Athletics

I want to go to a Yale where university policies are mindful of the unique needs and responsibilities of varsity athletes. Varsity athletes at Yale put an incredible amount of time and effort into their work--practicing, training, and representing Yale in competitions across the country. We should take more care to make sure Yale’s academic policies do not conflict with the demanding requirements of being a Division I athlete. While all students should clearly be held to the same academic standards, we should still review the administrative elements of the Yale academic experience - course timing, section scheduling, etc - to determine how we can make them more convenient for athletes.

Yale should:

• Create a new morning lecture slot, at 10:10, so athletes are not as restricted in their selection of large lecture courses in the afternoon.

• Include a feature on the course selection page for students who have unchangeable, previously scheduled athletic practices to signal that they absolutely cannot enroll in a particular section because of a mandatory commitment.

• Sell tickets for athletic events in multiple places, rather than just Payne Whitney Gym.

• Enhance the tracking mechanisms for attendance at sporting events, and increase the rewards that are provided to students with the highest attendance.

• Provide shuttles to hockey games, so that students are not disinclined to attend because of the cold.

What YCC can do:

• Collaborate with the Yale Student-Athlete College Council to identify academic policy changes, like class time distribution reform, that may not be as evidently necessary to non-athletes.

• Ensure that athletes (as well as members of different religious communities) serve on the Spring Fling Committee, so as to reduce the chance that the date of Spring Fling will inadvertently conflict with scheduled obligations.