Sport

This paper gives a detailed study of the problems faced by the student athlete and the dual role which these people are forced to fulfill. The paper describes the nature of the problem and underlines the need for avoiding conflicts with other non athlete students so as to avoid any misgivings between both the sides. There is certain gap that ought to be fulfilled otherwise the problem may assume gigantic proportions. The paper suggest that the athlete students and the non athlete students be equal recipients of the class lectures yet they also be segregated in order that the overall purpose of the college education is not hampered. The paper bases its suggestion on the discussion through the annotated bibliography and places before the readers the methodology adopted for proposed survey and collection of data.

    The single most important factor which all educational institutions stands for is to impart a comprehensive education for its students that would enable him or her to achieve the requirements of their future career. It is by and large obligatory for a civilized society to bring out the very best of its citizens by providing the means of a sound based learning process. Anything other than these would pave way for the gradual erosion of the education system of the country. Therefore, the stress for a good overall education and the resulting emphasis on the college curriculum should be the need for every person in the society. True, extracurricular activities and general health and fitness are very important factors too for the overall progress of the students, yet they shouldnt be carried out at the cost of education. In fact, they can be a contributor to the overall education of a student rather than act as if the very education system is virtually based and supported by these activities. This is more apparent with almost all colleges participating in one form or other in the intercollegiate sports in the US and the revenue from sports running into millions of dollars. Due to this reason college education have become a major topic of debate as the student athlete are made to work both for the curriculum and sports while on the other hand the non athlete students remain a mute spectator to the extra attention which the athlete students seem to be having. Again on the other hand, the athlete students have to be away for competitions and practices and may not be able to attend classes like the non athlete students. It is the athletic development that must be a pleasant by product of the educational process and surely not the other way round (Gerdy, 2002). Therefore, in order to impart the true value of college education for all students alike, the athlete and non athlete students must be segregated so that they both are equal recipient of class lectures and instructions within the stipulated period of time.

Background and Significance of the Problem
The problem has assumed importance with the huge money involved in sports activities and physical fitness activities has become something like the professional tournaments. This has made the college too a big beneficiary and it is quite pertinent to note that there are chances of over commercialization of sports in colleges with the result that the degree course or mainstream college education is relegated into the background. If one took a moments reflection then it would be revealed that the prominence of intercollegiate athletics in higher education is a big puzzle (Fizel and Fort, 2004). Hence, there should be some sort of apparatus that would make the education as the primary goal for the institution as well as the students. In this paper it is suggested that the problem can be best tackled if the athlete and non athlete students are made to perform their duties in their respective capacities by segregating them for classroom lectures.

           Segregation here is not to disassociate between the non athlete students and athlete students, but to separate the classes for each group according to their requirements and situation specific to them. This would normally entail the non athlete student to attend regular classes while the student athlete be given a different timing altogether and they may perhaps be asked to attend on holidays due to the nature of involvement at the intercollegiate tournaments and practices. The college would in this way greatly reduce the levels of absenteeism and sudden leave taken by the athlete students due to tournaments, practice sessions and sickness or injury caused during play. The present set up where both the athlete students and non athlete students sit together and listen to lectures is quite inappropriate as it greatly affects both the athlete and the non athlete students. The frequent interruptions of regular classes by the athlete students may not be quite acceptable to the non athlete students as there are reasons that this may affect them psychologically and that the institute favors the athletes more than the non athletes and that sports always has an edge over the curriculum. Besides, this image can even damage their future aspirations and career growth and they may feel that they have been discriminated against the athlete students for no fault of theirs. Academic fraud not only occurs when a student cheats on an exam or submits a plagiarized paper, but also occurs when the college or the institute permits athletes to be more than what the regular degree program offers (Porto, 2003). Thus, there is strong reason to believe that a serious problem exists if the athlete and non athlete students are not given their rightful place as regular students of the institute.

         It has been seen that there do exist a level of discrepancies when the athlete students are enrolled into the colleges. An associated Press Review of admission data submitted to the NCAA by 120 schools in college football shows that athlete students do enjoy strikingly better odds of having the admissions requirements and conditions bent on their behalf (Zagier, 2009). The problem is further compounded if the athlete thinks or tries to display his new found status openly in front of the non athlete students. This may become the causes of friction between the athlete and non athlete students in the college campus. The college administration is no doubt wary about it and this has been highlighted by author Smith when he states that an obvious tension existed between students love for athletic sports and the facultys concern for educational integrity for the former continually encroached upon the life of the institution (1990).

         The above argument requires that something immediate should be done to address the problem between athlete and non athlete students in order that the educational values are not lost in the society. Although there is very little literature to support the need for such a transformation this paper has indicated that the need is of utmost importance given to reason that US students would not only have to be active in sports, but compete with the rest of the world in brain power and intelligence. The college physical fitness is no doubt fine, but that can never replace the thinking and reasoning mind especially in the era of globalization and high technology. The problem if solved according to the suggestion of this paper then the faculty of the institution as well as both the athlete and non athlete students too would benefit immensely.

Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the study is to bring the nature of discrepancies that may appear between the athlete and non athlete students of an institution which if not rectified might prove to be stumbling block to the very idea of education in US. If this is allowed to go unchecked then it would prove to be the future causes of uncertainty and confusion in the system of learning as a potential for career advancement and future growth of the students. The athlete student should be made to understand that the segregation proposed in this study is mainly to make them aware of their own preoccupation and not due to any special image that they may inherit out of their being in the sports arena. The study thus lays special emphasis to the education at colleges and institutions and makes sports seen as a physical activity where long hours of special practices, coaching and tournaments are the reasons for the segregation. For one there would be no need for stressful existence on the part of the athlete and he or she may listen to those lectures fined tuned for them. The non athlete students too would be quite comfortable with the fact that they either concentrate in their curriculum or be like the athlete student who has been segregated due to harrowing hours at practices and extra physical workouts. This would look quite obvious and psychologically too the non athlete students would care less of what goes outside his class room. For the faculty there would be less reason for friction as far as the educational integrity of the college is concerned and keeping up with the necessity of sports which also contributes greatly to its image with the outside world and the revenue that comes through it. Further, there wouldnt be any reason for them to worry about stressing about the college curriculum and other disciplines required to both these groups of students.

Literature Review
Although there are no definite links to the proposal made in the paper about the way the college education should be imparted by keeping both the athlete and non athlete segregated in principle there is still evidence to prove that the problem is one worth pondering as the literature sources of academic scholars indicate. The paper thus puts forth a bibliographic study of the points and statements made by writers both in academic journals and books that suggests the need for looking deeply into the problem. The various impression gathered through different views of the authors indicate the justification of the problem with which the readers can form an unbiased opinion as to whether the hypothesis is right one or not.

Sharp A. Linda and Shelley K. Holly (2008). The Institutions Obligation to
          Athletes. (EJ 803589). N142. p103-113. New Directions for Higher Education.

Here the authors have suggested the obligation the academic institutions have to athletes yet have noted with great concern the growing commercialization of college sports and which has made it increasingly difficult for universities to bridge the gap between the college sports and the fundamental mission of higher education. This is quite in line with what has been stated in this research paper which is also one of the reasons why the segregation between the athlete and non athlete is good. The authors in their rightful capacity expressed the concern which is being echoed all around US that there is too much money for youth which may hamper with the basic idea of education.

Root C. Brian (2009). How the Promises of Riches in Collegiate Athletics lead
     To the Compromised Long Term Health of Student Athlete. Recruiting in
      College Sports. Health Matrix.

The author here in this journal article shows how the institutions are becoming more and more commercialized and the way it has indirectly affected the life on the campus and the health of the students. This is the same as what the previous article has said yet here the author also points out to the health of the student athlete. It poses a question before every citizen and students whether the idea about physical fitness has become something that really affects the health of the students then why should there be so much commercialization and so much sport at all. Shouldnt there be some sort of restriction or a dividing line between the sport for physical fitness and professionalism of sports The segregation suggested by the paper ensures that the student athlete should be able to understand this and note that the academic institution means business and that other non athlete student shouldnt be unduly tempted by money alone and that for their future the best course of action is to study.

Cristian Stan (2010). Advantages of a College Scholarship and the Reasons of
     Getting One. Reference and Education Community.

Here in this journal article the author writes about the Athletic Scholarship that is awarded to athletes who has displayed exceptional performance in sports. It is stated in the article that many students apply for these scholarship grant, because it doesnt require them to achieve high academic grades. From this we come to understand that the learning merits are less of a requirement in colleges than the sports. Undoubtedly, almost all colleges reap in huge amounts of money and needless to say the athlete students too get something out of it. But the question we ask here is whether the colleges in US have become a sort of factories without chimneys or whether there is need for segregating the serious students from the money making sports activity. If on the other hand the scholarship grants are taken in their right spirits and the student does not stoop to money alone then it is quite fine. But given the larger picture of colleges athletes attaining larger than life image it would seem that all play is better than a lot of study.

Potuto R. Josephine and OHanlon James (2007). National Study of Student
      Athletes Regarding their Experiences as College Students. (EJ816818). v 41
      n 4 p947-966. College Student Journal.

Here in this journal article the authors have referred to the student athlete responses during a National study of the student athletes and from evidence gathered have come to understand that by and large the students say that they have missed out some aspects of their college life due to the sports activities. However, they also love their sports activities which instill in them values which can help them in building their future goals and careers. Here, they mean that they miss out some of their curricular and co curricular life yet overall they are quite satisfied with their student life. This is quite positive and is obviously a good pointer to the positive sides of sports in colleges. Yet for our paper this reinstates the suggestion that segregation is all the more important for then only would the student athlete be able to experience both the curricular and co-curricular life of the academia to its fullest extent.

Coffey R. Suzanne (2009). Double-Teamed. (EJ851042). v 24 nl p14-15. New
       England Journal of Higher Education.

In this article the author has stated that there is a lot on the positive side for the student athlete. This means that the student athlete by being engaged in physical activities are more focused and are perceptive and have the capacity to work hard in spite of other distractions. This compares well when one looks at the non athlete students who are fare badly in comparison. This may be quite true for the student athlete and can serve as a model for the other non athlete if the college does care to prove and demonstrate the same with concrete suggestion. In that case there wouldnt be any need for any segregation as the paper has suggested yet it remains to be seen how much of stress and physical fatigue which the student athlete experience during their life in the campus. The urgent need is to put certain limitation on all out professionalism of sports and allow the students to take up class lectures a little more seriously.

Armstrong Shelley and Oomen-Early Jody (2009). Social Connectedness, Self-
    Esteem and Depression Symptomatology among Collegiate Athlete versus Non-
    Athlete. (EJ 830528), v57 n5 p521-526. Journal of American College Health.

This journal article refers to the facts based on research which clearly shows that the athlete students have significantly greater levels of self worth and social connectedness and also show lesser inclination for depression than non athlete. The authors have quite rightly stated so with the help of authenticated research and this shows that the student athlete gains better physical and mental health that should prove to a boon for them in the future. This is obviously the fact with physical education or what the physical workouts is meant to be, but this is not so with the excess workouts and practices that the young athletes are subjected to that may prove to be quite the reverse. With student athletes trying to do more than their bodies can take this may backfire and prove to be harmful for both mental and physical fitness. What the authors meant is that the non athlete should be encouraged to try out light physical workouts such that they too remain steady while facing the series of hurdles in the form of exams. In our research it has been stated that within a limit all physical activities are good, but there must be stop somewhere and beyond that things may not be good for the education of the students. The segregation is one way of reminding the students that learning is more a wholesome process and physical activities aids it.

Dotty P. Joseph and Lumpkin Angela (2010). Do Sports Build or Reveal Character
         An Exploratory Study at one Service Academy. Physical Educator.

In this journal article the author makes an in-depth study of the military, air force and naval academy service sector and where physical fitness is part and parcel of these men. Here sports are encouraged such that the character of the person is built into perfection. However, the author states that it not quite known whether sports build character as claimed at most competitive levels and the same is not universally accepted as a widely occurring phenomenon. On the contrary they say that sports at the service academy simply reveal the character of the participants. This point is quite noteworthy as there is a lot of hype going over the intercollegiate sports that it builds the character of the student athletes. There is a biased view taken in most colleges which tries to prove this point and thereby justifies the act of giving the college sports a place that even at times seems to surpass the education itself. The reverse has been proved to be true instead for there have been reports about drug abuse, juvenile crimes, hatred and revenge on the part of the student athletes in the college campus. This is quite unbecoming of a true student and it all the more justifies our research on segregating both the athlete and non athlete students such that the others are not unduly worried or influence by these bad habits that eventually hinders their academic life.

Howard-Hamilton F. Mary and Watt K. Sherry (2001). Student Services for
      Athletes. Who are Student Athletes 1, p7. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass
      Publishers.

In this academic book the editors have made known the fact that the student athlete faces all the challenges faced by the non athlete students. This includes social adjustments, career exploration, and intellectual growth, attending classes, going to the cafeteria and participating in the social events. However, the athlete student over and above this have also to attend sports related activities like daily practices, visiting athlete trainer, traveling to far off places for games and studying team plays. This shows that there is more responsibility on the side of the student athlete than non student athlete and obviously remains a debatable topic. This is also a contentious issue for many and even for students who may or may not like too much of tasks being put on ones shoulders. Yet in the concluding chapter the book also makes a rather candid comment on the way the college sees athletes as big money sports. This is a problem that we see being constantly echoed in these literatures yet with no offer of any concrete solutions. The paper has therefore made an attempt to place before the readers the urgent need for reform as far as the sports in colleges are concerned. It is on the part of the college administration to make the necessary provision with regard to segregation which can be viewed by the parents, guardians and public as to how the college is making use of its campus and whether the sports in only part of the colleges overall activities or simply being established as a money making business that eventually eclipses the very idea of serious education.

David Paulo (2004). Human Rights in Youth Sport. Introduction. 1. p3.
          New York. Routledge.

This book by the author discusses in detail about the whole aspect of juvenile sports for the past thirty years. The author details the increase in the youth sports all over the world and the way the juveniles are made to work and play hard enough in order to improve the image of the institution as well increasing the income received from them. This by itself shows the lack of a proper policy by which the youth in colleges are exploited to the utmost in the name of physical education or call it intercollegiate sports activities. According to the author the human rights issue should be raised in college campus in order to ascertain the degree of exploitation in the name of sports and offer unique guidance and responses to mitigate such problems. The author points out to the levels of abuse which the youth in sports has to experience for both females and males and they range from excess workouts, exhibiting high levels of professionalism, sexual abuse, punishments, cruelty by coaches and administrators and use of forces to deviate them from the curriculum. The book although puts forth that over commercialization in sports is seldom the answer for keeping the students physically fit, but they ought to be tamed such that the practices are not meant for money making, but for recreation, health and fun. This research paper at the very beginning has made this comment and the problem attains seriousness with the indifferent attitude of the authorities, politicians and the media in this particular area.

Christopher J. Jolly (2008). Raising the Question 9 Is the Student Athlete
           Population Unique And Why Should We Care (EJ781601). v 57 nl
            p 145-151. Communication Education.        

The author here in this journal article that there is hope to be found for good student athletes and who make it a point to specialize in their own particular field. This is more so when the related activity in which they tend to specialize is very much close to their heart and even remarkably near to their own sport activities. In such cases the student athletes usually make it a point to specialize or allow their career to take off in areas of communication related majors. As public performance in the prerequisite in this field the student athletes excel in this area where the non athlete students usually do not. The areas of studies include broadcasting, journalism, public relation and other related activities. This is a positive side of the student athletes development. Yet it remains to be seen as the author hasnt stated whether the athletes do well in other academic fields which would definitely mean that all play may not ruin a person. As this is not clear we can understand that the jobs which the athletes aim for is quite abundant in the world. However, this doesnt answer our query as to whether the purpose of the institution is to impart education properly or whether sports activities themselves can be fulfilling work life balance. In this case, the positive side of the student athlete is quite remarkable and they seem to be prepared to take up the challenges the new world possess. But the author fails to interpret whether the other types of jobs are quite difficult or not within the reach of the student athletes in which case the whole academia has to do some rethinking about the aspects of sports in the colleges.

Research Question
The initial research question that is to be raised in this study would be that which in turn produces the statement or the thesis. In other words the research question would be as hereunder
Is there a relationship between the segregation of athlete students and non athlete students during class room lectures and the proper functioning of the education system in colleges

Here, the independent variable is the segregation of the student while the dependent variable is the education in colleges.

The above question raises the possibility of intense argument for the introduction of segregation between the athlete and non athlete students for the progressive growth of education in colleges. The literature review to that extent has served quite well.

Methodology and Research Design
The proposed methodology for this research is both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The subject or the target population on whom the methodology would be applicable are the faculty members, instructors, administrators, and coaches from the secondary level to collegiate level of education pertaining to the area around Miami, Florida.

        For qualitative analysis the literature pertaining to the area around Miami, Florida and the names of the institution as well as the present and past status of these institutions with regard to sports would be carefully analyzed. There will be careful scrutiny of the data bases from the authenticated journals, books, websites and newspapers for forming a consensus of opinions on the field of research undertaken by this paper. The data that would be perceived and tested would be in the form of primary source as well as secondary source.

          The quantitative analysis for the survey that would be undertaken would be in the form of questionnaires distributed to fifty secondary schools to college in Miami, Florida. Apart from that the survey by questionnaire would be made through a website created for the purpose where the random opinions of the general public would be made to support the views made on the questionnaire. This would mean that in both the ways the research question Is there a relationship between the segregation of student athletes and non student athletes during class room lectures and the proper functioning of the education system and the subsequent thesis formed in the paper and that is in order to impart the true value of college education for all students alike, the athlete and non athlete students must be segregated so that they both are equal recipients of class lectures and instructions within the stipulated period of time would be clearly marked in the questionnaires. The number of questions that would be asked would be 25 and these are to be ticked as yes or no. The subjects could at the end of the questionnaire write down their own remarks about the area under study.

         The participating group on whom the questionnaire is being served would be 300 participants which would include 150 faculty members (100 males and 500 females), 75 instructors and coaches, 50 members of the minority ethnic groups and 25 parents and guardians. The website can serve to get some good sample answers from the general public or who is interested in answering the questionnaire as well serve as a retest for the sample questionnaires that would be served to the audience. The proposed time limit for the survey is two months which is quite sufficient for the purpose of this research paper. It is also assumed that the random selection of the audience would enable the researcher to get the same results if the entire population of US academia is surveyed in similar manner. There are obviously some limitations as the sample is not representative of the whole US academic population nor are the opinions the same geographically as sports may be important in some areas while it is lingering in the background in others. Again there may be biasness from certain areas and groups of academia that may prove quite a problem for the survey to be taken as perfect. Yet by and large this survey would be a general pointer to the state of believes and opinions of the audience.

Anticipated Outcomes
The research by and large offers enough scope for further study in this area as it is growing problem which the members of the society sooner or later would be aware of. The research again would enable other researches to develop their own grounds as far as the segregation of the student athletes and the non athletes is concerned and the faculty would be sure to follow suit given the urgent need for reform in this area. Further, the overall results of the sample tests and questionnaires conducted would yield enough information and data that would authenticate the area under study and attract the general attention of both the faculty members and the general public as to the nature of the problem.