No athletic feat is worth compromised integrity
Some of my fondest memories of the University revolve around sporting events. When I am old and look back to my college years, I’ll recall attending the 2002 Sugar Bowl with my father, dancing amid a cloud of cigar smoke on the football field after defeating Auburn in 2001 and trekking to Knoxville this fall to spread LSU spirit in Volunteer Country.
But the impending investigation into alleged improprieties by athletes dampens my spirits and raises questions about this University’s integrity.
Depending on what newspaper you read or what television station you watch, LSU’s Athletic Department may or may not have pressured faculty to go easy on athletes. The allegations stem from a complaint, lodged through a lawyer by a faculty member, saying he or she felt pressure to give passing grades to athletes.
This latest potential scandal only fuels rumors and fears of “regular” students that athletes routinely receive preferential treatment.
The student body is not blind. We see athletes travel across campus on scooters. We know athletes, even young ones, get choice classes because they schedule with graduating seniors, honors students and those with disabilities.
We see our student fees go up to pay LSU’s utility bills while the Athletic Department spends millions on more frivolous things. Sure, the budgets are separate, but why are our faculty paid less than their counterparts at most other Southern schools when our football coach is paid more than most?
These things, and many others, add to the perception that at LSU athletics takes precedence over academics.
Top administrators on both the athletic and academic sides would deny this. But for the sake of the students, they should approach this investigation with openness and willingness to be forthcoming and honest. If someone in this University is acting unethically, he or she should be disciplined, regardless of if he or she wears a team jersey or not.
Yes, athletics brings the national spotlight to the University. Yes, athletics brings money to the school. Yes, sports color our days at LSU.
But none of these things excuse compromising the academic mission of our school.
Even more upsetting is the idea that students who can’t perform academically at LSU may be representing us on the playing field. LSU is raising its entrance standards to improve its academic reputation. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that our athletes be hard-working students as well as good players.
If you can’t make the grade, you can’t play, plain and simple.
In the upcoming days and weeks, embarrassing allegations about LSU will likely surface. But, academic and athletic administrators should be open and honest with both investigators and the community, especially current students and alumni. We’ve invested money time and trust into this school. If someone is undermining academics here, he or she must also answer to us.
Sure, I’m proud our teams successfully compete on a national level against other worthy opponents. My LSU pride soars when I hear our fight song. I brag to friends from other schools when LSU outplays them.
But no amount of pride and bragging rights is worth lessening the academic standards and general integrity of this school.
Christina Stephens