With March Madness well underway, most of us have seen the student-athlete commercial about student-athletes performing better academically than those that are simply students. But is this true for ALL students and ALL student-athletes? Not exactly.

According to an exploratory study on www.AthleticInsight.com, student athletes at the college level face higher levels of stress than do their counter-parts. Student athletes reported having less time for sleep, heavier pressures and demands, little time for themselves and more relationship problems than regular students.

Meanwhile, students had higher stress levels when it came to making important life decisions, focusing on their education and social pressures. In the past, athletes had higher stress levels in terms of academic performance but current studies suggest that athletes fare just as well as students.

Cynthia Dallas, who states, “think we’re just a bunch of dumb jocks?” at the end of the commercial, is an advocate for student-athletes. Dallas, a former Divison-1 basketball player, claims, “A lot of people just assume I can’t string a coherent sentence together because I played sports, and they’re very wrong.”

But what is the direct correlation between being dumb and playing sports? While the NCAA claims it’s a stereotype of society, statistics speak otherwise. NCAA President, Mark Emmert states, “NCAA student-athletes, particularly African-American males, are graduating at a higher percentage than their counterparts in the general student body in almost every category,” and “In a 10-year time frame that begins after high school, nearly 90 percent of student-athletes graduate.”

However, research from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution has found that “college student-athletes actually have lower SAT scores than that of the general student body.” In fact, male athletes at the college level had on average, a score of 200 points lower on the SAT than male students, according to the New York Times.

While the NCAA boasts about higher graduation rates and doing better than non-athletes, a survey that they themselves conducted suggests differently. While the commercial claims that African-American males that are athletes have a higher chance of graduating college, the NCAA’s research contradicts that fact.

In 2011, the NCAA revealed male-students athletes (regardless of nationality) consider themselves athletes before students and spend more time on their athletic performance than their academic performance. Additionally, male college football player’s graduation rates across the nation are 16% below the general student population graduation rate while male college basketball players are 25% below.

Former NCAA President Myles Brand wanted to bring about change for student-athletes and their futures by mandating a reform for Division-1 schools by raising the bar for the eligibility to play. The Academic Progress Rate known as the APR requires that student-athletes must complete 40% of their degree by the end of their second year, 60% by the end of their third year and 80% by the end of their fourth year. The APR is measured on a scale of 1,000 and if a school falls below a 900, then there will be consequences from the NCAA.

Regardless of the commercial, or the contradicting statistics of the NCAA’s reports, those are not the facts we should be looking at. As they boast about African-American male athletes having a higher graduation rate than non-athletes, the bottom line is this; African-American males are more likely to go to prison than they are to go to college and in this country, “33% of black males between 18 and 24 get arrested” (www.best-basketball-tips.com).

So before one can become an NCAA student-athlete, these are the numbers that need overcoming with integrity, discipline and perseverance in order to give these students an opportunity for a promising future. Being a student-athlete is a privilege and with that privilege, being a student must ALWAYS comes first.

Image Courtesy of   Aspen Photo / Shutterstock.com

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There is more to being a presidential wife than what the media lets on. Newscasters and talk show hosts often highlight images of a smiling woman striding confidently on stage, or one who speaks with grace about her own sponsored initiatives.

However, in the midst of the First Lady’s daily life, these moments tend to become lost among the many instances when she sometimes struggles for her husband’s attention amongst the pressing needs of his staff members, or even the times when she feels trapped between having to impress both her husband and the individuals who admire her.

Feelings like these can wreak havoc on what can otherwise be a stable union between two individuals, and they tend to go unnoticed by most outsiders. However, Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter, sought to investigate what occurs behind the scenes of what appears to be a picturesque relationship between President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle.

Kantor, who had been covering the Obamas for five years, documented the experiences of her work in her book, “The Obamas” and discussed those results before an appreciative audience at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla., on February 14.

A recurring theme present during her address to the audience was how time in the White House fundamentally changed the dynamics of Barack and Michelle’s relationship. According to Kantor, obtaining the opportunity to live in the White House represented a shift for the couple as they went against the norm often in their actions.

“Entering the White House represented a radical transformation for the Obamas,” Kantor pointed out, “these two individuals were thrust into a world that was not natural to them.”

This transformation served as a focal point for Kantor’s analysis of the Obamas in the White House. In learning about this transformation for her book, she interviewed 33 aides and staff members. Throughout this process, she wanted to figure out the parts of their lives that remained theirs, and which parts would become absorbed through life in Washington, D.C.

“I really wanted to know how the Obamas coped, as well as the effect that all of this new power and influence had on them,” she explained to the audience. As she continued her research on the Obamas, Kantor made a singular realization about White House life. “I first recognized that there is a profound isolation that exists when you enter the White House,” she explained.

“It is very contradictory; you may be elected to lead the country, but you have to leave it behind as well.” She supported this point by mentioning that the president possesses a fake Blackberry for security reasons, as well as the challenges that her children faced when it came to trick or treating on Halloween night.

Kantor noted that this isolation makes it very difficult for the president to determine whom to trust. In many cases, people will refrain from telling him the truth for fear of offending him. One person who the president is always able to be honest with, Kantor noted, is his spouse. Expanding on this, Kantor mentioned that President Obama often shares information with his spouse, and that she has stood by him on key issues, particularly when it came to health care and immigration reform.

However, having a spouse with that much influence can be a challenge when it comes to personal dynamics; for instance, Kantor described the First Lady as “the keeper of the Obama mission” who enjoys significant influence in the president’s life, even though it may appear that she has to compete for his ear against his advisors.

These challenges are the most apparent when facing criticism from outside sources. Kantor noted that since most media outlets and individuals are already critical of President Obama’s actions, it becomes especially challenging when it’s time for the president’s spouse to weigh in. She then said that in these situations, it should be acceptable for the individual closest to the president to give their opinions on the situation at hand.

As the evening progressed, Kantor introduced her grandmother to the stage and took questions from the audience. Most of the queries centered on the impressions that she obtained through her time spent covering the Obamas in Washington.

In answering, she focused on the inherent challenges that presidents face when they first assume office, the difficulties associated with obtaining access to key political figures in Washington, and the fact that despite the media criticism she has received regarding the portrayals of the First Family, the book itself has been thoroughly fact-checked.

The event concluded with a standing ovation and Kantor taking the opportunity to sign books for eager audience members. While it is unknown what opinions these individuals will have once they read the book for themselves, it is hoped that the following quote stated by Kantor will prove helpful as they flip through its pages.

In reading my book, I hope that you end up asking yourself how you would handle the situations that the Obamas faced.

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The NY Times posted an article in February about a recent trend among college students: getting married to save money on college tuition. It has sparked a heated debate that is still continuing four months later on a number of web sites. The most common objections to this practice are the trampling of the sanctity of marriage, and the loss of ethics. Despite the public interest in debating this topic, it is difficult to find people who are willing to openly discuss their own “paper marriages”.

The people interviewed in the NY Times article refused to be named, and it is for more than simply legal reasons. This article focuses on the legal and ethic ramifications of getting married for lowered tuition, but it ignores the emotions that are often involved in a situation such as this. Different expectations between the bride and groom, family expectations, and criticism from everyone from your friends to your coworkers can make this personal decision fodder for public gossip.

More than just enduring criticism from those around you, there are also the emotional ramifications. Unless you follow the advice of Rick Conley from whypaytuition.com by marrying a complete stranger and securing a prenup that costs thousands of dollars, there is always the danger of someone developing feelings of love or higher expectations than the other. Sure you saved $30,000 in tuition, but now your convenient money-saving technique has backfired. Your friend decides to fall in love with you, while you want to end the marriage as soon as you have your diploma. Even if it is only for financial reasons, getting married is a huge decision, and all possible repercussions should be considered before making this life-changing choice.

As someone who has done it, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, and a lot of unexpected things can happen.

Step back to the summer of 2007. After having to get a high interest loan from a private company to pay for my sophomore year of school, I complained to my ex-boyfriend that unless I got married or had a baby, I was going to end up paying a lot more in school loans than I wanted to. That’s when he suggested that I just go down with him to Las Vegas that winter while he saw his dad for a quick forty dollar ceremony. I wouldn’t even have to tell anyone about it. I agreed and we began to make plans for our winter excursion.

Then in October we got back together, I told my parents about us getting married, and things began to get complicated. My parents pushed for a real ceremony, even though they really wanted me to change my mind. I had started to want a real relationship and a real wedding since we had gotten back together, so I ended up agreeing to the ceremony. My groom dealt with this unpleasant surprise by limiting the guest list to as few people as possible. We spent about $200 total for everything, and got married with about 30 people in attendance.

We stayed with my mother-in-law for the first few months, and then moved into a cheap apartment. The first year we were married was hard on both of us. I wanted our marriage to be real, while he wasn’t ready to commit to staying together. It created a huge discord between us, resulting in tears and hurt feelings. It was only after I learned to not take things so personally, and he decided he really wanted to stay that our marriage began to get better. We were finally together for more than just money or convenience. It was for us, and it was for love.

For all of the pains that we endured, I only ended up getting one $2,000 grant that first year. Because my husband was working full-time at a place that paid $10 an hour, and I was working part-time at Walmart, our income was too high every year after that. If anyone decides to take the plunge and get married, whether it is because you are madly in love with each other, or because you want to get that coveted in-state tuition, make sure to think it over very thoroughly. If you don’t the results could be disastrous.

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