The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 17, 1992 Page: 4 of 16
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4 FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 1992 THE RICE THRESHER
OPINION
Defending athletics: pluralism essential in the pursuit of excellence
Ben Hippen
Much has been said recently
about the continued exist-
ence of "big-time" sports at
Rice University, and most of the
rhetoric is tending toward predict-
ing, if not calling for, the demise of
Division I athletics here. Anyone who
enjoys collegiate sports at Rice in any
form opens the newspaper these days
with trepidation, preparing to dis-
cover how much about Rice athletics
they have "misunderstood."
In fact, it seems that in addition to
local members of the Rice commu-
nity, the Board of Governors and the
coach of the basketball team also
share this misunderstanding. How-
ever, I believe that it is not a misun-
derstandingwhich is being displayed,
but basic philosophical differences
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in how to approach a university expe-
rience.
The view that many of the more
vocal participants in the athletics
debate seem to subscribe to is the
Greek's arete is
excellence of
mind and body.
idea that Division I collegiate sports
and academic excellence are mutu-
ally exclusive. They are not I point to
Duke University, or Stanford as ex-
amples of excellence in both areas. If
this preconception is false, there must
be another powerful motive behind
such vehement argument academ-
ics see athletes as genuinely inferior,
within their own conception of excel-
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lence, hence their presence at a uni-
versity is objectionable and irratio-
nal.
This idea seems to be expressed
by the comment by one alum who
preferred that Rice purchase the
Houston Oilers, and have the players
make cameo appearances on campus.
As Mark Schoenhals writes, "[this]
would change little about the
intercollegiate athletic program...it
would be no less enjoyable, and serve
the same purposes..."
If it is possible to look beyond the
facetiousness of that comment, it
becomes apparent that this would
not serve the purposes of the univer-
sity at all. For me, that experience
involves living away from home for
the first time, taking classes in sub-
jects that intrigue me, and finding an
area of study that I truly enjoy learn-
ing about In the process of ail this is
Division I sports
and academic
excellence are
not mutually
exclusive.
a pursuit of excellence.
The Greek word for this pursuit
was arete. Arete embodies not just
achievement, but the pursuit of
achievement in all areas of life. To
excel in areas of mind and body was
a goal which the Greeks believed to
be worthy of man in all his potential
and demonstrated ability, and it is a
belief that has withstood the test of
time.
From the NFL to the Olympic
Games, we see how far the human
body can go, just as we sit in awe in
our ivory tower, marvelling at com
parable achievements in the sciences,
Imagine switch-
ing our academic
pursuits toward
'Division II
intellectualism.'
arts and humanities. Just as the
workings of the cell are enough to
instill amazement and reverence at
the complexity and simplicity of it all,
so too does the ability for the mortal
to do immortal things on the playing
field or court
Some see athletics as "...cheap
thrills for students and faculty...a
mindless way for us to spend our
Saturday afternoons and occasional
weeknights." I say that it is only
mindless if you don't bring a mind to
it It truly takes an exposed mind to
see beauty in a well executed play,
just as one sees beauty in Rodin, or
Michaelangelo. It takes an open mind
to truly appreciate the ability it takes
for Trevor Cobb to find a hole amidst
a wall of 250-pound defenders, or to
see the grace, coordination, and ma-
turity involved when Adam Feakes
takes one to the hoop.
We, as members of the Rice
community, have the autonomy to
close our mind to this aesthetic, or
ignore it in pursuit of other prefer-
ences, but that doesn't mean we
should cut it off, any more than we
should cut off the Shepherd school.
("They just sorta sit down at a piano
and play, right?" or "Jeez, why do ya
need to study how to sing? You just
sort of do it"0
If there is anything "anti-intellec-
tual" aboutathletics toward academia,
I believe that there is more than a fair
preponderance of arrogance and
"anti-athlete" attitudes within the
academic community. Just as aca-
demics are offended (as they ought
to be) about being characterized as
"eggheads," athletes are just as of-
fended about being characterized as
"dumb jocks."
Do other members of the Rice
community not directly connected
with athletics have any conception of
what goes into creating a successful
football or basketball team? Is it gen-
erally assumed that players just sort
of do what comes naturally without
preparation, film viewing, play action
strategy, playbook memorizing, and
development of fundamentals?
Sports, in the twentieth century,
has become a science: it is a pursuit
of truth and ability. It cannot be spit
upon without condemning any and
all pursuits of excellence, as policy.
Whether individuals choose to rec-
ognize it, as I have said, is their own
prerogative.
So why not the Houston Oilers
instead of the Rice Owls? Because,
just as we are not expected to know
where we want to go with our lives
and our pursuits, we cannot expect
the same from our scholarship ath-
letes. They are students, seeking
excellence, just like you and me. Di-
vision I athletics is the very best that
collegiate athletics offers, thus if we
are truly committed to a goal of arete,
we owe it to our athletes to stay there
and try and achieve the best
Imagine the suggestion of switch-
ing our academic pursuits toward
"Division II intellectualism." Outrage
and indignation would result I came
to Rice with the expectation that I
could broaden my horizons, and
pursue a field of study that was more
diverse than my "science & tech"
high school provided me.
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Why should we assume scholar-
ship athletes are any different? We
shouldn't They are bright and curi-
ous, and they are willing to lend just
as much insight into the academic
matters at hand as their non-athlete
student counterparts. I would ask
that students and professors alike
not give in to a stereotype that ath-
letes here at Rice are trying very hard
to fight Until you meet up with "aca-
demic discrimination" face to face
Sports are only
mindless if you
don't bring a
mind to them.
from an athlete, give him or her the
benefit of the doubt It seems to me
that most students and faculty do
this anyway, but recent events com-
pel me to request it of everyone.
I do not consider myself an apolo-
gist for the athletic department, nor
do I deny the problems that are pres-
ently facing them are serious and
require attention. But to punish an
entire section of the Rice community
for doing what they are supposed to
be doing, pursuing excellence, is
preposterous and counterproduc-
tive.
Replacing the
Owls with the
Oilers would not
serve the
purposes of the
university at all.
For me, athletics at Rice have been
neither "mindless" nor "anti-intellec-
tual;" rather, the opportunity to see
the hard work and talent that these
athletes display is a form of aesthetic
appreciation CWow! Did you see that
catch?!"), albeit one we might not be
able to name as such.
"Please, if your experience with
athletics here at Rice is not a fruitful
or enjoyable one, understand that
that is not the case with the many
students who frequent the home
games to support the team and really
appreciate what athletics is all about
If you've never been to a game, I
encourage you to go, at least once,
with someone who knows the game.
Even if you never go again, you'll
know what I'm talking about
Ben Hippen is a freshman at Wiess
College.
Food drive
shows
graduate
student
generosity
To the editors,
I would like to thank all the people
of the Rice community who helped
make this year's GSA Food Drive for
the Houston Food Bank a great suc-
cess. Due to the generosity of all
involved, we were able to collect 765
pounds of food for Houston's needy.
Although this is an impressive
amount I think all involved would
agree that next year we should be
able to collect at least 1000 pounds.
I would also like to thank these
people specifically: Sue Minkoff,
Dusty Capistran, and Caroline
Levander.
Joseph Elias
GSA Vice President
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Zitterkopf, Ann & Howe, Harlan. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 17, 1992, newspaper, January 17, 1992; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245801/m1/4/?rotate=180: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.