OCR Text |
Show Student atheletes Rick Majerus weaves his way grades released for into trouble with fall 2007 semester pro-comme- BY TYLER ROBERTS Dixie Sun Staff Writer Dixie State College student athletes achieved a collective 2 73 GPA during the fall 2007 semester, improving from the spring 2007 semester The team with the lowest GPA was the men's golf team with a 2 09 The team with the highest GPA was a tie between the women's cross country and tennis teams at 3 41 The team that made the biggest improvement was the baseball team, jumping from a2 1 to a 2 89 GPA Members of the athletic department were satisfied with the results of the report "We are very pleased, and we are going to keep moving forward," Compliance Officer Mo Eckroth said According to the report on dmeathletics com, 19 of the student athletes received Exceptional Scholar awards because they had a 3 8 GPA Six of these students received a perfect 4 0 GPA last semester David Jennings (golf), Sam Ashman (football), Haley Schumers (softball), Jiajjjry 21st 'Birthday Jackie I (yesterday) v i Thanks Jor everything Jackie you are fantastic. I Love Jou. JarecC Amy Gleicher (softball), Malinda Manning Orgill (cross country) and Nicolas Orgill (baseball) Eckroth said the improve- ment was monumental, and the credit goes to the student athletes for their hard work and diligence The students are beginning to realize that if they are to be at DSC and they want sports to be a part of that experience, they need to be committed to a four-yea-r program and getting good grades She also credits the success to the coaches because they are recruiting athletes who want to be m class, study and work toward a four-yea-r degree The NCAA puts more emphasis on graduation than on grades, Eckroth said The minimum GPA to play as a freshman is a 8, but at DSC athletes have to have a 2 0 and be progressing m a four-yea-r degree after the fifth semester She also said the eventual goal of the athletic department is to get all the teams up to a 3 0 GPA The classes that have been the hardest for the athletes to pass are the time management or Internet classes, such as Lib 1010, Fitness Center and CIS 1200 Jon Judkins, the head coach of men's basketball team, said he is proud and happy about how his team 1 did. "I thought our kids focused really hard on school last semester," Judkins said "We spent a lot of time m study hall and doing a lot of different things The teachers were great to work with, and we appreciate all the faculty that put m tone and effort to help our athletes Starting next semester grades will have to be sent to the NCAA, Eckroth said Right now they are sent voluntarily They will also be able to start taking funds away from DSC if the graduation rate of student athletes is not up to par (MCT) - CHICAGO 1 nts don't care what Chuck Norris thinks about Mike Huckabee I probably care more about what Dick Cheney thinks about macrame than I care about what an action movie star has to say about a Republican presidential candidate If you plan on voting for Barack Obama because Oprah Winfrey suggests you should you have the depth of a puddle of water I don't care what Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins think about any presidential race, even if its the one for thePTA So why am I supposed to care what Rick Majerus has to say about abortion9 Because he's a college basketball coach9 well-know- n No In fact, if the St Louis University coach limited his statements to hoops and Italian food that would be just fine with me But there is something that happens to coaches that makes them believe the world wants to hear their opinions on anything from early 20th Century Irish literature to Norway's foreign policy The most extreme example of what can happen to a coach is Digger Phelps, who once fancied himself a budding statesman, if not a budding Kennedy He is now a college basketball analyst for ESPN, where he solves the complex social issues of the defense Majerus has stirred up a ruckus by publicly supporting abortion rights and stemcell research, two stands that go against the teaching of the Catholic Church. The school that employs him is Catholic, and the city's archbishop has called on the university to take 'appropriate action" against him Why should we care what a basketball coach has to say about abortion9 Or, more to the point, why would a bas- - Rick Majerus speaks during a news conference introducing him as the new basketball coach at Saint Louis University. Majerus' comments at a Hillary Clinton rally got him into trouble with the Catholic Church. ketball coach think we should9 my part to believe Majerus wouldnt sway some strongly Its to say, why should their thoughts carry Part of the problem is us m the media, the people who keep asking coaches and athletes what they think about, say, the subprime mortgage crisis, when all anybody cares about is what these jokers are going to do about the Patriots' passing game or the attack The Celtics' three-sta- r more we ask, the more the coaches and athletes become deluded The current mess started when a TV reporter asked Majerus for his views on abortion at a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton. Again Who cares9 It always has amazed me how effortlessly a coach can go from talking about the lack of scoring to, without missing a beat, the 11 cultural post-landscape And it always has amazed me how they act as if this were the most natural thing m the world - that of course people want to listen to their deepest thoughts This is not to say that they shouldn't have opinions or that they shouldn't speak out about something they feel Billikens fans weight9 I vail fight to the death for Majerus' right to offer his opinion I will be bored to death listening to it This is not what Majerus was hired for Reproductive rights are not his area of expertise I dont go to him for his views on stem-cel- l appreciate when ath letes speak up about socia. issues that have an impact on their sport Racial I injustice, for example, seems like a fair topic A black football coach frus trated by the lack of diver sity m coaching makes sense to me Majerus talk mg about abortion doesnt had seem to fit surv It bothers me that Michael Jordan hasn't spc dogs In ken out agamst the near shop slave labor Nike has used othe m Southeast Asia It both hare ers me that Tiger Woods ersc seems more preoccupied notl with his corporate spon least sors than with social mjus hope tices, given his huge plat notl form If that's inconsistent, so dog sum be it I take it on a case bt neve tl research any more than I would go to him for his views on rutabagas Just as this column isn't where you go to find out my views on abortion, the head coach s office at St Louis University is not where one generally goes to be educated about abortion When Kurt Warner used the Super Bowl several years back to espouse his religious beliefs, many of us rolled our eyes - not because of his views but because it didnt fit the situation When you think about it, it's incredibly presumptuous of a basketball coach to think that anyone would care what he has to say about anything other than basketball Then agam, perhaps it s incredibly naive on low-po- 9 case basis The St Louis Umversit basketball coach talking about abortion9 I would prefer to talk macrame with Dick Cheney (c) 2008, Distributed McClatchy-Tribun- Gr ofm ties eatu lead a so by 'hotd e Information Services ous not cho shoj gast presents Apartments i" VH iUi in i ed rrffiii1'3 a ti thre groc seru com ond, mat As Mar D Tanning Oed Ca Monthly DDQ's J Bo A. Pool V Vireless Internet 24 hour laundry Satellite TV "IO, n tIEV Hot tub n VIO V H V Semester parties Coming soon... Mew Clubhouse V ? M 111!! inj Kt K -- 7 ! S, VW , r-- T Tht D "ft Fill Located right across the street from LDS In ft? iulUlSJ VA,nv.t!bdosl3t3oKlI:3od;:g.cain LiiiJ 423 CouI'jCCOScl prh Fh?j 3 Dlie Si 0l'e Si ofDl OiXic s I. ( PHI 597 |