Athletic absurdity

Recently, the University Registrar allowed athletes to register before other members of their classes. I am sure that other changes are not far behind, such as allowing them to cut in the mile-long Alpine line, parking in nondesignated spots such as the Alumni Lounge and making nonathlete students bow or curtsey whenever passing an athlete on the Bryan Center walkway. Within a few years, each athlete may even get his own lemur to act as a personal valet.

The registration advantage is the latest athletic perk with which the University has insulted its "normal" students, you know the students who used their own "academic merit" to get in here. This time, however, the perk is given in our world, the academic world. That is why it angers me so much.

Athletic perks have traditionally been based on quality of life issues such as getting the best housing and generous meal plans. This is fine. We do not want our athletes to go hungry or to suffer the humiliation of living in Trent. It might hurt their playing ability. But registering early places them above normal students in the academic world, a world that is supposedly egalitarian.

Just like everyone else, athletes should have to worry about getting into the classes they want or need. It is part of the joy of going to a school that thinks so little of its undergraduates that it limits their academic opportunity by placing limits on class sizes. That is the real problem, of course. If course size limits were eliminated, then registration time would not be an issue for anyone. Under that system, students would have the opportunity to get the kind of education for which their parents think they are paying. Of course administrators will say, "But Dave, we do not have the resources to accommodate everyone in the classes they want to take." Then what is our 33K for? That is a sickening amount of money to pay to be denied entrance into classes.

But I digress. The athletic department argues that this policy will allow athletes to better schedule classes around their practices. The officials also mention that other schools use this method. Just because other schools do this, it does not make it right. This is Duke, we are supposed to be better than that. Large state schools can afford to have their athletes register early. They have hundreds and hundreds of students in some of their courses and they have the resources (manpower, space and money) to run many sections of the same course. Allowing people to register early does not take away another student's chance to take the course. We do not have this luxury. For most courses, there is just one time and place with a limited number of seats available in a class. One athlete's gain is another's academic loss. And since when did we want to model our policies on those of large state schools? If anyone here wanted a large state school, they could have gone to one on a large merit scholarship. What makes Duke different is its alleged focus on education above all else.

Athletes receive in-kind payments of $33,000 a year plus other perks. Sure, they work hard in practice and some even elevate the school's national name recognition, but their current compensation is enough given the image the University wants to maintain concerning its athletes as "scholar-athletes." To be honest, I think that is an obsolete idea. Athletes, especially those who are constantly under a national microscope, bring the University obscene amounts of money in TV revenue, seating sales and merchandising revenue. They are indentured servants, being paid far below what they are really worth. If athletes bring in more revenue than the cost of their scholarships, they should be able to sign contracts guaranteeing them a slice of the money they help generate. It is not efficient to pay someone far below his or her fair market value.

Why do athletes even have to be "students" at all? I am sure most athletes are interested in their education. I am sure most chose Duke to be in a competitive academic environment. But some, especially those who come in with academic credentials several standard deviations below the rest of the student body, should not be expected to take part in a bachelor's degree-seeking program. These athletes should be able to elect to be "certificate" students who receive certificates in their given sport after four years of participation.

Athletic perks can be tolerated, but these perks must be stopped when they spill over into the academic world. Instead of perks, athletes who generate revenue should be able to share in that revenue. The University should be ashamed that it makes money from the blood and sweat of its athletes yet pays them so little in return. Athletes should also be able to elect not to seek a bachelor's degree, freeing them to spend more time to devote to the reason they were brought here in the first place: their athletic skill.