Opinion piece in The Daily

[JJJ]

This may not be a popular piece but I thought it should be shared. I, for one, wasn’t aware of tensions between athletes and non-athletes on campus. 

I’m so f***ing sick of this shit. That was my immediate reaction upon hearing that Stanford intends to bring back all student-athletes in the winter. Those of you who are not on campus may be unaware that tensions here have been high, but they are, and very much so. R&DE has made a number of highly unpopular decisions, including forcing almost every student currently in undergraduate housing to move to a new residence after winter break and removing ovens from undergraduate apartments in order to force them onto a wildly expensive and inadequate meal plan. Meanwhile, there are many students still stuck at home, with abusive parents, lack of internet and technology access, crowded houses and otherwise poor learning situations who would greatly benefit from coming back to campus. But Stanford is making that incredibly difficult.

Do athletes have to deal with any of this? Of course not. Athletes might as well be descended from Leland Stanford himself, for how well the University treats them.

https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/01/20...r-student/

[paloalto]

This is your standard student opinion piece.  It's based mainly on speculation and misinformation.
It's one student's opinion.  I wouldn't put too much stock in it unless it's backed up by a widely based poll.

[chrisk]

This is your standard student opinion piece.  It's based mainly on speculation and misinformation.
It's one student's opinion.  I wouldn't put too much stock in it unless it's backed up by a widely based poll.

Not all undergrads are stuck at home. Some have claimed hardship in order to live on campus and a number are renting off-campus.

However, it would not be surprising if a number of students are bothered by the preferential treatment given athletes.

[Jamesy]

Terrible article full of innuendo but no facts. She insinuates that the athletic department is buying the football players electric bikes, the players are getting illegitimate medical exemptions to live in Mirrelees, and that nine positive athlete COVID cases is a of immense proportions outbreak.

[Maple Leaf]

There was another female student who work to the daily back in the fall of 2020 complaining of special treatment afford to football players, wonder if it is the same person?

[Mick]

This may not be a popular piece but I thought it should be shared. I, for one, wasn’t aware of tensions between athletes and non-athletes on campus. 

I’m so f***ing sick of this shit. That was my immediate reaction upon hearing that Stanford intends to bring back all student-athletes in the winter. Those of you who are not on campus may be unaware that tensions here have been high, but they are, and very much so. R&DE has made a number of highly unpopular decisions, including forcing almost every student currently in undergraduate housing to move to a new residence after winter break and removing ovens from undergraduate apartments in order to force them onto a wildly expensive and inadequate meal plan. Meanwhile, there are many students still stuck at home, with abusive parents, lack of internet and technology access, crowded houses and otherwise poor learning situations who would greatly benefit from coming back to campus. But Stanford is making that incredibly difficult.

Do athletes have to deal with any of this? Of course not. Athletes might as well be descended from Leland Stanford himself, for how well the University treats them.

https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/01/20...r-student/

Best quote is the opener: I’m so f***ing sick of this shit. 

Second best quote is: "Maybe I sound bitter."

Uh, yeah.  You do sound bitter.  As an FYI, student-athletes commit 40 hours per week to their sport, so yes, they get some accommodations from the university, including a training table diet designed to maximize their performance.  And what may seem like housing and class assignment accommodations are the result of shoehorning those 40 hour work weeks into available time and restrictions resulting from COVID-related mandates from the county.  It doesn't surprise me that an undergrad sounds like a spoiled brat, whining about what others have when she is a student at the most exclusive university with the second-best undergraduate experience in the USA.  If you're looking for sympathy, it's in the dictionary between sxxt and syphilis.

[JohnR34231]

I'm getting a little sick of this shit, too.
Non-athletes have been complaining about the preferential treatment of athletes for decades.
Perhaps the author could find something original to complain about.

[BostonCard]

I'm getting a little sick of this shit, too.
Non-athletes have been complaining about the preferential treatment of athletes for decades.
Perhaps the author could find something original to complain about.

Exactly.  And keep in mind that by "non-athletes" one really means "a minority of vocal non-athletes".  Stanford has historically been better than most at not separating student-athletes from students (no athlete-specific dorms, for example), but given the demands on athletes and the need to compete and be competitive, it is impossible to have a Div I athletics program that doesn't make allowances for the demands placed on the student-athletes.

The whole pandemic has been stressful on athletes and non-athletes alike.  It is no surprise that in some people it unmasks resentment.

Very broadly speaking, I would prefer a world in which the needle between student and athlete was tilted more towards the student side (i.e., fewer games, less of a practice burden, more integration into the overall student population).  For example, while I understand the need to let students enroll early given that athletes are increasingly demanding it, I wish that were not an option. 

BC

[Hulk01]

Anna Wilson sent a tweet, insisting that the Stanford Daily needed to be better than this--
at a great research institution, the writer needed to do more research.

The Daily has frustrated me regularly in its coverage of sports.
This might be the best example, but the competition for that is strong.

Our treatment of athletes seems not to preferential, but differential.

[CowboyIndian]

"abusive parents"?? Is that a big problem for undergrads?

[Phogge]

Only in Hollywood.

[BostonCard]

Tarpley...

BC

[CardinalSagehen]

Dalton Shultz needed no words. 

[Snorlax94]

Yes, this letter is flawed. It comes off as uninformed, a little entitled, lacking in perspective, and a bit irresponsible in its innuendo, but I am glad the Stanford Daily published it.

If student newspapers never published whiny, potentially uninformed letters by students, what would they publish? I thought Paulsen Adebo tweeted some potentially harmful misinformation in his Twitter feed. But I thought, he's a student. He has his views even if I disagree with them. And since my college days, I've regretted some of the things I did. I expect college students will often lack experience in their viewpoints, and some will say things they may want to take back, or at least re-phrase, another day. They're students.

Plus, we're in the midst of a very painful pandemic. Everyone has lost something very special to them. Everyone misses special, communal experiences they wish they could be attending. There's a little bit of a meltdown in that letter, and I think that's OK. It probably represents a great deal of pain and frustration felt by many members of the Stanford community.

Let students express their concerns and perspectives. Let the Athletic Department, the university, athletes, whoever, respond and give their perspectives. Let the process work itself out. It's a university.

[Believer]

Yes, this letter is flawed. It comes off as uninformed, a little entitled, lacking in perspective, and a bit irresponsible in its innuendo, but I am glad the Stanford Daily published it.

If student newspapers never published whiny, potentially uninformed letters by students, what would they publish? I thought Paulsen Adebo tweeted some potentially harmful misinformation in his Twitter feed. But I thought, he's a student. He has his views even if I disagree with them. And since my college days, I've regretted some of the things I did. I expect college students will often lack experience in their viewpoints, and some will say things they may want to take back, or at least re-phrase, another day. They're students.

Plus, we're in the midst of a very painful pandemic. Everyone has lost something very special to them. Everyone misses special, communal experiences they wish they could be attending. There's a little bit of a meltdown in that letter, and I think that's OK. It probably represents a great deal of pain and frustration felt by many members of the Stanford community.

Let students express their concerns and perspectives. Let the Athletic Department, the university, athletes, whoever, respond and give their perspectives. Let the process work itself out. It's a university.

I cant come on a public forum like this or something as basic as social media and use ***** shit language, why should a student be published in an editorial that directly represents Stanford University? I would tend to agree that the Daily was wrong to let this be represented in their name. Let her go on Twitter so she only represents herself.

[JustAnotherFan]

At the beginning of the second to last paragraph she said, "I’m not “anti-athlete.”"

Well to be honest, I’m so f***ing sick of this shit. If you have a position, don't moderate it.

[Snorlax94]

I cant come on a public forum like this or something as basic as social media and use ***** shit language, why should a student be published in an editorial that directly represents Stanford University? I would tend to agree that the Daily was wrong to let this be represented in their name. Let her go on Twitter so she only represents herself.

It wasn’t an editorial, it wasn’t a letter from the president. It was on the Opinions page of the student newspaper. Letters from students in a student newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, the faculty or the AD. 

It is the opinion of a student expressing some concerns and frustration. That’s part of what student newspapers do. 

I expect the AD will respond, and they should. The university absolutely should explain why some students will be permitted back on campus, but most will not. I think they have a good explanation that is consistent with their mission and values. So let them give it.

The university (not the AD) also totally messed up how they are handling winter quarter and the timing of that announcement really screwed many students, which I imagine is contributing to the frustration.

[BostonCard]

I cant come on a public forum like this or something as basic as social media and use ***** shit language

LOL.  You used the exact same language the author did on this forum.  Other than putting an "f" in front of her censored word, you reproduced it exactly.  Had you used social media (facebook, twitter), you wouldn't even have had to use the "*", so long as it wasn't part of an ad.

BC

[Believer]

I cant come on a public forum like this or something as basic as social media and use ***** shit language

LOL.  You used the exact same language the author did on this forum.  Other than putting an "f" in front of her censored word, you reproduced it exactly.  Had you used social media (facebook, twitter), you wouldn't even have had to use the "*", so long as it wasn't part of an ad.

BC

c 

eh, it was out of irritation and in order to make a point. I actually typed it out the F word but I guess the program automatically edited it

[Mick]

"abusive parents"?? Is that a big problem for undergrads?

If you think of the many helicopter/Tiger parents and what they did to ensure their kids were admitted to Stanford, then yes, that's probably true.

---

At the beginning of the second to last paragraph she said, "I’m not “anti-athlete.”"

Madame, you are anti-athlete.  Please be so good as to admit it...