Professor Orin Starn recently wrote in The Herald-Sun, "A university that prides itself on innovation would become a bold leader in much-needed college athletics reform." What is so innovative about making Duke look like the hundreds of other universities with good academics and uncompetitive athletics?
It was not a sell-out at Cameron Indoor Stadium a few Mondays ago. The meeting of student-athletes, coaches and support staff "family" was a call to reaffirm and renew values that the Athletic Department, and all those in it, have always represented. As student athletes, we are in the unique position of representing the University on a national stage, which we do with pride. We love to play for the name on the front of our jerseys rather than the back, and all the past successes and tradition of excellence that come with the letters D-U-K-E.
I write to respond to some recent proposals that Duke de-emphasize or eliminate its athletics program.
I have been a life-long Duke fan. When I was admitted here, my dream became a reality. I was not recruited to Duke as an athlete. In the months following my acceptance, I decided that sports were too significant a part of my life to give up, so I tried out and walked on to the women's lacrosse team-a team that has gone to the Final Four my first two years at Duke. Since my first day of practice, I have felt extremely privileged to be a part of such a special, driven and talented group of women. At Duke, I have served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, a group which interacts with the Athletic Department as well as organizes and participates in several community service projects. I am a member of the first class of Baldwin Scholars, a program which stemmed from Duke's Women's Initiative, and which aims to change women's leadership roles and attitudes on campus.
That being said, I am first and foremost a serious student, as are most student-athletes I know. I and my fellow athletes have enormous respect for the faculty at Duke. One of the ways we demonstrate that respect for our professors is hard work. Duke athletes work hard. Last year, 362 Duke student-athletes earned a place on the ACC Academic Honor Roll, which led the conference for the 18th straight year. A 2004 graduate of the women's lacrosse team finished first in her class as a mathematics and classics major.
All of our coaches have been college students and, in most cases, student-athletes. Although many professors may not have played sports, it is important to understand and respect what kind of impact athletics has on Duke University, its culture and its students, athletes and non-athletes alike. Duke is unique not only because of its innovation in the laboratories or the lecture halls. Duke gains its sense of community and culture from the fact that it combines a first-rate academic curriculum with an incredibly successful athletic department, and this is what the students rally behind. Without athletics, Duke would still be great, but not complete. The combination of elite academics and athletics creates a strong feeling of community and school spirit. My former teammate called it "Blue Devil magic." To me, this is what sets Duke apart, and what has attracted many, if not most, of its students.
The professors of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences proclaim themselves open-minded, dedicated to helping their students examine all sides of the issues before releasing them into the world, well educated and prepared to make their own choices and form their own opinions.
Recently published opinion pieces by faculty, however, especially faculty who are on committees of the Campus Culture Initiative, contradict those values and open-mindedness. The Campus Culture Initiative committees should be working to further unify athletics and academics, instead of alienating and castigating some of the most hard-working people on this campus.
In her recently published article, "Coda: Bodies of Evidence," Duke professor Karla Holloway makes the point that important groups of students, such as African American women, have been marginalized in the wake of the lacrosse rape case. I understand their conflicted sentiments in recent times.
However, adopting her suggestion to downsize or eliminate the sports programs at Duke would, paradoxically, deprive others' of their civil rights: Title IX serves as an important social function in creating access for women and minority men to colleges that would otherwise not be available. Sports and the "ethic of sportsmanship" not only add to the moral standing and character of the University, they are an integral part of the full educational experience. Learning to work well and cooperating with people from different backgrounds, leading a team and working toward a common goal are all values directly translatable to the classroom and should be encouraged instead of criticized.
Professor Holloway borrows the expression, as if it were a negative, "defeat also tests the character of the fan, for the true fan must remain loyal even during the bad times." That is very true, and especially pertinent right now. Within the athletic department, those words are reflected by how many different teams support each other on the field and off, especially now that we are recovering from a "bad time." However, this support and appreciation should not come just from within the athletic department. All who support Duke, including and especially its brilliant professors who share their knowledge with all of us, should and must remain loyal to what Duke has always stood for: Excellence in academics and athletics, and the student-athletes who directly contribute to the excellence in both.
A university that protects a culturally constructed minority and supports its students would make a leap forward in its Campus Culture Initiative.
Likely to happen?
Not at Duke.
The right thing to do?
Absolutely.
Rachel Shack is a Trinity junior and a member of the women's lacrosse team.
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