Letter: Athletics columnist is misguided

Dear Editor,

Like the majority of the student-athletes at this school, who make up about 15 percent of the student population, I was infuriated by the poorly researched column titled “What is the value of varsity sports?” (Feb. 12 issue) The writer even admits to not having done research, as he states, “as far as I know,” and follows an argument with “...which I doubt.” Someone who writes for the nationally ranked student run News-Letter should have at least an idea of the most basic journalism standards.

Zachary Sabin, the author of this piece, uses three arguments to make his point, none of which I can agree with. He says that students’ tuition funds “facilities that remain exclusive to this group of students.”  The athletic facilities are funded from private contributions led by the fund-raising organization Blue Jays Unlimited.

This argument insinuates that the school is short for money, but then Sabin starts his next paragraph by saying “To be honest, Hopkins does not suffer from a lack of money.” Having statements like these that contradict each other is just one of the many reasons this article should be discredited.

The facilities are not exclusively for student-athletes. It is a first-come-first-serve system that offers any student plenty of time slots to schedule an event, as long as it is done in advance — just like the varsity sports must do to ensure they can get their desired times.

Another poorly supported argument is that Hopkins lacks space on its campus.  Homewood Field has been in place since 1906 and the baseball field has been in its place since the 1950s, according to former coach Dennis Cox.  According a list on the Hopkins website, 31 buildings have been built on and around campus 1950.  This goes to show that the athletic facilities are not inhibiting the growth of this school in any way.

The last argument made is that varsity sports hold no value to the student body. Sabin makes these claims from the few athletic events that he has attended. These competitions are only as valuable as one wants them to be. Try attending a few games and get involved to show support to your classmates.

Next time you make an article this outrageous, get it posted in the April Fools edition.

Zach Robbins,

News-Letter Sports Editor