(We first posted on Sister Rose Ann Fleming back in March–KSH).
I’ve written much on these pages about the often problematic nexus of collegiate academics and athletics. Over the years, I’ve pilloried Kentucky and Memphis and their 30% graduation rates. By contrast, I’ve held up Catholic colleges like Notre Dame””one of the few schools where athletes have a higher graduation rate than the general student body””as examples of schools that refuse to accept academically unqualified students simply because they have good jump shots.
My faith was shaken earlier this year when the New York Times interviewed Sister Rose Ann Fleming. She’s the feisty 5- foot-4-inch, 78-year-old nun who makes sure that the basketball players at Xavier University, a Jesuit Catholic college in Cincinnati, spend as much time in class as they do in the gym. Terrell Holloway, a sophomore guard at Xavier, praised Sister Rose in the Times article for keeping on him when he fell behind in a reading class during summer school.
Reading? Summer school?
It forced me to ask myself: Are the Catholic schools, after all, the same as Michigan or Temple when it comes to what kind of athletes they admit? The short answer seems to be yes. The critical difference is that schools like Xavier are making sure that their players receive diplomas.
The day of the final game between Duke and Butler, the Butler players went to class. They were in Indianapolis and, therefore, not excused. Go Bulldogs!
Well, if someone can get through (required) Freshman calculus, then graduating isn’t going to be a problem.
I cant speak for other schools, but Notre Dame’s academic program is what it claims to be. There are no special majors for athletes. There are no special classes dumbed down for athletes either. There are some impressive tutoring programs for them, but they have to achieve their grades in the same classes offered to every other student. Some say this makes Notre Dame less competitive athletically since so many athletes cant get in to ND. But, despite an impressive history in athletics, ND’s priority is and and will always be academics.
4. Whenever and wherever you went to school, there is no reason to believe that your singular experience ought to be a measure for anything.
[blockquote]unless all students have an equal need for, equal access to, and make equal use of those “impressive tutoring programs.†When I had trouble in the sciences in college the attitude was “tough – work harder.†[/blockquote]
Your comment has that truthy ring to it, that is, it sounds wise and true on first blush. But, with further thought it makes little sense. Yes, tutoring is available to any student that is struggling. And, there is no reason to believe that tutoring impugns the achievement of the student who writes his own papers and takes his own exams and earns his own grades. And, why should every student make equal use of a program? Must all make equal use of scholarships? Must all make equal use of housing? Must all make equal use of textbooks and the library and the internet? If one student uses his text book twice as long as another, does that draw doubt on the grades he achieves? When it comes to learning, there are all kinds of aides. Students have always learned differently and used resources differently. So, really, what’s the problem here?