"There is no question that, in recent years, many athletes have felt stigmatized or marginalized on account of their participation in athletics," the report states.
The accusation of the report was highlighted by several prominent faculty members who had varied responses. "The question of hostility of faculty to athletes seems to me to be a red herring, a defensive response by our Trustees," said Professor of Political Science Thomas Dumm.
Other professors felt that there is some truth to the perception that student athletes are at a disadvantage when it comes to professors' impressions. "I believe the student reports that some faculty are 'anti-athlete' is unfortunately true. The extent of this problem is hard to gauge, although I hope such faculty are outliers," said Professor of Economics Geoffrey Woglom. "The idea that the anti-athlete faculty are outliers would suggest that this attitude is not representative of the majority of faculty members."
Some faculty suggest that personal student experiences may be the source of a perceived stigma. "When any student is pressed by faculty to commit himself or herself more fully to course work, especially when that student's grades in the course have been relatively poor, the reaction is likely to be highly defensive. The first rationalization that may come to mind for some poor students who happen to be athletes is that the professor thinks poorly of all athletes," said Dumm.
Jeff Ryan '03, captain of the football team, believes that certain professors have a reputation of having negative preconceived notions of athletes. "In my experience, however, I haven't run into many of those professors, but that's probably because I've avoided them," he said.
While some students may feel marginalized, others feel that being an athlete at the College has been a more positive experience than a negative one. "I don't feel that athletes are stigmatized in the classroom and in fact, if anything, athletics has personally taught me the poise and confidence I need to be successful academically," said Bradford Coffey '04, who is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for NESCAC.
In addition to explaining the findings on stigmatization, the committee's report makes several recommendations. It suggests a reexamination by all members of the faculty of the messages sent to student-athletes and encourages sensitivity towards all students needing academic assistance.
"The Committee strongly urges all members of the faculty to examine closely the messages that they may be communicating (whether deliberate or unintended) regarding the academic abilities and potential of Amherst's athletes," states the report.
Prominent in some faculty comments was the notion that a change, perhaps fundamental in nature, has taken place at the College. "My impression from almost 25 years of teaching at Amherst is that the academic abilities of my students are more diverse today than they were when I came," said Woglom. "The fact that the preparations and academic credentials of my students are more diverse, however, has had the effect of making my job of educating all of my students more difficult."
Dumm relayed a similar message. "Something changed in the '90s here, and has been thoroughly documented in various reports," he said.
Neither Dumm nor Woglom directly attributed such a change to athletic admissions standards or athletic participation.
Admission athletic quotas, stigma and demoralization may play a role in the relative academic performance of some students, but Dumm suggested there may be a larger issue that stems from the wide variety of often time-consuming activities in which students at the College participate.
"My concern now is about the attitude of some students, whether they be athletes or not. A former student of mine expressed [this concern]: that the student's primary reason for attending Amherst is not what goes on in the classroom, but something else, whether it be soccer, social life, the Young Democrats, whatever," said Dumm. "As a teacher, I'm here to teach, and I want students who are here to learn."