Some answers...

To answer Sarah's questions, I think that a general perspective of student-athletes is that they take cake classes and expect things to be spoon-fed to them. Even though many people know athletes who are exceptions, the stereotype outweighs the experiences. This summer, I took a class and was not very happy when I was paired with a football player for a project. I expected a lack of commitment and drive from him. But I was surprised when he showed up to our meetings and had actually been thinking about our project and had some good ideas. Still going in to the tutoring I expected the students to want us to carry them through their assignments.

The stereotypical image does provoke anger and jealousy by some but I think it rarely makes non-athlete students feel pity. Even though most of us have taken some CES or Women's Studies class or a similar one teaching us not to buy into stereotypes about gender, race, etc. and too stand up for those who are oppressed we rarely think twice about other kinds of social groupings and the stigmas they carry. It is important to remember that most groups have some stereotype of being ignorant or uneducated, think white trash, lazy immigrants, and the whole frat boy/sorostitute stereotypes. Even as an English major I'm criticized for my major not being a real major and praised for choosing a major that requires so much reading and papers because of how hard it all is. But to reduce everyone within a social group to one quality is dangerous. Sure some may fall into that category but most probably don't.

To address Katie's feelings/questions, people don't realize how much support they can get on campus. Even though most students have heard about the writing center there are other tutoring programs in different majors and places that students can go for help related to specific courses. The culturally based centers were also referenced. Each of these centers set up incoming Freshman with mentors to help them during the year and have tutors in their centers to help with courses. There is also free printing and open computer use in the centers. Aside from the mentors, these resources are open to all students but most people do not feel comfortable in the centers unless they belong to the particular ethnic groups of the centers. SSS also provides special workshops for students and free textbooks. Though student-athletes do have their gyms, dining center, etc. most RSO affiliations have bonuses to help their members succeed in college. But everyone goes to places they feel most comfortable. Most people who consider themselves to be Chicano/Latino, AAPI, Native American, or African American stick "their" center in a similar way, student-athletes stick to their tutoring program. Why do we use the AML, as English majors, instead of going to the library? I'm sure they want to go to a place set-up specifically for them to succeed taking their culture (student-athlete) into consideration.

We all agree that student-athletes have a lot of responsibilities to juggle. So maybe the administration thinks that this sort of support system for athletes helps them force themselves to sit down and study. Just as students find refuge in the quiet of Holland Library during finals week as a place to concentrate on studying without other distractions, student-athletes have a place they can do this surrounded by other people who can relate to a chaotic schedule.

About Chuck's question, I do think most of the students will use our help. As Aaron mentioned, the two girls that came in together really needed help more with setting up their paper then actually writing it and we helped them understand what there thesis should do and where it should be in the paper. Both girls had plenty of information and knew what they wanted to include before they came in and since they noted our layout suggestions, I think they'll use it. Mackenzie seemed to help her partner find many outside resources and I can't imagine all that work going to waste.

As for my own question, I am curious to know what everyone else thinks about lumping together all student-athletes. Do most of these stereotypes come from a few sports in particular? It seems like we usually think of football, basketball, track, and sometimes baseball when thinking about student-athletes. Do athlets of tennis, swimming, and other less publicized sports really face the same kind of stereotypes as other sports? Some people also talked about diversity, for student-athletes of color, does the reputation of students being athletes outweigh ethnic stereotypes? Are they intertwined at all?