Editorial: Student athletes cheat the system

10/18/07 - Class registration began this week for students. As freshmen grumble about late class registration times and seniors stress about finding that final class they need to graduate, a whole separate group automatically gets bumped to the front of the line. These students are none other than the University of Rhode Island student athletes. It is understandable that the university wants to allow ample time for student athletes to organize their schedules, but to shape practice schedules around academics and not the other way around is ludicrous.

Some argue that athletes need this special privilege that many students would pay good money for because they practice a lot. But students who work 10, 20, or even 30 hours a week are not cut the same break. Many of these students are likely using their jobs to pay for the very classes they are attempting to register for.

Others argue that the registration times are necessary because athletes must attend practice to maintain their scholarships, and hence be able to stay in school. Yet, many students must work to stay in school, so the logic fails again.

Something needs to change. If these are indeed student athletes - note student comes before athlete - then the university should not direct them to schedule school around athletics. It would be very disturbing if coaches were dictating the curriculum of athletes. That is supposed to be the job of the provost.

The policy also spells poorly for the university's image with the public. Rather than being perceived as an institution fostering the best and brightest, the administration fosters the most muscular and well conditioned. This is not to say athletes cannot be good students, as they can, but it would be worrisome if the public perceived the university to be breeding future athletes, not scholars.

And then there's the simple moral issue of fairness. Upperclassmen should be outraged that a freshman rowing team member is allowed to register before a senior with 100 credits. The message being sent is this: those who participate in sports are more important to the university.

The university offers no break to students who rise at the crack of dawn to study mathematics, or the student stuck in the computer lab until midnight working for minimum wage. The university is also making a statement that those with physical abilities are somehow inferior to those of less strength.

So for those bookworms who could never make the football team, sorry, you're going to need to wait for members of the team to register before you.