Finally, we can confidently say ‘Thank goodness we’re not like Duke University.’ At least for the moment, J.J. Reddick’s playground is at the center of a vicious rape scandal that only seems to get worse. The scandal that has rocked the nation for nearly two weeks involves an African-American mother of two who was hired as an exotic dancer at a party organized and attended by the nationally-ranked Duke lacrosse team. The woman has claimed that she was gang raped by three white men in a bathroom.

Police reports indicate that she was in fact subject to a violent sexual assault, yet no one from the lacrosse team has come forward to turn himself in. Instead the captains of the team have come out to say that this woman is lying and that no one did anything wrong. To show their team solidarity, team members have been seen wearing their lacrosse apparel and team uniforms to class.

Even the school’s hierarchy was reluctant to acknowledge the gravity of this situation. It took twelve days for the President of Duke to decide to suspend the squad’s season and this came after two lacrosse games had already been played. Had it not been for the fervent protesting by hundreds of Duke’s students and faculty, even a case as seemingly ominous as this one might have been stuffed under the rug and those involved might have been let off scot free.

Big-time sports schools, like Duke, are notorious for the privileged status that they afford to athletes. These privileges may include less extensive academic requirements, use of university cars, and even cash payments. While such “gifts” technically violate NCAA regulations, many schools find ways to get around these rules. There have been numerous reports over the years, for example, of athletic departments giving athletes under-the-table cash payments from the coffers of team booster groups. The University of Georgia took this practice of privileging athletes to a new level when its basketball coach, Jim Harrick, hired his son, the team’s assistant coach, to teach a class entitled “Coaching Principles and Strategies in Basketball.” His players were able to take the course and receive automatic A’s. There was no homework, attendance was not required and the final exam was far from demanding. It was comprised of questions along the lines of how many goals there were on a basketball court and identifying the color of the team’s home uniforms.

Many college athletes are also treated differently when they get themselves in a jam, especially in cases involving sexual assault. Colleges are run like any other business (all except Wash. U., of course) and negative publicity is never a good thing. Because of this fact, many colleges will deal with situations involving their student athletes behind closed doors.

It is no secret that big-time sports schools engage in such behaviors, but what about the situation here at Washington University? Do such problems exist here as well?

For the most part, the answer to this question is in the negative. For one to play sports at Washington University, one must love his or her sport and the competition it brings because the so-called privileges are few and far between. All athletes here have the same academic requirements as all other students and are subject to the same disciplinary rules as all other students. By most accounts, even the admissions office treats athletes and non-athletes as equals. Coaches aren’t given seats to fill with the students of their choosing and all athletes have to get into the school on the basis of the same academic criterion as all other students.

Some believe that, if anything, it is harder to be an athlete at Washington University than it is to be a regular student. Athletes have daily practices, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning. After all of these sports-related obligations, student-athletes still have all the work that comes with being a college student.

“There is only so much time that I have each day to do work,” said women’s basketball player and freshman Rovina Broomfield. “Three hours of every day is spent at practice. We get no special privileges because we are athletes. We have less time to do our work then regular students but are expected to do the same amount of work as everyone else.”

The reason for the difference between college athletes here and at other schools is primarily based on the fact that Washington University is not a Division I school. As a Division III school, it is not subject to the kind of press coverage faced by other schools.

“Athletes are treated like everyone else here,” said freshman Matt Brew. “They have the same workload yet less time to do it in.”

In a place like Duke, where the press coverage is crazy, the athletes are like the spokespeople of their university and the university feels the need to protect them to protect the image of their school.

“Not only do these [Division I] athletes represent the school, they also bring a lot of money into the school. College sports is a big money business and schools will do what is necessary to keep the revenues coming in,” said freshman basketball player Amen Holmen.

So long as Washington University remains a Division III school, then, it seems safe to say that the University will avoid many of the problems that inevitably occur when big-time money is mixed with big-time college athletics. Thank goodness we’re not Duke University.

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