Just as other University students, varsity athletes at Princeton are above all else jugglers: of classes, practices and social lives. Though stereotypes of athletes — as self-segregating or as "dumb jocks" — are as old as the games in which they excel, student-athletes continue to rise above the preconceptions of others, according to students and professors interviewed this week.
Although student-athletes here said they occasionally feel judged by their nonathletic peers, they said that athlete alienation is rare.
"I think some students don't believe that we really should be here," said Ricky Shultz '04, a lacrosse player. "There were kids at my high school who applied to Princeton who may have had better grades, better SAT scores but who didn't get in, and some people may think that they have more of a right to be here than I do."
In the classroom, though, Shultz said he hasn't noticed any prejudice against student-athletes, either from professors or peers.
"I certainly haven't been treated any differently by my professors or preceptors than any other student," he said. "They may inquire about how the game went this weekend, but I don't detect any sort of ill will toward an athlete."
Engineering professor Alain Kornhauser GS '71 said he has never witnessed a colleague mistreating athletes, and in his role as adviser and academic-athletic fellow — a faculty or staff member devoted to combining academics and athletics, who is affiliated with a particular team — he has not heard of athlete discrimination.
In the classroom
"I've never seen or thought they were alienated in any way," Kornhauser said.
He added that he considers athletes no different from students involved in other extracurriculars.
"In the student body, almost everyone is involved in something that requires them to trade off with regular academics," he said. "Personally, I'm willing to give them a little slack to do that because I think it's better to be a multidimensional person . . . it enriches the undergraduate experience."
Claire Miller '04, a field hockey player, agrees that student-athletes are no different from student-musicians or student-artists, and she said she likes that athletes are not given the special treatment non-Ivies offer their team members.
"I think it's nice here that you're just a student," she said. "Some people play the violin and some people go to practice . . . I really haven't seen any prejudice against athletes from professors or students."
Seven-week moratorium
The administration and its choice to support the Ivy League moratorium, Miller maintains, is where the matter becomes complicated.
In June, the eight Ivy presidents voted to require all varsity teams take seven weeks of the year in which team members have no contact with their coaches or required activities. Since the decision, the Varsity Student-Athlete Committee and the USG have begun protesting the decision as discrimination.
In a letter to The Daily Princetonian on Wednesday, President Tilghman described the administration's concern about student-athletes, saying that athletes at Ivy schools are different from other students in two ways.
"First, they spend approximately twice as much time on a single extracurricular activity as any other group," she wrote. "Second, student-athletes as a whole underperform academically, based on what would be expected given their academic qualifications upon matriculation."
Olivia Albrecht '05 of the women's soccer team said the moratorium "makes athletes feel like second-rate citizens."
She said she admitted that athletes as a group might underperform academically but suggested measures such as required study halls or more stringent admissions to solve the problem.
Shultz, though, said he wholeheartedly supports the new measure.
"During finals, it's tough to manage three or four hours of practice and then go write a JP, on top of other papers and exams," he said. "I've heard people make comparisons to the chess club, that the school isn't imposing any restrictions on them, but I don't see any connection."
Seven weeks is not an extreme number, he said.
"I don't really see it as discrimination or holding us back as a team, and I think the rest of my teammates see it the same way."
Room for a social life
Social life is yet another controversial topic, with stereotypes of self-segregation among athletes and exclusion of non-athletes. Teammates tend to stick together, especially in joining eating clubs.
However, athletes say the stereotype is not as prevalent as one might think. Becca Snyder '04, a member of the women's cross country team and the Cap and Gown Club, said it depends more on the person whether one buys into the stereotype.
"My best friends happen to be on the cross country team, so one could say that I am sticking with my teammates at meals or social events, but this is because they are truly my favorite people to be around, regardless of the fact that they run," she said.
On the 'Street,' certain clubs have reputations of athletic memberships. Cloister Inn is known to attract swimmers and crew members, while Cap and Gown is known for having a high number of athletes.
Many people, however, do not see it that way.
David Splithoff '04, a quarterback for the football team and a member of the Cottage Club disagreed with the stereotype of athletes' team affiliation determining their club affiliation as well.
"It's not a role at all," he said. "You go where you feel your closest friends are going. Whether they play the same sport as you doesn't really matter."
There is no denying that these stereotypes do exist. However, student-athletes certainly don't allow themselves to be constrained by it.
The renaissance wrestler
Milo Adams '04 doesn't seem to fit into any stereotype.
A member of the varsity wrestling team, Adams started every Ivy League match his sophomore season. He will be a major contributor to the team for the next two seasons.
One of the top high school wrestlers in Ohio during his junior and senior years, Adams was one of the top recruits for the Class of 2004.
Several other schools showed interest in Adams, but he chose Princeton because he wanted to focus on more than just wrestling.
Double majoring in civil engineering and architecture with a focus on structural engineering, most University students would expect that balancing his academics, his sport and his club would be hard enough.
But Adams participates in a lot more than just his work and sport.
For the third year in a row, Adams is Class of 2004 social chair, and he is also a member of the Disiac Dance Company. In addition to his organized activities, Adams has spent the past two years working on a screenplay.
"I have always believed the student-athlete to be a person of strong and diverse character. One who is always open to growth and concerned with making the most out of his Ivy experience here at Princeton," Adams said. "That is what these activities teach us. Whether a student learns this on the wrestling mat or while participating in a dance group is irrelevant."
In the end, it seems, there will always be stereotypes about athletes and questions about their place at the University, but individual student-athletes will continue to be some of the best jugglers of all.
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