LETTER: Column insults athletes

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by Holly Welch

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I am writing in response to the column titled "The plight of the student-athlete," written by Ben Glassman in the Dec. 1 issue of the Thresher .

I had very mixed feelings when reading his explanations of student-athletes. I appreciate his interest in the subject, his attempt at being objective and his attempt to show both sides of the issue.

However, as a student-athlete, I am upset at some aspects of the article.

One of the major questions raised by the article is why Rice should continue to compete in Division I athletics.

The bold-face quote made by an anonymous student said that he or she didn't "understand" why Rice doesn't just do things the way the Ivy League does (meaning move to Division III).

I realize that the fact that many athletes are on athletic scholarships is a source of conflict.

While it is true that many are recruited and recognized by the school first for their athletic ability, this is not the case for everyone.

Not all athletes are on a full scholarship. Some receive partial aid, while others do not receive any money from the Athletic Department at all. In fact, some athletes do not even apply through the Athletic Department.

They use the regular admissions process and are admitted for their academic achievements alone.

Many of these students receive academic grants and have the option to attend Rice as a non-athlete. Although they would be doing less in the Rice community, it seems as though they would be judged more highly than they would be if they had the stigma of being an athlete.

I would also answer the question of why we compete in Division I by saying that it is in the nature of Rice students to want to excel in all that they do.

One of the things that has impressed me most about the people I meet here is that no one is only a serious scholar.

There are wonderful hidden talents and skills in nearly each person I have met, from music to acting, community service and even athletics. Yet there is an underlying bond that ties all Rice students together; we want to succeed.

Many students quoted in Glassman's article would question whether student-athletes have that same drive to succeed off the playing field.

Does our competitive nature continue in the classroom? During Orientation Week, I was confronted by a student who told me that he did not think athletes should be here because he did not come to Rice to be in a country club.

Although I was offended, my first reaction was disbelief. Can it really be true that students think this is the athlete's view of Rice?

Apparently so since one of the students quoted by Glassman claimed that we come here to "play a sport."

It is true that we are recruited and that we know we will be a member of an athletic team, but that is hardly the only reason we come to Rice.

If athletics were the only aspect we were interested in, you can trust me that most of us would not be at Rice. If, when looking at colleges, I wanted a country club, I would have gone to Texas A&M University or any other school with larger programs, less stringent academics and more money devoted to athletics.

It would not be worth our time and energy to attend a school like Rice if we were looking to excel in only one area of our life; the scholastic challenge alone should deter those kinds of people from coming.

The fact that Rice is not a country club is precisely the reason why most student-athletes are here.

We realize we will not be using our athletic abilities for the rest of our lives, and we want a quality education that we definitely will use in the future.

I was most frustrated by Glass-man's article because he singled out the baseball team as a group to be one of the few that can "compete with the very best" but which typically has at least one freshman baseball player who responds that he is majoring in baseball when asked.

Glassman reports this information as if it is a statistic taken from a well-run study.

It is, however, clearly nothing more than conjecture. To report what is everyday gossip as a reliable piece of fact is nothing short of irresponsible journalism.

In addition, it is obvious to any student-athlete that this information is taken out of context. When an athlete claims to be majoring in his or her respective sport, typically it is meant as a joke.

Because we spend so much time at practice, we often feel like that could be one of our majors.

Think about the time schedule.

We often spend three hours a day at practice. This is as much time in one day as we spend in a week's worth of one class. (It is also important to remember that baseball requires more and has more competitions than any other sport; although they still must abide by the 20-hour per-week NCAA rule, a competition day counts for three hours despite the time it takes to warm up, play a doubleheader and travel home. A day like this which can easily take eight hours counts for only three according to the practice schedule.)

To say that we are majoring in a sport is simply our way of expressing how much time we devote to athletics, a way through which we can all empathize with each other. Yet we are students as well, and we take the same classes that non-athletes take.

We know the rigors of Rice first-hand, and there is no misconception about what our majors are.

We know this is first and foremost an academic institution.

To insinuate that we do not understand our academic responsibilities is ridiculous.

We feel those responsibilities and pressure deeply -- just as much as, if not more than, non-athletes because of our schedules.

Finally, at the end of Glassman's article, he asked the question of why a student would want to be an athlete here.

He gives only two reasons, provided by a quote from Coach Wilson saying that competition and the fact that it makes one a better person are the sole reasons. I have a few more.

I love Rice. My years here have challenged me more than I could imagine, and I am a different person than I was when I entered.

The people I have met have astounded me with their talents and wide range of interests.

I don't know another time in my life when I will be surrounded by such a unique community that truly cares for the other members in it, and I savor the little time that I have left here.

Not only the people I have met in my college and classes, but also the people in the Athletic Department, and specifically my teammates, have enriched my life.

I would not trade a moment of it for anything. One of the greatest sources of pride that I have is not only attending Rice University, but representing Rice to other schools when I compete.

Sometimes I wish the people of Rice were proud of me for doing it, too.

Holly Welch

Hanszen '96

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the December 8, 1995 issue.

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