No Control, No Peace

 

 

Yesterday a report came out from the Associated Press that the University of North Carolina was charged by the NCAA with five Level 1 violations in an academic probe. A 59-page report was released by the university, providing a detailed summary of the allegations ranging from student-athletes receiving access to courses that non-athletes did not receive. The two greatest allegations that occurred within the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies department were as follows (credit to ESPN.com)

 

 

• There was a lack of institutional control in failing to "sufficiently monitor" the interactions between the AFAM and the academic support departments, and athletes received "preferential access" to AFAM's irregular courses.

• Academic counselors "leveraged" relationships from fall 2002 to summer 2011 with AFAM faculty and staff to provide athletes with benefits such as suggesting assignments, turning in papers for them and recommending grades. In addition, 10 athletes exceeded UNC's 12-hour limit of independent study credits countable toward graduation between fall 2006 and summer 2011 due to misidentified "paper classes."


Although there were other charges such as a lack of cooperation from the staff, no coaches were involved in the transgressions. The key words that stick out for me is "lack of institutional control," because it suggests that those in charge were willing to compromise their core values in order to help these student-athletes get ahead in their academics. Now we know this is hardly the first time this has happened within an institution of higher education, but it seems that there is a common theme among these schools that suddenly find themselves in hot water with the NCAA (who isn't exactly a model organization, but that's for another day).

Whether it was from illegal payments to Michigan's "Fab Five", to the altering of grades at numerous universities, the theme that seems to take place is compromise. A compromise of doing what is immediately beneficial for what is best for the student. I remember the outcry when the school teachers in Atlanta were convicted for altering students' grades, and what has occurred here is even worse. As an educator, it saddens me to see when these administrators decide to sell long-term growth for short-term gain. When it comes to academics + athletics, some administrators are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their ultimate objective. Not to ensure that the student graduates and becomes a productive member of society, but to gain a victory on the gridiron, the basketball court, or any other sporting endeavor.

Lack of institutional control is basically the result of forgetting this one Biblical command in Luke 22:26 "But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves." Leaders have to understand that when they are given this special assignment, they must govern and rule as one who serves. History has been littered with stories of schools, churches, and government which has fallen due to lack of control. Therefore, an atmosphere of greed and short-sightedness becomes the standard, and everyone involved suffers as a result.

To quote Helen Lovejoy...