In the beginning of March, an interesting debate unfolded on this campus, prompted by ESPN's special "Outside the Lines," which, as The Chronicle pointed out in its March 7 editorial, "raised serious questions about the priorities of a top-10 university."
I'm curious why ESPN feels that it has a right to render judgments on the University's admission standards. As long as it complies with federal laws, Duke admits whomever it wants to admit, and such procedures should not be a matter of concern for those who can only guess at what goes on behind closed doors. All that we really know for sure is this: A committee of individuals who get paid to read a whole lot of clichZ
But ESPN's by far most serious allegation was that our athletes are allowed to take "easy" classes within "easy" majors. I'd really like to know who decided to objectively judge that one.
Truth is, if you've had a good string of math teachers since the eighth grade, calculus probably won't be difficult to master. On the other hand, if you were previously trained to present and defend written arguments, a course on American constitutional development won't cause you to lose much sleep either.
Additionally, different abilities, interests and research preferences lead to different course selections. Feel free to ask a few electrical engineers whether they'd rather practice homework sets, write-up labs and do a research project on molecular beam epitaxy or read 150-plus pages of articles or book excerpts per week and produce a 20-page paper on why a newly emergent norm of humanitarian intervention conflicts with traditional interpretations of state sovereignty and international law. I have a feeling a few of them would rather tough it out in engineering.
But that's just the point--it's not like our athletes are being denied a top-notch education. They're certainly being afforded the opportunity to learn from the utmost experts and exceptional educators in a wide variety of fields. What major they choose should be their business--and no one else's.
What it then all boils down to is that our society, probably prompted by such asinine ESPN reports, has established serious double standards for varsity athletes.
Here's a news flash for our beloved sports network. Duke's 1400 SAT average is not just high--it's exceptionally high. "It's awesome, baby." And believe it or not, despite our obvious Harvard envy, compared to all the other colleges in the nation, our school is an academic powerhouse. What I have a problem with is that somehow ESPN--when it's not busy hyping "March Madness," a phenomenon that forces a number of basketball teams to miss almost a month's worth of classes--expects college players at schools like Duke to be both top-notch athletes and stellar scholars at the same time. Not only is this difficult to do, it is also incredibly unfair.
Unlike varsity athletes, most students do not have to squeeze in their free time between twice-a-day practices, away games and classes. Most students also do not have to forego a rich selection of courses during the school year for the scant basics offered during the summer sessions. One would hardly call it an even field; yet if athletes do not perform well academically, they are immediately labeled as dumb, and their out-of-class commitments are conveniently ignored from the equation.
That's why I think it's time for ESPN to admit that people go to college for different reasons. For most, it's strictly academic; but for a select few, academics are a nice bonus and a valuable safety net in case their pre-arranged career paths take an unexpected nosedive.
And there's nothing wrong with that. You can't tell me that the future top pick in the NBA draft would benefit more from Math 32L than basketball practices in Cameron Indoor Stadium under coach Mike Krzyzewski's tutelage. Last time I checked, Duke doesn't offer a class that teaches you a skill valuable enough to secure a 10-plus million dollar contract upon graduation.
Magic Johnson was once asked which stereotype hindered him the most when it came to doing business after his career in the NBA: That he was a black man, an HIV carrier or an athlete. With ESPN running such one-sided specials, it's no wonder Magic answered that overcoming the stereotype of a stupid jock has been his greatest obstacle in the business world.
Marko Djuranovic is a Trinity senior and a former health and science editor of The Chronicle.
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