Entering the Conversation

As you respond to each of the following prompts, support your argument with references to at least three of the sources in this Conversation on paying college athletes. For help using sources, see Chapter 4.

  1. Write an essay explaining why college athletes should or should not be paid. Be sure to consider athletes who participate in sports that are not revenue producing.

    Question

    WvD/qlpt4lzzWb4zUwGWBQhKPjtDvqj8sRamu7J1DAyqPwYZ7lQ7Wr5WbEA=
    Chapter 9 - Entering the Conversation: Write an essay explaining why college athletes should or should not be paid. Be sure to consider athletes who participate in sports that are not revenue producing.
  2. What is your solution? Write an essay in which you propose a system in which college athletes would be fairly compensated for the commitment they make to the athletic programs at their colleges and universities.

    Question

    WvD/qlpt4lzzWb4zUwGWBQhKPjtDvqj8sRamu7J1DAyqPwYZ7lQ7Wr5WbEA=
    Chapter 9 - Entering the Conversation: What is your solution? Write an essay in which you propose a system in which college athletes would be fairly compensated for the commitment they make to the athletic programs at their colleges and universities.
  3. Dr. Boyce Watkins, a blogger on Huffington Post, wrote:

    With March Madness upon us, perhaps it’s time to think about what it means to be an American. We should also reconsider what it means to be a college student. As it stands, the 700-plus men and women signed on to play in the largest post-season extravaganza in professional sports (wait, did I say “professional”?) are treated neither as Americans nor as college students. Instead, they are expected to exist in a peculiar socio-economic purgatory created by March Madness that we might call pseudo-amateurism.

    In pseudo-amateurism, you get to live the lifestyle of a professional: your schedule is rigorously controlled like an animal at the zoo. You are given massive amounts of media training so you can protect your brand in the public eye. You are expected to practice several times per day, and even on weekends. Oh, and that academic thing? You can do that too, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your full-time job.

    Write an essay in which you support, challenge, or qualify Watkins’s definition of “pseudo-amateurism.”

    Question

    WvD/qlpt4lzzWb4zUwGWBQhKPjtDvqj8sRamu7J1DAyqPwYZ7lQ7Wr5WbEA=
    Chapter 9 - Entering the Conversation: Dr. Boyce Watkins, a blogger on Huffington Post, wrote: With March Madness upon us, perhaps it’s time to think about what it means to be an American. We should also reconsider what it means to be a college student. As it stands, the 700-plus men and women signed on to play in the largest post-season extravaganza in professional sports (wait, did I say “professional”?) are treated neither as Americans nor as college students. Instead, they are expected to exist in a peculiar socio-economic purgatory created by March Madness that we might call pseudo-amateurism. In pseudo-amateurism, you get to live the lifestyle of a professional: your schedule is rigorously controlled like an animal at the zoo. You are given massive amounts of media training so you can protect your brand in the public eye. You are expected to practice several times per day, and even on weekends. Oh, and that academic thing? You can do that too, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your full-time job. Write an essay in which you support, challenge, or qualify Watkins’s definition of “pseudo-amateurism.”
  4. In a scene from the cartoon South Park, called “Stu-dent ATH-O-LEETS,” Eric T. Cartman is a representative of a “prestigious institution.” He asks a university president how he gets away with not paying his “slaves.” Watch the clip online, and write an essay in which you imagine a roundtable discussion of it with the authors of the texts in this Conversation.

    Question

    WvD/qlpt4lzzWb4zUwGWBQhKPjtDvqj8sRamu7J1DAyqPwYZ7lQ7Wr5WbEA=
    Chapter 9 - Entering the Conversation: In a scene from the cartoon South Park, called “Stu-dent ATH-O-LEETS,” Eric T. Cartman is a representative of a “prestigious institution.” He asks a university president how he gets away with not paying his “slaves.” Watch the clip online, and write an essay in which you imagine a roundtable discussion of it with the authors of the texts in this Conversation.