Tension between student athletes and the rest of the students is a part of the college experience, but sometimes people forget that student athletes are still students.
Typically, universities athletes are respected and admired by their peers, but at Howard, it seems the opposite is true being that our Bison are labeled with negative stereotypes around campus quite often.
"The typical stereotype is that athletes are lazy, get a free pass and don't have to put in the same amount of effort as other students," said senior, architecture major and former softball player, Emily Johnson.
Greg Stanfield, an Architecture major and former football player said that some people don't think athletes are expected to work on the field and in the classrooms.
Many athletes of them enroll in difficult classes taking the same amount if not more credit hours than your average student. And whatever time isn't spent at practice is spent lifting weights, conditioning, or doing homework.
"I am an architecture student and have taken 18 credits every semester upon my entry to Howard University and in CEACS (College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science) you are not allowed to make ‘D's," said Stanfield. "So balancing my schedule with football was no easy task."
Last season an average day for Emily Johnson consisted of 6 a.m. conditioning, a full day of classes with weight lifting in between, and a couple hours of team practice.
Like many other student athletes, Johnson was involved in more than just her respective sport. The few hours she had to spare were devoted to her part-time job as a monitor for student-athlete study hall and her duties as a member of the Student-Athlete Academic Committee. Emily currently holds a 3.6 GPA and has taken 18 credits every year since her sophomore year. Schedules like this are not uncommon when you encounter athletes taking a full course load, maintaining certain GPA's, performing a variety of service activities, and of course competing.
After discussing her heavy workload and the stresses of being a student athlete, Johnson says she both agrees and disagrees with the stereotypes against student athletes.
"I [agree] because there is a significant amount of athletes that fit the stereotype in the eye of the student body," she said. "And I don't because the majority of athletes are out there putting in time and effort on the field, doing community service, and working jobs. Most students don't get to see that and just don't know what it takes to be an athlete at this level."
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