BY: KAITLIN VITEK
I am a
student-athlete at the prestigious University of Oregon, which means I am also
granted access to the awe-inspiring John E. Jaqua Academic Center for
Student-Athletes. Let me tell you about my first experience at this amazing
building: despite all the verbal warning and signs even, I'm walking around,
attempting to find my Academic Advisor's office. I'm actually in jeans this day
(which is a big deal for me) with some makeup on, thinking I'm just too cool
and chatting with a friend who's walking behind me when suddenly - SMACK - I've
walked right into one of those top of the line, solid glass doors. Besides the
serious ego damage, I was sporting a nice red mark on my forehead for a while
after. So be warned - watch out for mysteriously appearing doors!
But before I bring
up anything else that might embarrass me, the first thing I want to say on
behalf of all student-athletes here on campus is a very large thank you to
donators: Phil and Penny Knight, Joey Harrington and his wife Emily, and any
other person and committee that helped make this building a reality. Without
your constant support our Athletic Department would not be where it is today. Again,
thank you!
Now, with the building
of the Jaqua Center has also come controversy. Sadly, I've seen many of those
who do not support this new building turn to personal attacks and stereotyping
as a means to express their opinions. Here's a little information about my
life, which I hope will help break apart some of those stereotypes. First and
foremost, I am not strutting around this campus with free tuition - I have had
to search for money in the form of scholarships just like most students here on
campus. Second, I am here to receive an excellent education. I am pursuing a
Bachelor of Arts in a double major of Human Physiology and Psychology, with a
minor in Chemistry. Every term I must take at least fifteen credits in order to
be eligible for the Dean's List (which I have now been on for two terms) and
maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to keep my Dean's Scholarship. This week I start
studying for MCATs, which I will take this summer when I am also applying for
Medical School and taking summer school. So, clearly, I am here solely for my
education, as are my fellow student-athletes. On top of this workload, I am also
a member of the softball team here at the university. When I'm not waking up
for 6:00 in the morning for strength and conditioning workouts, I'm staying up
late trying to finish homework after around four hours of practice a day. Starting
next week, I will only be in the state of Oregon for at most three school days
a week because my team travels every weekend to compete. This is the sport I
love and that's why I continue to enjoy every game and every sleepless night
that comes with the commitment. But having the new Jaqua Center and a place to
work makes having to study for that midterm I think I'm going to fail that much
easier.
Now, I'm sure
everyone has memorized the facts of this new extravagant building: three stories,
40,000 square feet, 35 tutor rooms, computer labs with over 50 computers, three
classrooms and countless other amazing features. Encased completely in glass,
this building was meant to emphasize the natural assets of Eugene - water,
rain, and fertile land. Inside, names of past student-athletes who have
succeeded in academics as well as athletics are engraved and painted on the
walls, floors and even mirror. As Steve Stolp said, "It shows great homage to
the past and those who were successful." Before beginning the process,
designers travelled the country looking at other universities' campuses and
drew inspiration from places such as Yale, Tennessee, Michigan, Michigan State,
Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and many more. While the Jaqua building took ideas of
various features from these other buildings, our center by far outshines all
the rest, which is an excellent representation of how much this university has
been able to achieve.
One main feature
of this new building that I would like to point out is that the first floor is
open to the entire student body and faculty of the University of Oregon, as
well as the general public. The first floor includes a state-of-the-art
classroom that holds well over 100 people, three study rooms that are exact
replicas of those upstairs, and Camp 13 Beanery, a café that offers discounts
for all students. By incorporating the general student body into a building
that was designed for student-athletes, the Athletic Department had hoped to
create a bridge between the student-athletes and other students. However,
lately it seems to have created much more of a barrier than a bridge.
Briefly, I want to compare the Jaqua
center to the old building that attempted to provide the same services for the
Services for Student-Athletes. It was one-story, 8,000 square feet, included
five tutor rooms, computers that hardly worked, no bathrooms in the building,
and most importantly, no general
students were allowed entrance. So, it seems to me the Jaqua center is an
amazing upgrade while increasing available resources for everyone here at the
University of Oregon.
I feel that my
next point has been brought up before, but to reiterate, the NCAA mandates
these support services for student-athletes. According to legislation,
"adequate academic support services [must be] available for student-athletes"
and with the unique demands on student-athletes, a separate education support
system must exist. So again, this
building was designed for academic
purposes, not simply another "fun house" as I have heard the Jaqua center described.
The point of the Jaqua center was to create a place where student-athletes can
go to sit with a tutor and truly work on things that we need help with in order
to be successful in the classroom. The old building was crowded and
unbelievably loud with very poor resources.
As a separate
note, the Jaqua Center was created to help meet the number one wish of Oregon's
coaches: a new learning facility so that student-athletes can succeed
academically. Now, I want to magnify that statement: coaches at the University
of Oregon chose an academic facility as their number one wish - not more money
for travel, or bonuses, or fancy offices, but a facility so their student-athletes could succeed in the
most important aspect of life: academics - not athletics, as many have assumed.
Yes, there are many other benefits
that come with this new building, such as using it as an excellent recruiting
tool. However, it is not designed to recruit the athlete, but rather to recruit
the student this university is looking for. The Jaqua Center represents the
commitment the Athletic Department has to academics and the importance they
place on scholastic achievement as well. One could even speculate that this
facility and its ability to bring in highly sought-after recruits could
potentially bring in more money for the university in years to come. This brings
me to the next big issue I've heard surrounding the Jaqua Center: money.
Everything
eventually comes down to the money, as is the case with the Jaqua Center. I've
heard various statements such as the building is a "misappropriation of
resources." As a rebuttal, I would like to point out that the Athletic
Department is, has been, and plans to be financially independent from the rest
of university, which very few schools can claim. This fact is especially
helpful when the state only provides 14% of the university's revenue (as of
2003-4), which is less than half of what the state funded in 2001-2. Knowing
that information, I must come back to this point: the money for the Jaqua
Center was generated completely by donors - none of the money came from the
state or university's general fund monies. So again, I want to thank donors such as Phil Knight and
Joey Harrington for this amazing building and everything they have done
throughout the entire University of Oregon's campus.
The next point I
want to establish concerning money and funding is that the private gifts given
to the University, such as the money Phil Knight donates yearly, can go to any
number of things, including new facilities. Donors also have the right to
specify where their gift goes, like Phil Knight did when he donated to building
the Jaqua Center. On that note, would it be fair
to tell Phil Knight, one of the school's largest donors to both the general
university as well as the Athletic Department, that he cannot chose what his
money is spent on because some believe that athletics already have too much? In
doing so, you would also risk the chance of losing him as a donor completely.
Just in order to
keep perspective, the Jaqua Center is only one of many recent editions to
campus that were funded mostly, if not completely, by donors. The HEDCO
Education building, the Lillis building for the college of business, and the
Lokey Labs are just a few examples of new facilities. Another point to make is
that by moving the Services for Student-Athletes from McArthur Court to this
new building, space has opened up for repurposing once the new Matt Arena open
- a project that will most likely benefit the entire student body and be funded
by donors such as Phil Knight (provided we haven't scared him away).
Throughout this
article I have made many arguments in support of the new John E. Jaqua Academic
Center for Student-Athletes and these points have also been made by
Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, whose goals include the following:
"represent the academic standards of the university as embodied in the
University of Oregon Mission Statement in all decisions" (including the decision
to build the Jaqua Center) and to "promote greater understanding, for the
university community, of intercollegiate athletics and the relationship between
academics and athletics."
In closing, I want
to say that my goal by writing this is simply to continue to promote a greater
understanding, which to me exemplifies the goal of a respectable education. A
mirrored surface at the entrance of the Jaqua Center reads, "This building in
not hallowed ground. It is a challenge." It is a challenge for the
student-athletes to continue to succeed in the classroom and represent the
University of Oregon as best they can, on and off the field. But, I also
believe it is a challenge for the entire University - it is a constant
challenge for its student and faculty to grow and learn each day, if not simply
in an attempt to promote a greater understanding.
