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Should college athletes be eligible to receive a living stipend or perhaps an extra year of financial aid?
While college sports generates millions of dollars of revenue for Universities, there have been examples of athletes not having money for clothing or food. In addition, many athletes take an extra year to graduate because of the reduced credit load they are able to carry due to team requirements on their time. Should needy athletes receive a living stipend? how about an extra year of aid to allow them to finish their degree? Are they already over-compensated, or they being exploited?
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October 11, 2009 11:07 AM
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Hmm...
Frankly, I think they should.
What's strange about my answer is that, for those who know me in person, at that age I was one of the pencil-necked science geeks who thought that jocks were idiots.
At least at first, but towards the fouth year, I noticed something.
In my case I was a disciplined student, because I was working towards, and got, an honors degree, which means I passed lots of students in the halls who were just doing the minimum to get through their courses, and then spending the rest of their time partying.
What I noticed was that, other than myself and a few other honors students, it was the jocks who were the only ones who seemed to have a sense for what it meant to have a *discipline*.
They were the only ones who, come hell or high water, would get out on the field at a pre-determined time, and no matter how they felt, work through their practice, just like it was me and the honors who would be the only ones to complete insane term paper and grade expectations.
So I ended up having a begrudging respect for those guys who, from highschool days, I had to run and duck from because they could pick me up with on hand and pinch my head off between thumb and forfinger if they could catch me.
And then I noticed something else after graduation. Along with myself and the other honors, it was the jocks who seemed to be the only ones who could land a career and then bloody-well work their way through it.
So... these days... I am of the opinion that honors students should be supported with scholarships, but damnit, if you've got jocks who can really maintain the discipline to do all that training and do it well to the point where they can really compete, then bloody hell, they should get scholarships too.
Frankly, I think they should.
What's strange about my answer is that, for those who know me in person, at that age I was one of the pencil-necked science geeks who thought that jocks were idiots.
At least at first, but towards the fouth year, I noticed something.
In my case I was a disciplined student, because I was working towards, and got, an honors degree, which means I passed lots of students in the halls who were just doing the minimum to get through their courses, and then spending the rest of their time partying.
What I noticed was that, other than myself and a few other honors students, it was the jocks who were the only ones who seemed to have a sense for what it meant to have a *discipline*.
They were the only ones who, come hell or high water, would get out on the field at a pre-determined time, and no matter how they felt, work through their practice, just like it was me and the honors who would be the only ones to complete insane term paper and grade expectations.
So I ended up having a begrudging respect for those guys who, from highschool days, I had to run and duck from because they could pick me up with on hand and pinch my head off between thumb and forfinger if they could catch me.
And then I noticed something else after graduation. Along with myself and the other honors, it was the jocks who seemed to be the only ones who could land a career and then bloody-well work their way through it.
So... these days... I am of the opinion that honors students should be supported with scholarships, but damnit, if you've got jocks who can really maintain the discipline to do all that training and do it well to the point where they can really compete, then bloody hell, they should get scholarships too.
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October 10, 2009 07:11 PM
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Part of me wants to say yes, athletes should receive a living stipend because of their rigorous athletic schedules (practices, away games, home games). The other part of me thinks that a living stipend is not fair at all. They have chosen to be an athlete while in college. They agreed to a high level of responsibility, but many of them do not take that responsibility seriously. Some do, of course, but more often than not athletes feel as though they are entitled to have money and passing grades handed to them simply because they play a sport.
I can't tell you how many college athletes (usually men) I met who were walking around in a state of delusion because their coaches were handing them money every week, their tutors or girlfriends were doing all of their homework for them and they thought they could actually get away with getting more financial aid for one reason or another. It was detestable, but that was my experience, so forgive me if I'm a bit biased.
I know non-athletic college students whose school schedules are just as hectic and demanding as athletes' - if not more demanding - and they aren't getting any help with living expenses. I know that college sports are an awfully large revenue generator, but the athletes shouldn't, in my mind, be treated any differently than other students. Why are people more concerned about athletes who don't have money for food or clothes but not every other college student who can barely afford to eat more than one meal a day and still put a roof over their head? It doesn't make much sense to me. (I'm talking about working college students, whose class schedules prevent them from working full-time jobs so they work 2 part-time jobs in hopes of being able to take care of themselves, pay their bills and still find a way to pay for all the things college requires.)
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I can't tell you how many college athletes (usually men) I met who were walking around in a state of delusion because their coaches were handing them money every week, their tutors or girlfriends were doing all of their homework for them and they thought they could actually get away with getting more financial aid for one reason or another. It was detestable, but that was my experience, so forgive me if I'm a bit biased.
I know non-athletic college students whose school schedules are just as hectic and demanding as athletes' - if not more demanding - and they aren't getting any help with living expenses. I know that college sports are an awfully large revenue generator, but the athletes shouldn't, in my mind, be treated any differently than other students. Why are people more concerned about athletes who don't have money for food or clothes but not every other college student who can barely afford to eat more than one meal a day and still put a roof over their head? It doesn't make much sense to me. (I'm talking about working college students, whose class schedules prevent them from working full-time jobs so they work 2 part-time jobs in hopes of being able to take care of themselves, pay their bills and still find a way to pay for all the things college requires.)
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October 10, 2009 11:20 PM
maybe we could help both (non athletes and athletes).
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October 11, 2009 09:11 AM
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If they generate revenue for their universities, it is only fair that they got their share or at least help for it. Even we got reward when answering questions here, why not the atheletes who trains in gruesome regime for their universities and colleges?
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