I'd like to thank Rayne (and wish her a happy blogiversary while I'm thinking about it) for bringing this article to my attention about the widening gap between academics and athletics on college campuses. A study was done on smaller, more exclusive schools in the Northeast, who don't offer sports scholarships. Even here, a divide was found between athletes and regular students. Athletes tended to have more of an advantage getting into elite schools. They are four to five times as likely to be admitted than a regular student with the same SAT score. Once they begin to attend school, their grades are also a good deal lower than those of their peers. Keep in mind, this is at smaller, elite schools - imagine what it's like at a Big 10 school.
MSU really coddles their athletes. They even have their own study center on campus (they're too good to study with the rest of us over at the library apparently). The trustees have even decided to let the Athletic Department build an add-on to the Stadium. I had incorrectly reported that the entire $61 million was coming out of the Department, which is untrue. It's actually $50 million (the other 11 million is going to be saved no longer paying rent on the swanky digs that the bloodsucking Alumni Association is currently inhabiting). It's still a large chunk of change though.
Actually, I have a much better idea where that money should go. Instead of throwing more money into the stadium, why not use it to fix Morrill Hall? I bet the Department of English would be very happy not to have chunks of their ceilings falling anymore.
8:14:00 PM 
|
