The secret cafeteria rumored to exist — buried within the corridors of the John Paul Jones Arena — does in fact exist, and every night student athletes flock to the dining hall for many of the same reasons other students attend O’ Hill or Newcomb: for food, great company and a bit of relaxation. Yet many ask the question: why do student athletes get their own cafeteria? Countless believe this unfairly shows preference to student athletes, but the cafeteria exists because not all the resources available to normal students are equally available to student athletes.
For years, student athletes have been students first and athletes second, but unfortunately this notion is quickly losing — or has already lost — its validity. Imagine the typical day for a student athlete. Mandatory practice schedules, typically ranging between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., force student athletes to cram their entire class schedules into very brief windows of time. In order to grab a quick lunch, and guarantee a punctual arrival to practice, student athletes must finish their last class around 2 p.m. every day. This is because in Division 1 athletics, the saying “if you’re not five minutes early, you’re ten minutes late,” translates into, “if you’re not 30 minutes early to practice, you’re late and running sprints.” By the time practice and lift ends, the clock reads 7 p.m., or sometimes even later. At this point, most student athletes without 8 p.m. discussion classes head over to the John Paul Jones Arena Dining Hall. As one student athlete points out, “JPJ [Dining Hall] is more convenient. It’s close by, and it gives us an opportunity to bond with teammates.” Simply put, John Paul Jones Arena Dining Hall offers a close, immediate and easily accessible source of food and energy for student-athletes.
On top of the plethora of inaccessible classes, student athletes also lack the ability to experience many of the same extracurricular activities that other students enjoy. Whether extracurricular activities include visiting a professor’s office hours, joining a club or even rushing a fraternity or sorority, student-athletes face an uphill battle to participate. In reference to office hours, just like so many classes, these often overlap with practice, mandatory weight-room exercises and required meetings. Participation in clubs incurs the same problem of overlap, but even if the hours don’t overlap, the added work often proves too much. Student athletes already struggling to complete their course load simply do not have extra time to complete extracurricular work.
Finally, Greek life — an aspect of social life that so many students here at the University eagerly delve into — proves difficult for many student athletes to participate in. Not only do many coaches vehemently disapprove of such participation, but even if the coach allows it, the commitment a fraternity or sorority is nearly impossible to balance when coupled with athletic activities.
In brief, I have only presented a few points that demonstrate student athletes’ inability to equally access the resources for students at the University. With more scrutiny, countless other examples surface (i.e. — student athletes missing class due to athletic participation must work twice as hard to catch up). However the presentation of these points is not meant to invoke pity or beg for added benefits in the classroom. Rather, these points serve to support the existence of the John Paul Jones Arena Dining Hall and demonstrate that just one benefit for student-athletes can be justified by the countless resources around Grounds that student-athletes will never have equal access to.
Nate Menninger is a Viewpoint Writer.
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