Craziness beyond Cameron

On several occasions, I have had conversations with Duke students that go something like this: “Oh, you’re on the track team? So … where do you practice?” To which I respond, “Sometimes at the turf fields, but generally at the track.” I am simply stupefied when they say with a blank face “We have a track? Where is it?” Squinting my eyes, I reply “Have you ever been to Wallace Wade?” There have been many occasions during my time at Duke when the level of public ignorance toward varsity sports teams has bewildered me. Therefore, I would like to clear a few things up about the academic and athletic accomplishments of all these student-athletes.

Did you know that there are 26 varsity sports at Duke University? I find it disconcerting that we will go to such lengths as tenting to get into one men’s basketball game—as if they are the only Duke team that plays UNC. Just think about the term “Cameron Crazie” for a minute. We only associate it with our basketball fanatics, but the building it refers to is the arena where not only both the men’s and the women’s basketball teams play, but also where the women’s volleyball team competes. How many matches or games of the latter two have you witnessed? The sparsely populated bleachers at many of their competitions are only one example of how many of Duke’s varsity athletic teams are not given enough credit for their achievements.

Here’s a fun fact. With five NCAA Championship titles, the women’s golf team has won the most NCAA titles of any Duke sports team. Following the women’s golf team is the men’s basketball team. Also, several other teams have had individual NCAA champions. If you are ever to take a walk through the Duke Hall of Fame in Schwartz-Butters, you will see that every team has its fair share of all-Americans. As of the 2011 seasons, the men’s lacrosse team has had 49 all-Americans, with 14 just in the past four years. The women’s lacrosse team has had 25 all-Americans, with 11 in the past four years. Women’s tennis has had 29, men’s soccer has had 32 and women’s track and field has had 29. These lists do not even begin to tell the success stories of Duke Athletics. In case you were ever wondering, the answer is yes—Duke’s athletic teams are good.

These athletes not only compete on the field, but they also perform at a high level in the classroom. People falsely presume that athletes are not held to the same standards as their peers at Duke. Once, I left a final exam and overheard a classmate complaining to a teammate of mine. She said, “I can’t believe the professor made the exam so easy. He must have changed it so that the athletes could pass it.” I thought it was bold of her, if not rude, to say this to my teammate, who had worn a Duke Track and Field backpack to class every day of the semester. In reality, student-athletes at Duke are just as capable as other Duke students. Last year, out of approximately 600 student-athletes, Duke had 120 academic all-ACC student-athletes, as well as 109 student-athletes on the dean’s list. Several different fields of study are represented among these individuals, including engineering and all of Trinity’s various majors. In the past four years there have been 12 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-Americans at Duke—no easy feat. All of these people did so in addition to their athletic commitments, but I will no longer bore you with longwinded tales of endless practices, competition and travel that are synonymous with Division I athletics. I will say that Duke has a challenging academic environment, and it is amplified in the lives of athletes with the addition of physical exhaustion.

The very first Duke Marshall Scholar I met was a pole-vaulter who majored in physics and biology while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She went on to get a master’s degree in public health in London and is now attending medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. Though she is an exceptional individual, there are many other Duke student-athletes who have displayed similar academic excellence. All of their stories speak to the hard work and dedication that Duke athletes show on and off the field.

These stories ought to serve as a caution against making judgments about classmates based on the Nike backpack and easy squeeze Gatorade water bottle that they carry. Instead of making assumptions, why not try to get to know the student-athletes in your classes? You might be surprised by the contributions they make to your next group project. You never know how many of them are dominating your organic chemistry exams. Remember that Duke’s sports are bigger than just the men’s basketball team. Please don’t sell us short, because many of us do know how to win and excel, both on the field and in the classroom.

Caleb Duncanson is a Pratt senior. His column runs every other Friday.