The Athletes' Advisory Board voiced their disapproval of the new seven-week moratorium rule to the USG Senate last night. The rule prevents athletes from receiving coaching or practicing as a team for seven weeks of the year.
"Most of the athletes are pretty unhappy about it for obvious reasons," said Hannah England '04, a member of the crew team.
The moratorium was passed unanimously over the summer by the Ivy League Council of Presidents, and is being implemented across all of the Ivy League universities. The presidents initially wanted the moratorium to last 10 weeks, but after discussions with athletics officials it was shortened to seven weeks. The board said that President Tilghman is a strong supporter of the moratorium.
Students said the moratorium disrupts athletes' practice schedules, potentially reducing performance quality. The board also noted that it was particularly difficult for sports that practice year-round and required aerobic conditioning, such as crew, track and swimming.
"We want to be the best we can be at our sports," said Jason White '03, adding that he believed the moratorium would prevent athletes from achieving their goals.
The board also said the new rule discriminated unfairly against athletes and represented a critique of athletes' academic performance.
"We don't sacrifice academics for athletics," White said.
The board said the decision was in part a response to a study that showed that athletes spend significantly more time involved with their sports than other students spend in other extracurricular activities.
They added that it was also influenced by former University President Bowen GS '58's book, "The Game of Life," which cited the academic performance of college athletes as problematic.
The board said they did not believe Bowen's claims are true of Princeton students, and that athletes "come here to pursue excellence in all areas."
The board also said the moratorium "sets a scary precedent."
"If athletics comes first, what comes next?" White asked. He said that other student activities also require extensive time commitments, and he questioned whether the University might restrict musicians or artists as well as athletes.
The board members also said they doubted the moratorium would succeed in its aim of allowing athletes to participate more broadly in the University's intellectual life.
The board said seven weeks would not allow athletes to significantly increase participation in other campus activities. It added that the rule prevented athletes from getting extra, optional coaching that was already restricted.
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