ranks of Academic All-Americans, Ciak took on, arguably, the most influential student role on the hill, while she continued to maintain leadership positions and memberships in numerous clubs and organizations.
Consequently, she was honored with the President’s Award for service at last fall’s Honors Convocation (where were you?).
Speaking of the fall Honors Convocation, I could name at least six student-athletes who garnered the top award in their academic division and/or major.
The editor of this reputable publication is an athlete; student ambassadors, floor senators, class officers, club officers-these groups all contain athletes. There is no escaping their (yes, positive) influence on this campus.
Therefore, I pose the question again: is it fair to stereotype Seton Hill’s finest just because they strap on some shin guards or bounce around a ball for hours everyday? I am putting my money down on no.
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