Combating the Jock Stereotype

From division I down to division III, the negative stereotype that immaturely gets thrown in high school and carries over to college athletics is the word jock. According to dictionary.die.net, jock can be defined as "a person trained to compete in sports." So how did this term develop over time to become negative? Because of the importance extracurriculars serve to schools, athletes market the school they attend and become the face of it. Whatever they do on or off the field reflects what the school stands for. Therefore, athletes are more popular because they have a big responsibility on campus in comparison to the average student. Also, with the student- athlete hectic schedule, teachers are more understanding to extensions, late assignments, etc. because of the time spent on athletics serving the school. This is when the average student becomes enraged believing that athletes are lazy, are shown favoritism, and are stuck up. When really they are trying to earn the same education as any other student. This has become a on-going issue that had separated student bodies across the nation at colleges everywhere ranging from ivy league schools as Harvard or Princeton to your private colleges such as Elmhurst. From a student-athlete at Brown University, "I think there are mainly two groups on campus (concerning) the way athletes are perceived," she said. "There is a group that perceives us as jocks and that we don't belong here ... and that we don't do anything other than sports." Therefore, people who do feel this way can be persuaded that athletes are students too just trying to get a good education leading to earning a living. http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2005/02/16/Focus/StudentAthletes.Face.Stereotypes.In.And.Out.Of.Classroom-865849.shtml