Friday, October 3, 1997
Athletes often fail to graduate
GRADS: Pressure from games, turning pro add to fewer players
walking
By Traci Mack
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It’s the brass ring we all reach for during our years here on
this crazy carousel we know as UCLA. People have stolen, cheated
and plagiarized to get it. At a diverse school such as ours, it’s
the one objective we all share. It’s a diploma, and some of us have
a harder time earning one than others.
Those who seem to have the hardest time are student-athletes. In
fact, according to an annual study done this summer by the NCAA, of
all of the athletes that entered Division I schools in 1990, barely
a majority graduate. The numbers for our own school are no better –
only a 57 percent graduation rate, compared to the approximately 80
percent of non-athletes who graduate. Why do athletes graduate at
such low rates when they receive more assistance than the rest of
us? And what steps does the university take to ensure that
student-athletes get as fair a shot as the rest of us?
Among other things, athletes receive advisement on choosing a
major, course selection and degree progress. There are over 100
tutors to help them and a special freshman orientation at which
they are tested on their academic strengths and weaknesses, and
then individually tutored on the results. UCLA also was a pioneer
in implementing the Final Score program, which is designed to help
student-athletes get their diplomas.
Are all of these advantages unfair? Of course not, says one UCLA
alumna.
"I totally understand … They have practices, games and
everything. There’s a lot of pressure on them," says Elizabeth
Grove, a recent graduate in communication studies.
Any of us here have access to tutoring and advisement, but is
the aid we get different from athletes? Definitely, says Grove.
"One time, I lied and said I was an athlete to get into a
tutoring session. When I got there, all they did was pass out the
answers to the final, word for word," said Grove.
However, situations like this are not common, according to UCLA
compliance officer Rich Herzog.
"I’m not aware of anything like that going on. I don’t think
that’s a problem in tutoring," said Herzog.
One female athlete states that participating in a sport and
going to school concurrently is a major challenge. "You can’t take
more than three classes during the season," she said.
"We don’t get anything special, just tutoring, and everyone can
get that."
To be fair, the low numbers of graduates are partly due to the
fact that many athletes leave school early to join the professional
ranks. This is the main reason that the sport with the worst
graduation rates among males is men’s tennis. Many players, most
notably Bruin phenom Justin Gimelstob, leave school to compete at a
higher level. Among women, the worst graduation rates belong to
track and field. Again, some women leave to compete at an Olympic
level. However, this explanation does not account for the large
number of athletes who leave UCLA without a diploma in their
hands.
Whatever the reason, the fact remains that some Bruins leave
here without accomplishing their final goal. And when some people
speak of student-athletes, they tend to forget that the "student"
comes first.