Administration Presents NESCAC Report to Student Senate

Author: Claire Bourne News Editor

Associate Provost Tim Spears and Director of Institutional Research and Analysis Rebecca Brodigan presented the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) study on the relationship between athletics and academics to the Student Government Association (SGA) on Sunday evening. Though senators did not receive hard copies of the report, the SGA was the first campus body outside the administration to be officially informed of the study's findings.

In related news, Middlebury President John McCardell announced yesterday that three copies of the report would be placed on reserve in Starr Library for the community to review.

In an interview with The Middlebury Campus following the presentation, SGA President Brian Elworthy '02.5, who received the report in its entirety early last week, said he was "pleased" that the SGA was on "the cutting edge of discussion."

Acting Provost Alison Byerly stated that the administration had approached Elworthy about presenting the report's findings to the SGA before the publication of the statistics in last week's edition of The Campus.

Elworthy declined to speculate on whether he thought the administration's decision to address the SGA was expedited by The Campus' coverage. He did comment, however, that the SGA's involvement in the discussion of athletics and academics "certainly sends a clear message to the student body that student voices are important and are needed."

The study was commissioned by the NESCAC presidents and conducted by William G. Bowen and James L. Schulman as a follow-up to their book "The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values." Findings were presented to the presidents in late September.

The report, which addressed participation of male and female athletes and non-athletes in intercollegiate athletics, academic performance, recruitment and admissions, found that athletes enjoy a significant advantage when applying to NESCAC schools and that once enrolled tend not to perform as well as the general student body in the classroom.

SGA members' opinions about the statistics varied widely. Junior Senator Simon Isaacs '03.5 opened discussion, saying, "I think we need to remember that all these statistics are just that. They're statistics. Perhaps I shouldn't have been here based on what these [statistics] say, however I'd like to present myself as a walking contradiction [of the report's findings]," he continued, pointing out that, although he is a recruited athlete who scored 1050 on his SATs, he currently "holds a leadership position" and maintains a 3.6 grade point average.

Isaacs stressed that he viewed participation in the College's athletic program as significant to the pursuit of "a full education." He also noted that professors did not generally grant athletes leeway when it comes to class work despite heavy athletic commitments.

Senator Nina Kieves '02 commented, "I disagree that you should get allowances in class because you play a sport. This is an academic college. If you choose to play a sport you have to realize you're giving up a tremendous amount of time for that sport."

Becky Ruby '01.5, a senior Feb Senator, said she was skeptical of some of the data. "I don't think the report proves that this is any way detrimental," she remarked.

Senator Scott Palmer '05 said that he did not "see much of a problem," either. "It seems like if there really was a problem we would have found out on our own rather than have two outsiders tell us that something needs to change," he said.

Spears confirmed, "Bowen and Schulman are not saying that athletics are detrimental. I think what they're trying to get at is the appropriate balance." He acknowledged also that it was "hard to get a hold of these issues and understand why they matter at a place like Middlebury."

Brodigan said that the College had not yet compared its own data to the statistics in the report. "I think the last thing we want to do is leave you with the impression that there are changes taking place right now. There aren't," Spears said, adding, "We've just started to take a look at this."

He continued, "One of the reasons why [Bowen and Schulman] are so interested in NESCAC schools is that they believe these are schools where reform agenda might make some headway."

Elworthy said he hoped that the administration would continue its dialogue with the SGA as discussion of the report evolves over the coming weeks and months. "I think that this is such an important issue that the administration can't afford [to leave the SGA outside the discussion], and the student body can't afford to let that happen," he maintained. "I hope students are involved every step of the way."

Byerly confirmed that the SGA would play an ongoing role in the discussion of Bowen and Schulman's conclusions. She pointed out, however, that while some issues would be addressed at a community level, others would have to be addressed by College administrators and the NESCAC league as a whole.

She stressed the value of community-wide discussions on issues raised by the study, saying that she would rather rely on the community "to tell us if there is a problem" than resort to the data found in the report. More specifically, she said she would like to see a continuation of "campus dialogue of which the report is only one piece."

Student voices, Byerly said, give the administration "a clearer sense of how students view pressures of participation in athletics balanced against a strong academic performance."

Elworthy said he did not see an end to the discussion of the report "in the near future." He called on senators to share the information they received on Sunday with "classmates, teammates, friends and constituents."