USG moves against sports moratorium

The USG approved a resolution last night calling for the repeal of the seven-week athletic moratorium, a new Ivy League regulation restricting athletes' team practice time and access to coaching for seven weeks of the year.

The resolution, written in conjunction with the Varsity Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, called the moratorium an "unfair restriction" and cited the lack of student input in its planning.

It said the moratorium "unfairly discriminates against a single portion of the student body: student-athletes."

Finally, the resolution added that the moratorium "sets a dangerous precedent that would be deemed unacceptable if applied to other distinct groups of students."

It voiced support for the value of athletics as a part of the University experience, and it called for the establishment of a committee to review the moratorium's effects.

The resolution also called for the repeal of the moratorium.

The resolution was written in response to a presentation by the Varsity Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the USG's Nov. 24 meeting, in which the committee expressed its disapproval of the moratorium and requested the USG's support in opposition.

Hannah England '04, a crew team member on the committee, said the group does not have concrete plans for the next steps they will take in their efforts against the moratorium. She said the committee will be working with the USG to decide what to do.

The committee submitted a letter to the University community stating its dissenting position to the moratorium which was approved by Ivy League presidents during the summer.

President Tilghman responded with a letter in The Daily Princetonian explaining her support for the moratorium.

Tilghman said the moratorium was an effort to preserve an academic experience for student-athletes that would be in line with the experience of other students.

She cited studies showing student-athletes' tendency to perform worse academically than their qualifications upon admission would indicate.

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Tilghman added that student-athletes spend a disproportionate amount of time pursuing one activity compared to other students.

The initial seven-week ruling has been reduced to 33 days for crew to accommodate its year-round conditioning demands.

The Ivy-wide moratorium has raised protest on other campuses. Harvard University student-athletes and the Yale University student government have opposed it, a USG officer said.

England said the committee members would discuss the issue further with President Tilghman and the administration at the Council of the Princeton University Community meeting. The CPUC, a group made up of students, administrators, faculty, alumni and staff, will discuss the seven-week moratorium at its meeting today.