The Importance of Student Movements
Some tips to help you keep your head
Extreme emotions drive people to pursue extreme action. In the wake of former Penn State football coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s 45-count child molestation conviction, in the wake of former FBI director Louise Freeh’s reporting that university officials consistently neglected to intervene in Sandusky’s raping of young boys for a decade and half, many public figures have been driven by extreme emotion to call for the Penn State program to receive the “death penalty” by NCAA. As the governing body for major college athletics, the NCAA concerns itself with policing the proper recruitment of college players, the legitimate management of athletic departments, and the formal organization of competitions. Rarely do they punish school officials or even student athletes for criminal behavior. But many, like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and our own editor-in-chief, have suggested that, if the NCAA really cares about integrity, discipline and morality, it will drop the hammer. That is, …
I don’t own a boat. I don’t climb mountains, or play polo, or drive sports cars. I’m a college student, so I hardly get to do any of these things on a regular basis, yet if you took a look at my wardrobe, you might think otherwise. When I get dressed for the day, I usually reach for a polo shirt, and I find myself consistently choosing between boat shoes and driving shoes, not to sail or race, but in which to walk to class. If it’s cold or rainy outside, I have Patagonia and North Face jackets to keep me warm and dry, even though I’m from a place that barely has hills. I’m being self-critical about all of this because I notice the irony of it every day. When I walk around Auburn’s campus, I notice people with fishing gear not fishing, aviator sunglasses not flying, and cargo …
The scene unfolding in New Orleans’s Superdome the night of April 2 seemed typical of any finale to college basketball’s annual “March Madness” tournament. The victors, the Kentucky Wildcats, doused in confetti and the glory of winning college basketball’s grand spectacle, cut down the nets after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59. Star forward Anthony Davis, unibrow furrowed in concentration, cradled the national championship trophy, expressing his love for his school’s new hardware, whispering, “I love you. I love you.” While Davis’ love may not be reciprocated by a certain shiny inanimate object, he has garnered the affection of NBA scouts and executives who would soon revel in Davis’ inevitable jump to the Association after one year at Kentucky. Davis is representative of a growing trend, or rather a new era, of college basketball, that of the “one and done”- one year at college, meeting the NBA’s requirement, and then a …