LETTER: Poor scheduling of activities unfairly excludes athletes

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by Erin Lawrence

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As a member of the Rice student body and as an active member in the Rice Athletic Department, I was surprised and hurt to discover that two major Rice functions were scheduled during away football games.

I have long been aware of a certain level of animosity towards athletes at Rice, but I never expected such a blatant disregard for tradition at the expense of those of us who enjoy Rice athletics.

I concede that there are numerous events on campus that Rice athletes must miss due to conflicts, such as N.O.D., college night and various other college parties.

But removing the football aspects of Families' Weekend and Esperanza devalues their experience.

Families' Weekend is a time for families to come and experience Rice with their sons and daughters. For many parents, this means going to classes and faculty lectures and pre-planned events.

For a great deal more parents, it means a mini-vacation during which they can relax and spend time enjoying university activities with their child.

Of these activities, the football game has been a well-attended, popular event for families.

The support fostered for the team is deeply appreciated during this game as well as the future games they may attend as a result of this introduction.

This year many parents will miss the game as an integral part of their trip to Rice. My parents, like the parents of most of the people I have discussed this with, do not attend the planned functions of Families' Weekend. Once was enough for them when I was a freshman.

But that does not matter.

Like the other 150 students involved with the football team, my parents will not be attending Families' Weekend.

Since the point is to come see me, and I will be in West Point at Army, my parents will visit some other time.

And I do not think they will be upset that they missed the parent-student softball game.

Even more perplexing to me is the scheduling of Esperanza the weekend that the football team is in Lubbock playing Texas Tech. I have been under the impression now for four years that this dance is our homecoming dance.

Homecoming usually involves a football game. (I say "usually" to avoid making an overgeneralization, but I would be dumbfounded to hear of someone that does not associate the two.)

The schedules for football are set years in advance, so I reject this excuse and must conclude that the RPC simply did not regard a football game as a tradition worth respecting.

I am confident that the game will be sorely missed.

In addition to the question of tradition there is the disregard for the players, managers, trainers and film crew that will be simply unable to make the dance, not to mention our dates.

As a senior, this is especially dissapointing. Yet I wonder if I even want to go knowing how highly we were considered in the decision process.

I realize that not every campus group can attend every function; however I feel these two cases are different.

Football has always been a part of both Parents' Weekend and Esperanza. Tradition aside, I can not imagine why both schoolwide events would be scheduled when a guaranteed six percent of the student body will not attend.

Erin Lawrence

Will Rice '96

Football Student Manager

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the September 29, 1995 issue.

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