College is a very important time in a person’s life. For most students, it is the first time they are living life on their own, not having to worry about pleasing their parent’s with their every move. This causes students to have the opportunities to let themselves go a little more and experiment with more things. We see how many problems tend to occur with those students who are more involved, especially the student athletes. The problems that tend to be associated with college student-athletes look at physical issues, such as extensive use of alcohol or drugs, perhaps because of pressure they may be feeling to fit in from older athletes. Coakley and Dunning, in the Handbook of Sports Studies, discuss how sports in today’s world seem to cause more problems, such as anxiety within athletes and feeling the pressure to perform at their highest skills at all times. Does this anxiety also lead to more problems with drinking associated with student athletes? If they are expected to play to their best ability, do they also have to let loose and enjoy themselves in just as intense of a manor?
An article I found talks about how student athletes at SUNY in New York are trying to change the image of college student athletes drinking excessively because of a death of one of their own (http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S1207176.shtml?cat=572). The District Attorney on the case discusses how students, especially athletes, can be exposed to situations in where they feel pressure to drink in different hazing situations, which can clearly lead to outcomes as severe as death. Teams are supposed to accept their new players in with out harm and make them feel welcomed, and as we see in today’s world, to feel welcomed onto a new team usually includes some sort of hazing activity, which most students feel the need to participate in to be seen as “one of the guys.”
Within the article “Competitiveness and Alcohol Use Among Recreational and Elite Collegiate Athletes,” it is shown that studies show “intercollegiate athletes are more likely than their nonathletic counterparts to report heavy episodic drinking in the preceding two weeks, more frequent heavy episodic drinking, and a greater number of drinks per week” (206). It seems interesting that the students who should be paying more attention to their physical wellness and what they put into their body seem to be doing the exact opposite. But is this a tradition that the older players force on to the younger players, which turns into a cycle that is difficult to end? Many freshman athletes are put into different situations than perhaps other nonathletic freshman may be. They are already introduced to older students who have an easier access to purchasing and providing alcohol and who have already been through these situations. The problem with hazing is that it is a nonstop cycle, because once you are hazed, the only thing you want to do is haze the next group of incoming additions to a team, because you had to endure it, so everyone else should have to too. Does any type of hazing ever help a team bond, or should hazing be something put into the past? Even as schools try to break down on hazing, we see that it is nearly impossible for administration to stop all forms, so does it even help when schools say they have a “no hazing” policy, or does that make things worse? Also, the article discusses that because college athletes tend to have a more competitive personality than non-athletes, could this also lead to problems with drinking?
Competitiveness is a necessary quality for any athlete. Without the desire to pour your heart and soul into every play passion, all that’s left is a heartless, passionless player. And players who don’t care are not generally very good. While this competitiveness will serve them well on the field, it may hurt student-athletes off the field.
ReplyDeleteOne of the major stereotypes surrounding college athletes is that they are party machines. Drink all night, skip class to recover, and go to practice. Everyone knows stereotypes are not always true, but there seems to be some legitimacy in the relationship between college athletes and alcohol consumption.
Multiple studies have found college athletes drink more than their peers. In the article, “Competitiveness and Alcohol Use Among Recreational and Elite Collegiate Athletes,” researchers found a strong correlation between student-athletes and peak and heavy episodic drinking. They argued, “Individuals with strong levels of trait competiveness may find it difficult to restrict this urge to only one domain of their lives (i.e. sports),” (212.) As such, athletes are more prone to drink larger quantities of alcohol in a single setting because of their innate nature to be competitive. This trait leads to drinking competitions, where athletes try to out-drink other students.
Between practice and lifting sessions, college athletes have tighter schedules. Perhaps this crunch forces them to let go too much when they do have a weekend off. Because they have limited days off, athletes may try to take as much advantage of their free time as possible when they have it. The result can be excessive drinking, as they try to get it all out of their system while they can and party like their friends.
The problem is they’re not like their friends. They carry an extra burden of being a student-athlete. That status carries extra responsibilities and rules to follow.
But it only makes sense the competitiveness instilled in them cannot be shut off in between games. As such, it only makes to assume that drinking is not the only potentially detrimental activity student-athletes can get involved in.
Gambling is another problem. In fact, in “Gambling Behavior Among College Student-Athletes,” researchers mentioned several studies which found that students participating in sports were more likely to have gambling problems.
“Student athletes caught wagering on professional or amateur sports contests receive a minimum one-year suspension, and those betting on a contest involving their institutions are subject to a lifetime ban,” (350).
So why risk it? The answer may be quite simple – their competitive drive. The need to win is a detrimental for some people. Players on a college team may gamble because “they share a unique bond, one possibly characterized by friendly competitions, ‘one-upmanship,’ and boastfulness,” (351).
Some may like the rush off laying it all on the line, a feeling often experienced in game situations. And sometimes the feeling of winning is too much to walk away from.
The problem is that kind of mentality does not often lead to good decision-making, especially for student-athletes with a lot to risk.
Hazing is never a positive term, because it means someone is going to suffer. However, I do believe that forcing the freshman or rookies to go through it is better for the team. From personal experience, I can vouch for the fact that the upper class men respected the players that made it through the hazing, and it helped the team chemistry on the field.
ReplyDeleteI think athletes feel the need to drink more, its because they want to let their excess of stress out. Especially with student athletes, the pressure in their lives to perform on all levels is very high. On their little time off, they want to do what every other student is, which is to party. It is proven however that these student athletes do drink more, and i obvously don't think that is safe (Serrao et al.).
I think a small amount of hazing should be allowed because it will allow the seniors to respect the freshmen, and create a tradition that every new team can use to become close with their teammates. The schools will always try to prevent it entirely, but it will never go away. Players will always show a prejudice towards certain teammates if they have not proven themselves in the hazing.
Overall, student athletes have a very stressful life. They are tempted by more negative things than the normal college student. For example, because of the competive nature of their sport, they may be more inclined to gamble because it gives them a similar rush (S. ELLENBOGEN ET AL.). As for the drinking, it will never go away, and we just have to let these student athletes celebrate a victory, or time off and look the other way.
Peer pressure is a common obstacle for many high schoolers and college students. Why wouldn't it be magnified when you are practically forced into situations with upperclassman, such as on a sports team.
ReplyDeleteIt's really no surprise to me that drinking is higher among athletes than nonathletes. (Is that a stereotype by me? Maybe. But that's another blog entirely.)
But I'm right on the money, according to Serrao, Martens, Martin and Rocha...
"Several national studies have shown that intercollegiate athletes are more likely than
their nonathlete counterparts to report heavy episodic drinking" (206).
Though we've heard a ton about hazing and binging as of late, who's to say it's not going on just as much as it used to, and possibly less. To me, it seems as though much of this is the media latching on to these stories and blowing them out of the water.
Yes, college student and athletes drink. If you've ever been near a college campus in your life, you know that.
Along with that, do college student/athletes also gamble? Gasp! What a novel question!
As written in "Gambling Behavior Among College Student-Athletes," college student/athletes behave like normal people too.
One of the theories was as follows... "Curry and Jiobu (1995) theorized that athletes are at increased risk for gambling problems
because of the competitive spirit fostered in their social environment" (351).
Now, I consider myself a competitive individual. I just flat out don't like to lose. And yes, I gamble. I'm not a collegiate student/athlete, either!
The article went on for many more theories, all of them I consider grasping at straws.
Athletes play because they love the sport and they love to win. It's not a novel concept that they try to win in more things than just their one sport.
And enough about hazing, mainstream media. We get it already.
There’s no doubt that hazing has a negative connotation and it definitely has negative effects on the participants. Despite the obvious possible negative physical and mental effects, I think hazing rituals can have a positive effect on team unity and bonding. However, I think that this depends on the nature of the hazing and its results/consequences and the personalities/characteristics of the individuals involved. In her chapter from the Handbook, Diane Gill cites Kurt Lewin’s work, saying that “individual and environmental factors do not operate independently; they interact. Personal characteristics influence behavior in some situations and not others; situational factors…affect different people in different ways; and the person affects the situation just as the situation affects the person” (230). This shows that hazing will have varying effects on different athletes, depending on the type of activities and their personal characteristics.
ReplyDeleteIn the article by Serrao et al., they talk about how competitiveness can affect athletes. Their work can be applied to athletes in hazing situations. “Competitiveness has been operationally defined as ‘striving to increase or maintain one’s level of capability in all activities in which a standard of excellence is thought to exist and where the execution of such activities can either succeed or fail” (206). This can even be expanded to being more applicable when athletes are performing “athletic type” activities that involve hazing (which may include drinking). One example would be “Beirut” or “Beer Pong,” which involved basketball-like skills. Another example would be “Dizzy Bat” which involves some baseball skills. The competitiveness and need to perform well in these activities, especially if they’re related to their specific sport, can be escalated greatly in pressure situations such as hazing.
I think “no hazing” policies at schools can have mixed results. It’s a very good idea in theory, and I’m sure the policies have stopped many groups from hazing. However, it’s easy to see that there are many ways to continue hazing without being caught, or at least toning down the extremeness of the activities so that fewer negative effects will occur. I think “no hazing” policies are successful even if they only reduce the number and severity of hazing activities at their respective institutions.
Obviously hazing is an unexcusable action which unfortunately happens from time to time. I think part of the fact is that when you mix alcohol, and kids who are away from home for the first time, there's no question that it will lead to some poor decisions and actions, and in many cases it's the athletes that party the hardest. Serrao and her colleagues made this point in their article when asserting the fact that , "Several national studies have shown that intercollegiate athletes are more likely than
ReplyDeletetheir nonathlete counterparts to report heavy episodic drinking,) (Serrao et. al, 206).
In my mind, that competitive nature in many athletes can certainly have an effect on how they drink, but it's probably negligble. But I think here you're dealing with young 'adults' who are still trying to find themselves and learning to handle the responsibility of having that freedom. That's why I think that gambling among college students, and primarily college student athletes, goes hand in hand. Again, these are kids with a competitive nature. "Numerous studies have found that the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling of college students to be roughly equivalent to that of adolescents and higher than that of adults," (Ellenbogen et. al 358).
It really should come as no surprise, and after those few years of college and the college environment. I don't really see this changing at all, and I honestly don't find it as much of a cause for concern. There's no reason to try and restrain kids from being kids, because then they just rebel and will want to do it more.
There is no doubt that college athletes are under a huge amount of pressure. However, I do not think that this pressure is what causes athletes to resort to alcohol usage. It is no secret that college kids like to drink, whether or not they are involved in a sport. There are even many college students (at least most of the ones that I know), whose alcohol consumption dates back to when they were in high school. I feel that most of the drinking that takes place in college is not because of the fact that students want to relieve stress, but rather because they simply want to enjoy themselves. I do not think that the fact that student-athletes play hard has anything to do with their drinking habits. As for hazing, I feel that it is usually all in good fun, but there are definitely some lines that need to be drawn.
ReplyDeleteCollege is a time when we experience many freedoms, being that it is usually the first time that we are living away from our parents, with minimal adult supervision. I think that this is the reason for the large consumption of alcohol that takes place, rather than the pressure from school, sports, or both. Student- athletes and non-athletes alike want to go out, enjoy themselves and socialize with others. As sad as it may be, bars and parties involving alcohol are two of the main places for this to take place. House parties, as opposed to bars, however, tend to contribute to heavier drinking, because this is where a larger variety of drinking games are usually played.
Drinking games, especially team games, usually involve a high level of competitiveness among participants. However, this competitive spirit is not directly related to student-athletes. In Competitiveness and Alcohol Use Among Recreational and Elite College Athletes, Serrao states, “Based on the results of this study, it appears that competitiveness is related to alcohol use among both athletes and nonathletes” (210). This shows that both athletes and non-athletes tend to have a competitive spirit when it comes to drinking games.
Hazing is something that probably the majority of incoming college-athletes are going to have to deal with. In Gambling Behavior Among College Student-Athletes, Stephen Ellenboged states, “Alternatively, one may suggest that gambling among members of team sports is commonplace because they share a unique bond, one possibly characterized by friendly competitions, “one-upmanship”, risk-taking, and boastfulness” (351). I feel that most hazing is all in good fun, and it is this “unique bond” between athletes that makes it easy for those being hazed to not take their hazing personally, as it usually happens to everyone on the team at one point or another. However, when it comes to hazing and drinking, students should not be forced to drink alcohol if they don’t want to, as this can become extremely dangerous or even deadly. This is where certain lines need to be drawn when it comes to the hazing of student-athletes.