Should college athletes get paid?

by Robert Dickey

Which is better: College sports or professional sports?  Professional football or college football?  The NBA playoffs or March Madness? These topics will forever be debated but there is still something different about college sports that athletes and some fans want to see changed. College athletes do not get paid.

The argument for athletes that play for a big name college is simple. Proponents of pay for college athletes argue that division one players that plan to play professionally deserve to get paid for their hard work and dedication. They further believe it is not fair that players whose names you never hear get paid just because they are on an NFL practice team while players who are preforming at the highest level of college don’t get anything. Niko Poulakidas, a junior at WMHS, believes that college athletes should have the right to get rewarded for their efforts.

 “They work just as hard as regular athletes so they should be able to get paid for that,” stated Poulakidas.
Matt Pollard a sophomore at WMHS, also thought that college athletes are worthy of getting paid.
“They’ve made it that far and they’re that good so they should be able to make money for it,” Pollard said.

Although many agree with Pollard and Poulakidas, there are some that felt that the way things are now are just fine. They argue that division one college athletes are being recruited and given full scholarships to huge schools where they are given massive exposure. For example, the average tuition to attend Duke University in 2014-15 was $61,793 meaning if an athlete got a full scholarship they would certainly be given tuition money because of their athletic ability. A player going to Duke gets more exposure and scholarship money for playing than a player going to a different division one school, since that Duke player would be put on TV.  
Owen Langone, a sophomore at WMHS, believes paying college athletes could cause problems of equity.

“I don’t think they should get paid because some are more famous than others because it wouldn’t be fair,” stated Langone.
Whether the athletes will ever get paid or not is something only time will tell. Yet for now college athletes stay without extra money in their pockets for their talents.

Fall Drug Seminar for athletes

by Olivia Carbone
Last Tuesday, September 15,  at seven o’clock at night, the auditorium was filled with all of Woburn High’s fall season athletes, along with one parent or guardian. Parents and students both sat all too close to a touchy subject.

It was yet another substance abuse seminar that we all, as students, never mind athletes, have had to attend many times over the years. Many at these seminars tend to get emotional, while others have phase out every somber story to stay unaffected.

However, this seminar was strictly on opiates and how abuse and addiction to these drugs can enter into one’s life, and rather unexpectedly at that.

Junior Kyle Massey-Chortlon, a football player had mixed feelings about the seminar.

“It touched me a little bit because it was sad, but it didn’t affect me so much so that I will think back to the story when making future decisions,” stated Massey-Chortlon.

In the seminar Taunton parents Lori and Dave Gonsalves spoke of their son, Cory Palazzi, as he was before drugs had slithered their way into his life. And for some student athletes, the description of Cory must have sounded similar to the one their parents might use to describe them. 

Cory was a stellar athlete, with hopes, dreams, and unlike many players, a serious shot at participating in college athletics and possibly beyond. His parents described him as a smart student academically, and a social butterfly with his peers. To the Palazzi’s, it seemed they had nearly risen the perfect kid in their big Italian family. However, nobody is perfect, and we will all make mistakes at some point in life.

One can only hope the mistakes we make do not have the outcome that Cory’s decision to take drugs had for him. Cory’s parents were driving home the point that it just might be you.

Massey-Chortlon was skeptical.“ I felt a little offended actually, because I know myself and I know I would never get into drugs,” he said.

You might not mean to fall into it, as nobody ever means to become a drug addict. But as a human beings, and athletes, with a dedication to a team, students have to stay cautious, as do parents.

Senior soccer player Morgan Bishop found the seminar relevant.

“This one really hit home because I like that he came and talked to us himself, and made us realize that yes, we might live, but there can be some serious effects to our lives and health…Also, they did a good job talking to our parents. Some parents are far too naïve and think their kid is perfect,” said Bishop.

Bishop then furthered discussed if drug addiction is something to be ashamed of.

“ Yes, because you got yourself into that insanely low point of your life, and it’s certainly not something to be proud of,” Bishop explained.

One question that several athletes seemed to ponder, was why drugs and alcohol hold such a high prominence in the high school environment?

“I think because it makes people seem more experienced and rebellious, which somehow in our adolescent minds makes us feel that they are better than we are,” decided Bishop.

However, golf team freshman member Nick Heims claimed that they had actually seen the same presentation last year in middle school. So, the effect of the seminar on freshman athletes most likely wasn’t quite as great as it was for those who hadn’t yet heard Palazzi’s story.

All in all, it seemed the seminar at least got students thinking, and hopefully will make everyone more cautious of even their innocent decisions when it comes to medication. 

After all, as Palazzi taught us, a drug addiction could start with a prescription.

Earning success on and off the field

by Kelly Bishop

                       
Sports season: something many high school students wait all year for and hold dear to their hearts. Students wait all day to go to practice and to shed away the stress and hard work that comes with school, even if it is just for forty-five minutes. Some say that being on a high school sports team or cheering on one of your school’s teams is a part of the whole experience, but some find that extracurricular can take away from a student athlete’s time for academics. This is not the case.

In a recent study conducted by the University of Kansas, high school athletes perform better in school and are more likely to graduate above non-student athletes. Athletes showed higher rates of attendance, graduation and higher test scores.

Some schools also have policies that require students to participate in their classes, so students become more motivated to try in school just to be able to compete. Although this is not the case everywhere, student athletes learn more than just competition on the field, according to Angela Lumpkin, professor of health at KU.

“What we are saying is participation is important. Whether it’s learning time management or handling expectations from someone in their life like coaches, teammates or family members, athletes are learning discipline,” Lumpkin said.

Athletes learn discipline, teamwork and how to push themselves during practice, and in most cases, like that of junior Laura Flagg, doing sports in high school taught her how to keep up with her work.
“I think that in sports, you learn discipline, like how to push yourself when it gets tough, and you can use these lessons and apply them to your schoolwork. I feel like I’m more disciplined to do my work and get it done,” Flagg stated.

Although many students find athletics to be beneficial and worth the commitment, not every athlete has the same experience. Some athletes may find themselves focusing too much on their passions, rather than letting schoolwork be their top priority.

A study conducted by Dr. Gregory Wilson of the University of Evansville shows that students who participate in athletics have higher levels of stress than those who don’t. Wilson saw an increase in all areas of stress revolving around the student athlete and lack of sleep, handling the work load and balancing a social life on top of that added to this greatly.

“While many freshmen must learn to successfully navigate the increased academic and social demands associated with college success, the freshmen student-athlete has the additional stress of athletic responsibilities. Hence, the matriculating student-athlete faces additional and unique sources of stress not encountered by the student non-athlete,” explained Wilson.

Even though there may be some added stress that comes with being a student athlete, the benefits far outweigh the sacrifice. Students are given many healthy opportunities when involved in athletics, such as taking care of their bodies, making new friends and smashing through their set goals. A little bit of stress is worth the pride and joy sports bring to everybody in high school.

       
 Works Cited:

"Study Shows High School Athletes Perform Better in School, Persist to Graduation More than Non
athletes." Study Shows High School Athletes Perform Better in School, Persist to Graduation More than Non-athletes. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

 "Athletic Insight - Comparing Sources of Stress in College Student Athletes and Non-Athletes." Athletic Insight - Comparing Sources of Stress in College Student Athletes and Non-Athletes. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.