Sports andAcademicsCan Go Hand in Hand, Brookings Study Finds
Challenging popular notions about the compatibility of athletics and academics, a new study finds that sports “powerhouse” schools do not sacrifice classroom achievement.
The annual Brookings Institution report says that some schools with top-ranked athleticteams actually performed slightly better on state exams than schools with less successful sports programs.
The wide-ranging report, “How Well Are American Students Learning?,” was released last week by the Washington think tank's Brown Center on Education Policy. In other findings, it says that charter schools' students score significantly below those in regular public schools on achievement tests, and it faults American students' computational skills.
Tom Loveless, the director of the center and the author of the report, identified 163 athletic“powerhouse” high schools for that portion of the report. He used national and regional rankings from the newspaper USA Today to find the top high schools in baseball and basketball since 1997–98 and in football since 1991.
Analyzing how students at those schools performed on state tests in reading and mathematics compared with those in other schools in their states with similar racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, he found that powerhouse schools performed slightly better as schools without high-profile sports programs.
“Winning at basketball can go hand and hand with winning at mathematics,” Mr. Loveless writes. “However, high schools with advantaged socioeconomic circumstances are better able than other schools to integrate excellence at sports into an ethos of achievement that pervades school culture.”
While powerhouse schools in urban and rural areas don't drop off academically because of their sports' success, the research found, public schools with both standout athleticteams and high academic achievement were more likely to be in wealthy suburban neighborhoods with predominantly white, non-Hispanic populations. In three-quarters of the states, those suburban schools scored higher on academic tests than nonpowerhouse suburban schools with similar demographics, the study found. Charter Achievement
In its charter school findings, the report says that students in those largely independent public schools “perform significantly below regular public schools” on state achievement tests.
For the analysis, Mr. Loveless collected test-score data from 10 states and combined reading and math achievement from 1999 through 2001 into a composite score. Scores were adjusted for socioeconomic status and racial composition. The states selected had at least 30 charter schools open in 1999, tested students in grades 4, 8, and 10, and used the same achievement tests in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
Using that information, charter schools scored in the 41st percentile, meaning 59 percent of traditional public schools performed better on the achievement exams.
Charter schools' scores are influenced by the fact that parents select those schools for their children, the report notes, and if charter school students or their families are fundamentally different from students attending traditional public schools, those differences, and not the quality of the schools, may be reflected in the differences in test scores.
Jeanne Allen, the president of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington-based research and advocacy group that supports charter schools, said in a statement that the report was inconclusive and ignored other research tracking students' performance in charter schools over years.
Those other findings, she said, show that charter schools attract low-performing students, and that the schools produce achievement gains for students who have been in the charter schools for at least two years. Math Skills
The report also criticizes the performance of 17-year-olds on arithmetic problems on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, saying those scores have dropped considerably since 1990.
That year, it says, 76 percent of 17-year-olds correctly answered basic-arithmetic problems on NAEP, compared with 71 percent in 1999, the latest year for which data were available. Since 1990, scores for 9-year-olds and 13-year-olds have remained flat in arithmetic, the report says.
Mr. Loveless argues that the problem dates back to 1989, when the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics reported that “shopkeeper arithmetic” was dominating classroom teaching. That view, Mr. Loveless says, was embraced by the National Assessment Governing Board, the federal panel that oversees the NAEP exams, and federal officials decided not to include arithmetic as a separate reporting category.
“So we arrived where we are today: a federally endorsed state of ignorance on the computation skills of American students,” Mr. Loveless contends in the report. He recommends that NAEP report arithmetic scores as a separate category for the 4th and 8th grades, and he calls for a national campaign that emphasizes arithmetic and computation skills.
But Roy Truby, the executive director of the NAEP governing board, called the report “seriously flawed.” In a statement, Mr. Ruby said that Mr. Loveless had omitted questions on percentages, which, if included, would have shown performance in arithmetic unchanged during the 1990s for 17-year-olds, and up for 13-year-olds since then.
“Computation is used in NAEP,” Mr. Truby said. “There has been no effort to hide or downgrade it. To imply that NAEP is part of a conspiracy to eliminate arithmetic from mathematics is silly, if not bizarre.”
Also, late last week, officials of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees NAEP, said that the data Mr. Loveless had gathered from the NOES Web page lacked details about whether students had used calculators to answer the questions. Because of that, they said, Mr. Loveless was working under the impression that students were not using calculators, though on about half the questions he studied they were using them.
“We took [the questions] off the Web, and we will go back and indicate which ones involved a calculator and which ones did not,” Gary Phillips, the acting commissioner of the NOES, said. Mr. Phillips said he did not know whether the Brown Center report's findings on computation would be affected.
Mr. Loveless declined to comment on the issue.
FOLLOW-UP: The reports can be read online at www.brook.edu/dybdocroot/.
Report Highlights
The 2002 Brown Center Report on American Education, “How Well Are American Students Learning?,” sponsored by the Brookings Institution, is organized into three separate sections. Here are some highlights from each.
Trends in Reading and Math
The percentage of states that reported annual gains in reading from 1999 to 2001 declined each year in grades 4, 5, and 10. A few more states reported gains for 2001 in the 8th grade than in 2000, however.
Since 1990, U.S. students have registered test-score gains in several math areas, especially problem-solving, geometry, and data analysis. But computation skills have been flat at best, and there is some evidence that they have declined.
In grades 4, 5, 8, and 10, fewer states reported gains in math scores in 2001 than in 2000.
High School Culture and Athletics
American students encounter two distractions in high school that other nations minimize: part-time work and sports. A survey of 562 U.S. and international students who participated in foreign exchange programs found that more than one-third of U.S. students work in jobs at least five hours a week, compared with only 9 percent of their counterparts in other countries.
Academically high-achieving athletic powerhouses are located in relatively wealthy neighborhoods and serve predominantly white, non-Hispanic populations.
Urban schools that are deemed athletic powerhouses score no better or worse than schools that are not powerhouses and serve similar populations.
Charter School Achievement
Though more research is needed, the authors say, the charter schools studied for the report scored significantly below regular public schools on achievement tests.
Urban charter schools exhibit higher achievement than suburban or rural charters.
Larger charters scored higher than smaller charters;
Charters already existing in 1999 scored higher than charters opening their doors for the first time that year
Section:Sports Business COMMENTARY
Wagstaff: ...Where would this college be without football? Have we got a stadium?
The Professors (in unison): Yes.
Wagstaff: Have we got a college?
The Professors (in unison): Yes.
Wagstaff: Well, we can't support both. Tomorrow we start tearing down the college.
The Professors (in unison): But Professor. Where will the students sleep?
Wagstaff: Where they always sleep. In the classroom. From the 1932 Marx Brothers movie Horse Feathers
With the holidays and that crush of college bowl games behind us, it might be instructive to reflect on just what we were watching all those afternoons in front of the TV.
The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. says its purpose is to maintain college sports as an integral part of the educational process and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. By doing so, the NCAA seeks to maintain a clear line between intercollegiate athletics and professional sports. But over the past decade, the already thin line between college sports--especially big-time football--and the pros has all but disappeared. LOSS LEADERS. In pro sports, the '90s saw a significant trend in corporate ownership of big-league franchises. Large media and entertainment companies in particular sought to exploit the promotional value of franchises and, in some cases, to acquire relatively cheap TV programming. By using their teams as marketing vehicles to increase the worth of their primary holdings, corporate owners allowed their franchises to be ``loss leaders'': Profits or losses mattered less than the overall value the teams added to their parents' portfolio of assets.
Over the same time and for many of the same reasons, schools became more aggressive in using their athleticdepartments to accomplish a similar goal. That's why profits and losses at the athletic departments of jock factories matter so little: Sports at such schools are simply high-profile programming designed to lure and keep customers. It's eerily similar to how Time Warner views its ownership of the Atlanta Braves or Fox looks at sports properties such as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But much like a corporation, a university's value is determined by the success of its departments, programs, and operations. And the media and sports fans, especially alumni and boosters, have such an insatiable appetite for sports that some schools--particularly football factories''--have gone overboard in emphasizing them. This is not a new phenomenon. Some 50 years ago, Dr. George L. Cross, president of the University of Oklahoma--home of this year's Bowl Champion Sooners--remarked to his football coach, Bud Wilkinson: We're trying to build a university our football team can be proud of.''
While success on the gridiron may stoke interest in enrollment, there can be a detrimental side effect--an excessive ``college experience'' in which a focus on sports leads to a party atmosphere and neglect of academics. But many universities are not above marketing their athletic prowess and, by extension, party atmosphere to impressionable high school students and placement offices. After all, it is through televised sports that many high school kids discover colleges outside their communities. Parents, convinced by their teens and by marketing-savvy sports universities, spend billions to send their kids to such colleges without ever recognizing that sports has closed the sale.
In his State of the Association address on Jan. 7, NCAA President Cedric Dempsey cautioned: ``The level of cynicism over the commercialization of our most visible athletic programs has reached epidemic proportions.'' It's only likely to grow as the hunt for student-customers becomes more intense and as the public increasingly realizes that college football games have become little more than carefully packaged infomercials brought to you by the marketing geniuses of higher education.
Copyright 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Section:Sports
For many of us, dreams of sports stardom die ignominiously the first time a coach directs us to a seat at the end of the bench in favor of a faster, stronger, or generally more gifted teammate.
Some students, alas, never even make it that far.
Many school sports teams, in activities ranging from cheerleading to football, cut players outright, because those squads lack the resources to accommodate every player who tries out, or because coaches believe it's too much trouble to manage a winning team that way.
The United States Tennis Association, however, is expanding its efforts to encourage high school coaches to adopt "no cut" policies. The idea is that students of all talent levels benefit from participating, and that they will become lifelong players and fans — a plus for the USTA.
The 2,300 coaches who take part in the USTA'S no-cut program, originally launched in 2006, receive gifts, as well as professional recognition, such as a commendation letter to their school principals. Perhaps most important, they receive access to features such as a Web site, created this year, which allows them to share information through a coach-to-coach online forum on how to run a no-cut team effectively. The program site is www.usta.com/no-cut.
The USTA program is popular in warm-weather states like Texas, but also in such regions as the Midwest and Northeast, possibly because of the challenges that nastier climates pose for tennis coaches, said Jason Jamison, the national manager of school tennis for the USTA, based in White Plains, N.Y.
The pressure to cut tennis players often stems from limitations on court space and practice time, Mr. Jamison said. The no-cut program suggests coaches stagger practices, recruit volunteer assistant coaches, and make requests to local tennis clubs to donate court time for practices.
"We'd like tennis to become known as the catch-all sport," Mr. Jamison said: The no-cut program "stays true to the idea that health and fitness is important. Cutting kids is contrary to that mission."
Borynski, Michele L. "Factors Related to Reductions in Alcohol Consumption among College Students: The Role of Religious Involvement." Current Psychology 22.2 (Summer2003 2003): 138-148. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Mar. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=12446145&site=ehost-live>.
Factors Related to Reductions in Alcohol Consumption among College Students: The Role of Religious Involvement
Contents
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College students most at risk for engaging in binge drinking are members of Greek organizations and athleticteams (Grenier, Borskey, & Folse, 1998; Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). Membership in religious organizations may moderate binge drinking (O'Hare, 1990). One hundred thirty-nine college students completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (Presley, Meilman, & Lyerla, 1994), the Group Identification Scale (Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone, & Crook, 1989), and the 'AgeUniversal' I-E — 12 (Maltby, 1999). The results indicate that gender is related to average number of drinks per week. Membership in low alcohol consumption organizations was related to decreases in the frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year, which indicates that decreasing alcohol consumption may be more effective by promoting low alcohol consumption organizations.
Binge drinking on college campuses has become the focus of research and the concern of college administrators over the past few decades (Dowdall, Crawford, & Wechsler, 1998; Haines & Spear, 1996; Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1998; Presley, Meilman, & Lyerla, 1994; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Moeykens, & Castillo, 1994). In a national survey of 140 American colleges and universities (Wechsler, Davenport et al., 1994), only one in six students (16%) abstained from alcohol, another 41 percent were non-binge drinkers, and 44 percent were categorized as binge drinkers. Colleges nationwide are attempting to establish programs warning students about the dangers of binge drinking and to take steps to decrease these risks.
Research has shown that college students most at risk for engaging in binge drinking are members of Greek organizations and intercollegiate athleticteams (Grenier, Borskey, & Folse, 1998; Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). Studies have found that leaders of these organizations consume at least as much, and often significantly more, alcohol during drinking episodes than members and non-members (Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1998; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Grossman, & Zanakos, 1997). Group leaders are at significantly higher risk for negative consequences associated with binge drinking than members and non-members (Leichliter et al., 1998).
Membership in religious organizations may moderate college students' binge drinking behavior (O'Hare, 1990). Research indicates that students who belong to groups that oppose alcohol consumption consume significantly less alcohol than groups that do sanction alcohol consumption (Grenier et al., 1998). Additionally, viewing religion as "not important" increases the likelihood that a student will engage in binge drinking (Wechsler et al., 1995).
There is no single, widely accepted definition of "binge drinking." Many studies have generally used the term to mean five or more drinks in one sitting, but others rely on a definition utilizing six or more drinks. Until recently, most studies applied their chosen definition to males and females equally. However, Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, and Rimm (1995) argue that a gender-specific definition of binge drinking — five or more drinks for males and four or more drinks for females — is far more appropriate as men and women metabolize alcohol at different rates. This approach is beneficial because it more accurately represents the problems women experience due to binge drinking.
Gender, however, is only one of several characteristics which might be expected to relate to binge drinking, and cognitive dissonance theory can assist in understanding the role of group membership in behaviors like binge drinking. When people join social groups, for example, they are expected to engage in group-congruent behaviors. Furthermore, if a group's attitudes and a person's attitude conflict, the person experiences dissonance. Given the personal investment one puts into belonging to a social group, it is far more difficult to "cut the losses" than to alter one's personal attitudes toward a group behavior. Engaging in behaviors that a group with which an individual associates him- or herself views as normal decreases cognitive dissonance. Therefore, examining the social norms of various groups is important.
Students' perceptions of the consequences of binge drinking are frequently positive. Norman, Bennett, and Lewis (1998) found that students' levels of binge drinking were positively correlated with "a positive attitude toward binge drinking....[a belief that] binge drinking leads to various positive consequences and to see many facilitators of binge drinking" (p. 166). Haden and Edmundson (1991) found that, although personal motivations for drinking were very important, social motivations were also significant in predicting alcohol consumption. Additionally, alcohol may be viewed by students as providing the opportunity for establishment and maintenance of friendships, social activities, and sexual opportunities (Cashin, Presley, & Meilman, 1998).
Despite the perceived positive consequences of binge drinking, the reality of binge drinking is much more sobering. On the extreme end, binge drinking can lead to strokes, brain hemorrhaging, and sudden death (Altura & Altura, 1984; Altura, Gebrewold, Zhang, Altura, & Gupta, 1998). Almost one-third of college students reported using alcohol and other drugs to the point of causing blackouts on at least one occasion (Presley et al., 1994).
College students are significantly more likely to die from alcohol-related automobile accidents than any other population, and the chance of death rises significantly after consumption of five or more alcoholic beverages (Borges & Hansen, 1993). Single episode binge drinking has also been associated with an increased risk of automobile accidents (Ben-Ahron, White, & Phillips, 1995). Over 35 percent of college students reported driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (Presley et al., 1994). In a study by Nelson, Kennedy, Isaac, and Graham (1998), binge drinkers driving under the influence of alcohol were three times as likely as non-binge drinkers to report feeling safe even after consuming up to ten or more drinks.
Consequences of binge drinking affect not only those who consume alcohol, but also those around the binge drinker. Wechsler, Moeykens, Davenport, Castillo, and Hansen (1995) found that 66 percent of students in their study experienced at least one negative effect from other students' drinking. Furthermore, they compared levels of binge drinking at various college campuses. Even when students were non-binge drinkers, if the college had a higher overall level of binge drinking, these students were more likely to report being negatively affected by the binge drinking-related behaviors of other students, as compared to students who attended colleges with lower overall levels of binge drinking (Perkins & Wechsler, 1996; Wechsler, Davenport, et al., 1994; Wechsler, Moeykens, et al., 1995). These "secondary binge drinking effects" included having sleep or studying interrupted, having to take care of a drunken student, and having experienced an unwanted sexual advance (Wechsler, Davenport, et al, 1994). Approximately 25 percent of students reported being insulted or humiliated, 13 percent were hit, pushed, or physically assaulted in some manner, and 22 percent were involved in a serious argument (Wechsler, Moeykens, et al., 1995). Syre, Martino-McAllister, and Vanada (1997) found that one-fifth of students reported negative consequences of binge drinking on their own lives. Furthermore, 19 percent reported that another student's drinking negatively interfered with their lives, such as preventing them from enjoying a sporting event or other social gathering.
Engaging in behaviors that a group with which an individual associates him- or herself views as normal decreases cognitive dissonance. Therefore, examining the social norms of various groups is important. Meilman, Presley, and Cashin (1997) found that only about 10 percent of students consume 15 or more alcoholic drinks per week, and 51 percent of students at four-year colleges reported having zero or one drink in the past week. This finding supports Perkins and Berkowitz's (1986) finding that students' perceptions of binge drinking are in excess of reality.
The present study was designed to assess how group membership is related to college students' alcohol consumption behaviors, particularly binge drinking. In order to reduce dissonance, a person must adjust his or her own attitudes or behaviors to more closely resemble those of the group. Research shows that the more one is involved in Greek organizations or intercollegiate athleticteams (Cashin et al., 1998; Leichliter et al., 1998), the more likely those members are to engage in binge drinking, an approved behavior for those groups. Additionally, research has indicated that participation in certain religious groups that do not advocate alcohol consumption decreases the likelihood one will engage in binge drinking (Grenier et al., 1998). However, research has not examined how identification with certain religions is related to the alcohol consumption behaviors of those who also participate in either or both Greek organizations and intercollegiateathleticteams.
The present study examined levels of alcohol consumption and binge drinking in college students, and it evaluated the impact of group identification on binge drinking behaviors. It was hypothesized that binge drinking and alcohol consumption would be positively correlated with students' level of group identification with high alcohol consumption organizations (i.e., Greek organizations and intercollegiate athleticteams) and negatively correlated with students' level of group identification with low alcohol consumption organizations (i.e., religious organizations). Students who belonged only to high alcohol consumption organizations would exhibit the highest levels of binge drinking and alcohol consumption, whereas students who belonged only to low alcohol consumption organizations would exhibit the lowest levels of binge drinking and alcohol consumption. Finally, it was hypothesized that students involved in both types of organizations would exhibit an intermediary level of alcohol consumption and binge drinking. METHOD
The sample of participants consisted of 144 undergraduate students drawn from the participant pool of a large, mid-Western public university. Five participants were removed from the current study, based on their response to a question on the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey that suggested a careless response style to the questionnaire. Thus, 139 participants ultimately made up the final sample of subjects in this study.
In exchange for psychology course credit, participants completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (Core; Presley, Meilman, & Lyerla, 1994), the Group Identification Scale (GIS; Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone, & Crook, 1989) and the 'Age-Universal' I-E — 12 (Maltby, 1999) in exchange for extra credit in a psychology course.
The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey
The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (Core; Presley et al., 1994) is a 22-item selfreport measure that examines drinking behavior and includes demographics, grade point average, perceptions of campus substance abuse policies and their enforcement, number of drinks per week, and frequency of binge drinking episodes. Additionally, the Core assesses use of alcohol, tobacco, and controlled substances, age of first use, perceptions of others' usage, locations and consequences of use, family history of substance use problems, and preference for the presence or absence of alcohol and drugs in the individual's social environment. For the purposes of this study, the question assessing levels of binge drinking in college students was altered to utilize the gender-specific definition of binge drinking for males and females.
The Group Identification Scale (GIS)
The GIS (Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone, & Crook, 1989) is a nine-item scale assessing personal importance of group involvement. Participants were asked to list their four most important extracurricular activities and to respond to the Group Identification Scale for each activity. Higher scores on the GIS reflect higher levels of identification with the listed activity. Items on the GIS load onto three subscales: (1) the emotional subscale, (2) the individual/group opposition subscale, and (3) the cognitive aspects of identification subscale.
The 'Age-Universal' I-E — 12
The 'Age-Universal' I-E — 12 (Maltby, 1999) is a 12-item measure assessing intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions to religiosity. Higher scores on this measure reflect greater orientation toward intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of religiosity. Items on the scale load onto three factors representing intrinsic, extrinsic-personal, and extrinsic-social orientation toward religion. RESULTS
Analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 9.0 (SPSS, 1998). Descriptive statistics of the sample are provided in Table 1.
Chi-square (c2) analyses were first performed to determine if involvement in high and low alcohol consumption organizations was independent. Across both genders, involvement in one type of organization did not significantly increase the likelihood of being involved in another organization (c&sup 2; = 2.45, df = 1, p — 0.12). For females, belonging to a high alcohol consumption organization did not influence the likelihood of membership in a low alcohol consumption organization (c&sup 2; = 0.32, df = 1, p = 0.58). For males, it appears that involvement in one type of organization may affect involvement in other organizations as c&sup 2; tests approached significance (c&sup 2; = 3.59, df- l, p = 0.06).
A series of Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVAs) was performed to examine how gender, membership in high alcohol consumption organizations, and membership in low alcohol consumption organizations impacted levels of binge drinking, average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week, and the frequency of alcohol use within a year. The MANOVAs were followed by univariate analyses of significant effects. The mean levels for binge drinking episodes in the previous two weeks, the average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week, and frequency of alcohol consumption in the previous year are presented in Tables 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
It was hypothesized that college students who participated only in organizations that they did not perceive as promoting alcohol consumption would exhibit the lowest levels of alcohol consumption. A 2x2 between-subjects MANOVA examining the effects of gender and low alcohol consumption organizations found that only the main effect of low alcohol consumption organizations was statistically significant (L = 0.92, F[3,121] = 3.46, p = 0.02, h&sup 2; = 0.08).
The main effect for gender (L = 0.95, F|3, 121] = 2.06, p = 0.11, h&sup 2; = 0.05) and the interaction effect for gender and low alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.97, F[3,121] = 1.37, p = 0.26, h&sup 2; = 0.03) were not statistically significant. Follow-up univariate tests found that only the frequency of use within the previous year was statistically significant (F[l, 123] = 9.61, p < 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.07). Binge drinking episodes in the previous two weeks (F[l, 123] = 2.99, p = 0.09, h&sup 2; = 0.02) and average number of drinks consumed per week (F[l, 123] = 1.5l, p = 0.22, h&sup 2; = 0.01) did not reach statistical significance.
It was hypothesized that college students who only participated in organizations that they perceived as high alcohol consumption would exhibit the highest levels of alcohol consumption. Membership in a high alcohol consumption organization had no statistically significant effect on alcohol consumption (L = 0.96, F[3,121] = 1.84, p = 0.14, h&sup 2; = 0.04). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant interaction for gender and group membership (L = 0.97, F[3,121] = 1.38, p = 0.25, h&sup 2; = 0.03). However, there was a main effect for gender (L = 0.94, F[3,121] = 2.70, p = 0.05, h&sup 2; = 0.06). Gender influenced binge drinking, average number of drinks per week, and frequency of usage within a year. Follow-up univariate tests revealed that gender influenced only the average number of drinks consumed per week (F[l, 123] = 4.76, p = 0.03, h&sup 2; = 0.04).
College students who participated in both organizations that they perceived as high and low alcohol consumption organizations were hypothesized to exhibit an intermediate level of alcohol consumption. A MANOVA examining the effects of membership in low alcohol consumption and high alcohol consumption organizations did not find a statistically significant main effect for membership in a high alcohol consumption organization (L = 0.96, F[3,121] = 1.60, p = 0.19, h&sup 2; = 0.04). Additionally, there was not a statistically significant two-way interaction for membership in low alcohol consumption and high alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.98, F[3,121] = 0.95, p = 0.42, h&sup 2; = 0.02). However, there was a statistically significant main effect for membership in a low alcohol consumption organization on binge drinking, average number of drinks per week, and frequency of usage within a year (L = 0.90, F[3,121] = 4.49, p = 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.10). Follow-up univariate tests revealed that only frequency of usage per year was related to membership in low alcohol consumption organizations (F[1,123] = 9.59, p < 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.07).
A MANOVA was used to examine the effects of gender, membership in a low alcohol consumption organization, and membership in a high alcohol consumption organization. The main effects for gender (L = 0.94, F[3,118] = 2.48, p = 0.06, h&sup 2; = 0.06) and for membership in high alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.94, F[3,118] = 2.48, p = 0.07, h&sup 2; = 0.06) were not statistically significant. However, there was a statistically significant main effect for membership in low alcohol consumption organizations on binge drinking, average number of drinks per week, and frequency of usage within a year (L = 0.91, F[3,118] = 4.07, p = 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.09). Follow-up univariate tests found that only frequency of usage within a year was statistically significant (F[l, 119] = 12.10, p < 0.01, h&sub 2; = 0.09). No statistically significant two-way interactions were found for membership in low alcohol consumption organizations by high alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.97, F[3,118] = 1.41, p = 0.24, h&sup 2; = 0.04), for membership in low alcohol consumption organizations by gender (L = 0.95, F[3,118]= 1.91, p = 0.13, h&sup 2; = 0.05), or for membership in high alcohol consumption organizations by gender (L = 0.97, F[3,118] = 1.12, p = 0.34, h&sup 2; = 0.03). The three-way interaction for gender, membership in low alcohol consumption organizations, and membership in high alcohol consumption organizations was not significant.
A MANOVA examined the effects of gender and membership in an alcohol-promoting organization. There was a significant main effect for gender (L = 0.94, F[3,121] = 2.70, p = 0.05), and follow-up analyses revealed that gender significantly influenced only the average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week (F[1,123] = 4.76, p = 0.03), but not levels of binge drinking and frequency of usage within the previous year. A MANOVA examined the effects of gender and membership in a low alcohol consumption organization. There was a statistically significant main effect for membership in a low alcohol consumption organization (L = 0.92, F[3,121] = 3.46, p = 0.02), and follow-up analyses revealed that membership in low alcohol consumption organizations significantly influenced only the frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year (F[l, 123] = 9.61, p < 0.01), but not levels of binge drinking and average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week. Finally, a MANOVA was used to examine the effects of membership in high alcohol consumption organizations and membership in low alcohol consumption organizations. There was a statistically significant main effect for membership in a low alcohol consumption organization (L = 0.90, F\3, 121] = 4.49, p = 0.01), and follow-up analyses revealed that membership in low alcohol consumption organizations significantly influenced only the frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year (F[1,123] = 9.59, p < 0.01), but not levels of binge drinking and average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week.
It was hypothesized that levels of binge drinking would increase as level of identification with those organizations that individuals perceived as high alcohol consumption. The effect of participants' level of identification with high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations on binge drinking was assessed using Pearson's product moment correlation (r) in two ways. First, the cumulative scores from participants' GIS particular to their involvement in high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations were correlated with their response to their levels of binge drinking in the previous two weeks. Then, the average GIS scores were obtained by taking the cumulative GIS scores for the high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption, and dividing by the number of each type of organizations to which each participant belonged. The effect of level of identification with high alcohol consumption organizations on binge drinking was non-significant for both the cumulative scores (r = -0.05, p = 0.80) and the average GIS (r = 0.06, p = 0.68). There was a similar finding for the low alcohol consumption organizations, with both the cumulative and average GIS scores resulting in non-significant findings. For the cumulative GIS scores, r = 0.01 and p = 0.93, and for the average GIS scores, r = 0.07 and p = 0.75.
The relationship of religiosity (as measured by the 'Age-Universal' I-E Scale = 12) on college students' binge drinking behaviors was measured. The relationship was negatively correlated, as hypothesized, but it did not reach the level required for significance (r = -0.04, p = 0.66). DISCUSSION
These findings seem to suggest that increasing student involvement in organizations that dissuade alcohol consumption is more likely to reduce drinking than trying to decrease student involvement in organizations that promote alcohol consumption. As with previous studies, students' sex remains an important influence on levels of alcohol consumption as males tend to drink more alcohol per week than females. There were no differences between males and females with regard to number of binge drinking episodes or frequency of alcohol use within the previous year. The hypotheses predicting that students' level of identification with particular types of groups and their level of religiosity would influence levels of binge drinking were not supported, suggesting that other factors, such as personality or family history, should be investigated.
It was hypothesized that those who participated only in organizations such as intercollegiate athleticteams and Greek societies would have the highest levels of alcohol consumption. On the other hand, it was hypothesized that those who participated only in religiously oriented activities would have the lowest levels of alcohol consumption. Furthermore, students' level of identification with their participation in high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations, as well as their level of religiosity, was hypothesized to significantly influence their reported levels of binge drinking. Interestingly, the hypotheses were only partially supported with regard to very specific alcohol consumption behaviors (i.e., number of binge drinking episodes, frequency of alcohol usage within a year, and number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week). Furthermore, levels of group identification and levels of religiosity were not significantly related to college students' reported levels of binge drinking.
Comparing the effects of membership in high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations revealed that only membership in a low alcohol consumption organization was related to the reported frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year. This finding suggests that membership in low alcohol consumption organizations is related to a reduction in the overall frequency of engaging in alcohol consumption compared to those who are not members of low alcohol consumption organizations. However, there were no differences found between reported levels of binge drinking and average number of alcoholic drinks per week. This finding suggests that when college students engage in drinking, whether or not they are members of low alcohol consumption organizations, they are similar in how often they binge drink and the average number of drinks consumed. Thus, participation in low alcohol consumption organizations may be related only to reductions in how often these members ultimately place themselves at risk for experiencing negative consequences as a result of their alcohol consumption. It may be that the particular time of data collection influenced the results of more recent alcohol consumption behaviors (binge drinking in previous two weeks and average number of drinks per week), in that much of the data collection was conducted in the weeks just prior to students' preparation for final exams.
Finally, it was hypothesized that participants' level of identification with low and high alcohol consumption organizations to which they belonged would be significantly related to their levels of binge drinking. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that level of religiosity would be negatively correlated with levels of binge drinking. Neither of these hypotheses was supported. It was hypothesized that cognitive dissonance theory would best explain these hypothesized results, in that people tend to participate in activities that most closely reflect their personal beliefs. Furthermore, when personal beliefs may be in conflict with the beliefs of the organization in which they participate, individuals often alter their personal beliefs to more closely match those of the majority. Thus, it appears that the cognitive dissonance theory inadequately explains college students' motivations to engage in alcohol consumption behaviors.
As with all retrospective self-reports, there is error introduced, either though deliberate misinformation from participants or through faulty memory. One possibility to improve this study in the future would be to have participants complete a brief daily alcohol consumption questionnaire. Furthermore, utilizing roommates' or close friends' reports may shed light on these results. NOTES
Accepted for publication: August 31, 2002
The author would like to thank James J. Johnson, Douglas H. Lamb, Matthew S. Hesson-McInnis, John B. Pryor, and Steven A. Miller for their assistance throughout this project.
Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of the Sample
Variable
F %
(N= 139)
Gender
Male 20 14.4
Female 110 79.1
Missing Cases 9 6.5
Age 18 19 13.7
19 33 23.7
20 33 23.7
21 35 25.2
22 9 6.5
23 and older 10 7.1
Missing Cases 1 0.7
Class Standing
Freshmen 36 25.9
Sophomores 27 19.4
Juniors 53 38.1
Seniors 23 16.5
Ethnie Background
American Indian/Alaskan Native 2 1.4
Hispanic 3 2.2
Asian/Pacific Islander 1 0.7
White (non-Hispanic) 102 73.4
Black (non-Hispanic) 29 20.9
Missing Cases 2 1.4
Table 2
Average Number of Binge Drinking Episodes in Previous Two Weeks
by Gender and Group Membership
Variable M SD N
Gender
Male 3.55 1.82 20
Female 2.94 1.62 107
High Alcohol
Consumption Organization
Member 3.37 1.59 54
Non-Member 2.75 1.69 81
Low Alcohol
Consumption Organization
Member 2.68 2.00 22
Non-Member 3.06 1.61 113
Total 3.00 1.68 135
Table 3
Average Number of Alcoholic Drinks Consumed in a Typical Week
by Gender and Participation in Group
Variable M SD N
Gender
Male 12.15 12.29 20
Female 6.28 7.16 110
High Alcohol
Consumption Organization
Member 9.45 8.98 55
Non-Member 5.42 7.32 84
Low Alcohol
Consumption Organization
Member 6.55 9.23 22
Non-Member 7.11 8.06 117
Total 7.02 8.22 139
Table 4
Frequency of Alcohol Consumption within Previous Year by Gender
and Participation in Group
Variable M SD N
Gender
Male 5.45 2.06 20
Female 5.33 1.92 110
High Alcohol
Consumption Organization
Member 5.76 1.74 55
Non-Member 5.11 1.98 84
Low Alcohol
Consumption Organization
Member 4.41 2.44 22
Non-Member 5.55 1.75 117
In a New Twist on 'Equal Opportunity,' a University Cuts Women's Sports
Section:Athletics
One after another, the 24 women on James Madison University's gymnastics team leapt along a balance beam, swung around uneven bars, and flipped over a vault here last month at one of their first practices after an unexpected setback.
Their form looked flawless, but an extra box of tissues sitting on a desk nearby suggested that their routine had not returned to normal. In late September, the university announced that, come summer, it would eliminate women's gymnastics, along with two other women's sports and seven men's teams, to streamline its athletics program and to comply with Title IX of theEducation Amendments of 1972, the law requiring institutions that receive federal funds to offer male and female students equal opportunities to participate in sports. A month later, James Madison students are still questioning why administrators made the cutbacks, what caused them to eliminate the teams they did, and whether -- in the name of gender equity -- this had to happen at all.
Cutting teams so that the proportion of male and female athletes reflects that of the general student population is one way to comply with Title IX. The law also lets institutions comply by proving they have satisfied female students' athletic interests, or by showing a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for women.
Meeting the latter tests often means adding women's teams. But James Madison officials say they could not afford to do that. Instead, the university came into compliance in part by cutting women's programs and by making it legally possible to prevent women's club teams from becoming varsity sports.
Gender-equity advocates worry that other universities in similar financial straits may choose the same solution.
Confused and Frustrated
At James Madison, the cuts mean that 144 athletes, including eight scholarship players, will no longer have opportunities to compete. Students on scholarships will keep them, but dozens of players are appealing to university leaders to justify the cuts and planning a rally in Washington to protest the current state of Title IX. (See accompanying article.)
The decision confused and frustrated many athletes, says Roger J. Burke, the head coach for women's gymnastics.
"My understanding was that the intent of Title IX was to provide opportunities," he says. "A lot of the kids were asking, 'Well then, why are you cutting women's sports?'"
James Madison officials say they had no choice. The university's undergraduate population is 61 percent female, and before the cuts only about half of its athletes were women. By next July, when the changes go into effect, women will make up 62 percent of varsity rosters.
Five years ago, James Madison's athletics program was at a similar juncture. The percentage of female athletes did not match the proportion of female students, and administrators decided to comply with Title IX by adding women's softball, which had an active club team. To pay for the new varsity squad, officials reduced scholarships in several other sports.
That solution would no longer work, administrators say, because further scholarship cuts would harm the remaining teams' ability to compete. Officials realized that they had to make a bolder move.
They eliminated so many teams, though, that many observers assumed the university made the cuts primarily for monetary reasons.
In fact, James Madison officials have since said that the cuts of the women's teams were not related to Title IX. The university'sathletics director, Jeffrey T. Bourne, now says that the broad elimination of teams was necessary for the future management of the athletics program. What the department wants within five years is a group of strong teams in the Colonial AthleticAssociation. (Women's archery, fencing, and gymnastics compete in less prominent conferences.)
But while the cutbacks do streamline the athletics program, Mr. Bourne maintains that they were not financially motivated. In an overall athletics budget of $21-million, he says, he would not make a decision this painful to save a mere $549,000. He points out that all the money recouped will remain in the department, most of it going toward women's scholarships.
Even if James Madison did not need to trim its current athletics costs, officials here wanted to ensure that the budget did not grow significantly. Before the cuts, the athletics department had 28 teams and was one of the largest in the country. It could not support any new programs, says Mr. Bourne.
And there were more women's teams emerging -- another reason the university needed to act swiftly, says James Madison's president, Linwood H. Rose.
Last spring, members of the women's equestrian club had talked with an athletics official about the possibility of forming a varsity team. They did not submit an official request, but pointed out that five of their regular competitors were varsity teams, says Katie Johnson, the club's president.
In addition to the equestrians, James Madison has active women's rugby and water-polo clubs. Mr. Rose worried that one request would lead to another, and the university would lose control over the size of its athletics program.
If James Madison balanced its ratios, however, it would meet the first of the three compliance tests and no longer have to satisfy student interest. Now that the university will offer opportunities for female athletes in line with its female student population, officials can safely turn down requests for new women's teams.
"We are now in a position of being proportional," says Mr. Rose, "and we can say no."
A Common Strategy?
Gender-equity advocates argue that applying Title IX's proportionality prong is a choice, not a necessity. If its application harms male and female athletes, they say, then universities ought to find other ways to comply with the law. The advocates are also frustrated that colleges are using gender-equity law as an excuse for cutbacks they are making for a variety of reasons.
"Title IX is being blamed unfairly for institutional decisions that have to do with priorities and finances," says Judith M. Sweet, a longtime gender-equity expert and recently retired senior vice president for championships and education services at the National Collegiate Athletic Association. James Madison had other options for achieving compliance, she says.
One alternative would be to rein in spending on big-budget sports like football. For example, rosters that are typically close to 100 -- James Madison's is 99 -- could be brought closer to National Football League size, 53.
"It's called downsizing," says Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. "The money that you would save would go a long way toward supporting other sports."
But football is one of the few college sports that generates significant revenue, and athletics officials are reluctant to trim their rosters. They do not want to disarm their teams unilaterally, and new divisionwide legislation from the NCAA that would cap rosters seems like a long shot. Mr. Bourne says he would not put his football squad, which won the NCAA's Division I-AA national championship in 2004, at a competitive disadvantage.
Gender-equity advocates worry that cutting men's and women's programs, and blocking female club teams from varsity competition, may become an increasingly common strategy for compliance with Title IX.
Lamar Daniel, a consultant who worked with James Madison on its recent decision, knows of at least two institutions where similar moves are likely to be announced within a year.
He, for one, is unapologetic about such changes. "There is no constitutional right to play anything," he says. "Young people are resilient. They'll get over it."
Sports and Academics Can Go Hand in Hand, Brookings Study Finds
Challenging popular notions about the compatibility of athletics and academics, a new study finds that sports “powerhouse” schools do not sacrifice classroom achievement.The annual Brookings Institution report says that some schools with top-ranked athleticteams actually performed slightly better on state exams than schools with less successful sports programs.
The wide-ranging report, “How Well Are American Students Learning?,” was released last week by the Washington think tank's Brown Center on Education Policy. In other findings, it says that charter schools' students score significantly below those in regular public schools on achievement tests, and it faults American students' computational skills.
Tom Loveless, the director of the center and the author of the report, identified 163 athletic“powerhouse” high schools for that portion of the report. He used national and regional rankings from the newspaper USA Today to find the top high schools in baseball and basketball since 1997–98 and in football since 1991.
Analyzing how students at those schools performed on state tests in reading and mathematics compared with those in other schools in their states with similar racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, he found that powerhouse schools performed slightly better as schools without high-profile sports programs.
“Winning at basketball can go hand and hand with winning at mathematics,” Mr. Loveless writes. “However, high schools with advantaged socioeconomic circumstances are better able than other schools to integrate excellence at sports into an ethos of achievement that pervades school culture.”
While powerhouse schools in urban and rural areas don't drop off academically because of their sports' success, the research found, public schools with both standout athletic teams and high academic achievement were more likely to be in wealthy suburban neighborhoods with predominantly white, non-Hispanic populations. In three-quarters of the states, those suburban schools scored higher on academic tests than nonpowerhouse suburban schools with similar demographics, the study found.
Charter Achievement
In its charter school findings, the report says that students in those largely independent public schools “perform significantly below regular public schools” on state achievement tests.
For the analysis, Mr. Loveless collected test-score data from 10 states and combined reading and math achievement from 1999 through 2001 into a composite score. Scores were adjusted for socioeconomic status and racial composition. The states selected had at least 30 charter schools open in 1999, tested students in grades 4, 8, and 10, and used the same achievement tests in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
Using that information, charter schools scored in the 41st percentile, meaning 59 percent of traditional public schools performed better on the achievement exams.
Charter schools' scores are influenced by the fact that parents select those schools for their children, the report notes, and if charter school students or their families are fundamentally different from students attending traditional public schools, those differences, and not the quality of the schools, may be reflected in the differences in test scores.
Jeanne Allen, the president of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington-based research and advocacy group that supports charter schools, said in a statement that the report was inconclusive and ignored other research tracking students' performance in charter schools over years.
Those other findings, she said, show that charter schools attract low-performing students, and that the schools produce achievement gains for students who have been in the charter schools for at least two years.
Math Skills
The report also criticizes the performance of 17-year-olds on arithmetic problems on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, saying those scores have dropped considerably since 1990.
That year, it says, 76 percent of 17-year-olds correctly answered basic-arithmetic problems on NAEP, compared with 71 percent in 1999, the latest year for which data were available. Since 1990, scores for 9-year-olds and 13-year-olds have remained flat in arithmetic, the report says.
Mr. Loveless argues that the problem dates back to 1989, when the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics reported that “shopkeeper arithmetic” was dominating classroom teaching. That view, Mr. Loveless says, was embraced by the National Assessment Governing Board, the federal panel that oversees the NAEP exams, and federal officials decided not to include arithmetic as a separate reporting category.
“So we arrived where we are today: a federally endorsed state of ignorance on the computation skills of American students,” Mr. Loveless contends in the report. He recommends that NAEP report arithmetic scores as a separate category for the 4th and 8th grades, and he calls for a national campaign that emphasizes arithmetic and computation skills.
But Roy Truby, the executive director of the NAEP governing board, called the report “seriously flawed.” In a statement, Mr. Ruby said that Mr. Loveless had omitted questions on percentages, which, if included, would have shown performance in arithmetic unchanged during the 1990s for 17-year-olds, and up for 13-year-olds since then.
“Computation is used in NAEP,” Mr. Truby said. “There has been no effort to hide or downgrade it. To imply that NAEP is part of a conspiracy to eliminate arithmetic from mathematics is silly, if not bizarre.”
Also, late last week, officials of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees NAEP, said that the data Mr. Loveless had gathered from the NOES Web page lacked details about whether students had used calculators to answer the questions. Because of that, they said, Mr. Loveless was working under the impression that students were not using calculators, though on about half the questions he studied they were using them.
“We took [the questions] off the Web, and we will go back and indicate which ones involved a calculator and which ones did not,” Gary Phillips, the acting commissioner of the NOES, said. Mr. Phillips said he did not know whether the Brown Center report's findings on computation would be affected.
Mr. Loveless declined to comment on the issue.
FOLLOW-UP: The reports can be read online at www.brook.edu/dybdocroot/.
Report Highlights
The 2002 Brown Center Report on American Education, “How Well Are American Students Learning?,” sponsored by the Brookings Institution, is organized into three separate sections. Here are some highlights from each.Trends in Reading and Math
High School Culture and Athletics
Charter School Achievement
Carter, David M. "AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE WATCHING FOOTBALL." BusinessWeek (29 Jan. 2001): 64-64. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Mar. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=3995347&site=ehost-live>.
AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE WATCHING FOOTBALL
Section: Sports BusinessCOMMENTARY
Wagstaff: ...Where would this college be without football? Have we got a stadium?
The Professors (in unison): Yes.
Wagstaff: Have we got a college?
The Professors (in unison): Yes.
Wagstaff: Well, we can't support both. Tomorrow we start tearing down the college.
The Professors (in unison): But Professor. Where will the students sleep?
Wagstaff: Where they always sleep. In the classroom.
From the 1932 Marx Brothers movie Horse Feathers
With the holidays and that crush of college bowl games behind us, it might be instructive to reflect on just what we were watching all those afternoons in front of the TV.
The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. says its purpose is to maintain college sports as an integral part of the educational process and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. By doing so, the NCAA seeks to maintain a clear line between intercollegiate athletics and professional sports. But over the past decade, the already thin line between college sports--especially big-time football--and the pros has all but disappeared.
LOSS LEADERS. In pro sports, the '90s saw a significant trend in corporate ownership of big-league franchises. Large media and entertainment companies in particular sought to exploit the promotional value of franchises and, in some cases, to acquire relatively cheap TV programming. By using their teams as marketing vehicles to increase the worth of their primary holdings, corporate owners allowed their franchises to be ``loss leaders'': Profits or losses mattered less than the overall value the teams added to their parents' portfolio of assets.
Over the same time and for many of the same reasons, schools became more aggressive in using their athleticdepartments to accomplish a similar goal. That's why profits and losses at the athletic departments of jock factories matter so little: Sports at such schools are simply high-profile programming designed to lure and keep customers. It's eerily similar to how Time Warner views its ownership of the Atlanta Braves or Fox looks at sports properties such as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But much like a corporation, a university's value is determined by the success of its departments, programs, and operations. And the media and sports fans, especially alumni and boosters, have such an insatiable appetite for sports that some schools--particularly football factories''--have gone overboard in emphasizing them. This is not a new phenomenon. Some 50 years ago, Dr. George L. Cross, president of the University of Oklahoma--home of this year's Bowl Champion Sooners--remarked to his football coach, Bud Wilkinson: We're trying to build a university our football team can be proud of.''
While success on the gridiron may stoke interest in enrollment, there can be a detrimental side effect--an excessive ``college experience'' in which a focus on sports leads to a party atmosphere and neglect of academics. But many universities are not above marketing their athletic prowess and, by extension, party atmosphere to impressionable high school students and placement offices. After all, it is through televised sports that many high school kids discover colleges outside their communities. Parents, convinced by their teens and by marketing-savvy sports universities, spend billions to send their kids to such colleges without ever recognizing that sports has closed the sale.
In his State of the Association address on Jan. 7, NCAA President Cedric Dempsey cautioned: ``The level of cynicism over the commercialization of our most visible athletic programs has reached epidemic proportions.'' It's only likely to grow as the hunt for student-customers becomes more intense and as the public increasingly realizes that college football games have become little more than carefully packaged infomercials brought to you by the marketing geniuses of higher education.
Copyright 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Cavanagh, Sean. "USTA Encourages Coaches to Love 'No Cut' Policies." Education Week 27.43 (16 July 2008): 8-8. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Mar. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=33357888&site=ehost-live>.
USTA Encourages Coaches to Love 'No Cut' Policies
Section: SportsFor many of us, dreams of sports stardom die ignominiously the first time a coach directs us to a seat at the end of the bench in favor of a faster, stronger, or generally more gifted teammate.
Some students, alas, never even make it that far.
Many school sports teams, in activities ranging from cheerleading to football, cut players outright, because those squads lack the resources to accommodate every player who tries out, or because coaches believe it's too much trouble to manage a winning team that way.
The United States Tennis Association, however, is expanding its efforts to encourage high school coaches to adopt "no cut" policies. The idea is that students of all talent levels benefit from participating, and that they will become lifelong players and fans — a plus for the USTA.
The 2,300 coaches who take part in the USTA'S no-cut program, originally launched in 2006, receive gifts, as well as professional recognition, such as a commendation letter to their school principals. Perhaps most important, they receive access to features such as a Web site, created this year, which allows them to share information through a coach-to-coach online forum on how to run a no-cut team effectively. The program site is www.usta.com/no-cut.
The USTA program is popular in warm-weather states like Texas, but also in such regions as the Midwest and Northeast, possibly because of the challenges that nastier climates pose for tennis coaches, said Jason Jamison, the national manager of school tennis for the USTA, based in White Plains, N.Y.
The pressure to cut tennis players often stems from limitations on court space and practice time, Mr. Jamison said. The no-cut program suggests coaches stagger practices, recruit volunteer assistant coaches, and make requests to local tennis clubs to donate court time for practices.
"We'd like tennis to become known as the catch-all sport," Mr. Jamison said: The no-cut program "stays true to the idea that health and fitness is important. Cutting kids is contrary to that mission."
Borynski, Michele L. "Factors Related to Reductions in Alcohol Consumption among College Students: The Role of Religious Involvement." Current Psychology 22.2 (Summer2003 2003): 138-148. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Mar. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=12446145&site=ehost-live>.
Factors Related to Reductions in Alcohol Consumption among College Students: The Role of Religious Involvement
Contents
#College students most at risk for engaging in binge drinking are members of Greek organizations and athletic teams (Grenier, Borskey, & Folse, 1998; Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). Membership in religious organizations may moderate binge drinking (O'Hare, 1990). One hundred thirty-nine college students completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (Presley, Meilman, & Lyerla, 1994), the Group Identification Scale (Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone, & Crook, 1989), and the 'AgeUniversal' I-E — 12 (Maltby, 1999). The results indicate that gender is related to average number of drinks per week. Membership in low alcohol consumption organizations was related to decreases in the frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year, which indicates that decreasing alcohol consumption may be more effective by promoting low alcohol consumption organizations.
Binge drinking on college campuses has become the focus of research and the concern of college administrators over the past few decades (Dowdall, Crawford, & Wechsler, 1998; Haines & Spear, 1996; Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1998; Presley, Meilman, & Lyerla, 1994; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Moeykens, & Castillo, 1994). In a national survey of 140 American colleges and universities (Wechsler, Davenport et al., 1994), only one in six students (16%) abstained from alcohol, another 41 percent were non-binge drinkers, and 44 percent were categorized as binge drinkers. Colleges nationwide are attempting to establish programs warning students about the dangers of binge drinking and to take steps to decrease these risks.
Research has shown that college students most at risk for engaging in binge drinking are members of Greek organizations and intercollegiate athletic teams (Grenier, Borskey, & Folse, 1998; Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). Studies have found that leaders of these organizations consume at least as much, and often significantly more, alcohol during drinking episodes than members and non-members (Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1998; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Grossman, & Zanakos, 1997). Group leaders are at significantly higher risk for negative consequences associated with binge drinking than members and non-members (Leichliter et al., 1998).
Membership in religious organizations may moderate college students' binge drinking behavior (O'Hare, 1990). Research indicates that students who belong to groups that oppose alcohol consumption consume significantly less alcohol than groups that do sanction alcohol consumption (Grenier et al., 1998). Additionally, viewing religion as "not important" increases the likelihood that a student will engage in binge drinking (Wechsler et al., 1995).
There is no single, widely accepted definition of "binge drinking." Many studies have generally used the term to mean five or more drinks in one sitting, but others rely on a definition utilizing six or more drinks. Until recently, most studies applied their chosen definition to males and females equally. However, Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, and Rimm (1995) argue that a gender-specific definition of binge drinking — five or more drinks for males and four or more drinks for females — is far more appropriate as men and women metabolize alcohol at different rates. This approach is beneficial because it more accurately represents the problems women experience due to binge drinking.
Gender, however, is only one of several characteristics which might be expected to relate to binge drinking, and cognitive dissonance theory can assist in understanding the role of group membership in behaviors like binge drinking. When people join social groups, for example, they are expected to engage in group-congruent behaviors. Furthermore, if a group's attitudes and a person's attitude conflict, the person experiences dissonance. Given the personal investment one puts into belonging to a social group, it is far more difficult to "cut the losses" than to alter one's personal attitudes toward a group behavior. Engaging in behaviors that a group with which an individual associates him- or herself views as normal decreases cognitive dissonance. Therefore, examining the social norms of various groups is important.
Students' perceptions of the consequences of binge drinking are frequently positive. Norman, Bennett, and Lewis (1998) found that students' levels of binge drinking were positively correlated with "a positive attitude toward binge drinking....[a belief that] binge drinking leads to various positive consequences and to see many facilitators of binge drinking" (p. 166). Haden and Edmundson (1991) found that, although personal motivations for drinking were very important, social motivations were also significant in predicting alcohol consumption. Additionally, alcohol may be viewed by students as providing the opportunity for establishment and maintenance of friendships, social activities, and sexual opportunities (Cashin, Presley, & Meilman, 1998).
Despite the perceived positive consequences of binge drinking, the reality of binge drinking is much more sobering. On the extreme end, binge drinking can lead to strokes, brain hemorrhaging, and sudden death (Altura & Altura, 1984; Altura, Gebrewold, Zhang, Altura, & Gupta, 1998). Almost one-third of college students reported using alcohol and other drugs to the point of causing blackouts on at least one occasion (Presley et al., 1994).
College students are significantly more likely to die from alcohol-related automobile accidents than any other population, and the chance of death rises significantly after consumption of five or more alcoholic beverages (Borges & Hansen, 1993). Single episode binge drinking has also been associated with an increased risk of automobile accidents (Ben-Ahron, White, & Phillips, 1995). Over 35 percent of college students reported driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (Presley et al., 1994). In a study by Nelson, Kennedy, Isaac, and Graham (1998), binge drinkers driving under the influence of alcohol were three times as likely as non-binge drinkers to report feeling safe even after consuming up to ten or more drinks.
Consequences of binge drinking affect not only those who consume alcohol, but also those around the binge drinker. Wechsler, Moeykens, Davenport, Castillo, and Hansen (1995) found that 66 percent of students in their study experienced at least one negative effect from other students' drinking. Furthermore, they compared levels of binge drinking at various college campuses. Even when students were non-binge drinkers, if the college had a higher overall level of binge drinking, these students were more likely to report being negatively affected by the binge drinking-related behaviors of other students, as compared to students who attended colleges with lower overall levels of binge drinking (Perkins & Wechsler, 1996; Wechsler, Davenport, et al., 1994; Wechsler, Moeykens, et al., 1995). These "secondary binge drinking effects" included having sleep or studying interrupted, having to take care of a drunken student, and having experienced an unwanted sexual advance (Wechsler, Davenport, et al, 1994). Approximately 25 percent of students reported being insulted or humiliated, 13 percent were hit, pushed, or physically assaulted in some manner, and 22 percent were involved in a serious argument (Wechsler, Moeykens, et al., 1995). Syre, Martino-McAllister, and Vanada (1997) found that one-fifth of students reported negative consequences of binge drinking on their own lives. Furthermore, 19 percent reported that another student's drinking negatively interfered with their lives, such as preventing them from enjoying a sporting event or other social gathering.
Engaging in behaviors that a group with which an individual associates him- or herself views as normal decreases cognitive dissonance. Therefore, examining the social norms of various groups is important. Meilman, Presley, and Cashin (1997) found that only about 10 percent of students consume 15 or more alcoholic drinks per week, and 51 percent of students at four-year colleges reported having zero or one drink in the past week. This finding supports Perkins and Berkowitz's (1986) finding that students' perceptions of binge drinking are in excess of reality.
The present study was designed to assess how group membership is related to college students' alcohol consumption behaviors, particularly binge drinking. In order to reduce dissonance, a person must adjust his or her own attitudes or behaviors to more closely resemble those of the group. Research shows that the more one is involved in Greek organizations or intercollegiate athletic teams (Cashin et al., 1998; Leichliter et al., 1998), the more likely those members are to engage in binge drinking, an approved behavior for those groups. Additionally, research has indicated that participation in certain religious groups that do not advocate alcohol consumption decreases the likelihood one will engage in binge drinking (Grenier et al., 1998). However, research has not examined how identification with certain religions is related to the alcohol consumption behaviors of those who also participate in either or both Greek organizations and intercollegiateathletic teams.
The present study examined levels of alcohol consumption and binge drinking in college students, and it evaluated the impact of group identification on binge drinking behaviors. It was hypothesized that binge drinking and alcohol consumption would be positively correlated with students' level of group identification with high alcohol consumption organizations (i.e., Greek organizations and intercollegiate athletic teams) and negatively correlated with students' level of group identification with low alcohol consumption organizations (i.e., religious organizations). Students who belonged only to high alcohol consumption organizations would exhibit the highest levels of binge drinking and alcohol consumption, whereas students who belonged only to low alcohol consumption organizations would exhibit the lowest levels of binge drinking and alcohol consumption. Finally, it was hypothesized that students involved in both types of organizations would exhibit an intermediary level of alcohol consumption and binge drinking.
METHOD
The sample of participants consisted of 144 undergraduate students drawn from the participant pool of a large, mid-Western public university. Five participants were removed from the current study, based on their response to a question on the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey that suggested a careless response style to the questionnaire. Thus, 139 participants ultimately made up the final sample of subjects in this study.
In exchange for psychology course credit, participants completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (Core; Presley, Meilman, & Lyerla, 1994), the Group Identification Scale (GIS; Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone, & Crook, 1989) and the 'Age-Universal' I-E — 12 (Maltby, 1999) in exchange for extra credit in a psychology course.
The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey
The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (Core; Presley et al., 1994) is a 22-item selfreport measure that examines drinking behavior and includes demographics, grade point average, perceptions of campus substance abuse policies and their enforcement, number of drinks per week, and frequency of binge drinking episodes. Additionally, the Core assesses use of alcohol, tobacco, and controlled substances, age of first use, perceptions of others' usage, locations and consequences of use, family history of substance use problems, and preference for the presence or absence of alcohol and drugs in the individual's social environment. For the purposes of this study, the question assessing levels of binge drinking in college students was altered to utilize the gender-specific definition of binge drinking for males and females.The Group Identification Scale (GIS)
The GIS (Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone, & Crook, 1989) is a nine-item scale assessing personal importance of group involvement. Participants were asked to list their four most important extracurricular activities and to respond to the Group Identification Scale for each activity. Higher scores on the GIS reflect higher levels of identification with the listed activity. Items on the GIS load onto three subscales: (1) the emotional subscale, (2) the individual/group opposition subscale, and (3) the cognitive aspects of identification subscale.The 'Age-Universal' I-E — 12
The 'Age-Universal' I-E — 12 (Maltby, 1999) is a 12-item measure assessing intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions to religiosity. Higher scores on this measure reflect greater orientation toward intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of religiosity. Items on the scale load onto three factors representing intrinsic, extrinsic-personal, and extrinsic-social orientation toward religion.RESULTS
Analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 9.0 (SPSS, 1998). Descriptive statistics of the sample are provided in Table 1.
Chi-square (c2) analyses were first performed to determine if involvement in high and low alcohol consumption organizations was independent. Across both genders, involvement in one type of organization did not significantly increase the likelihood of being involved in another organization (c&sup 2; = 2.45, df = 1, p — 0.12). For females, belonging to a high alcohol consumption organization did not influence the likelihood of membership in a low alcohol consumption organization (c&sup 2; = 0.32, df = 1, p = 0.58). For males, it appears that involvement in one type of organization may affect involvement in other organizations as c&sup 2; tests approached significance (c&sup 2; = 3.59, df- l, p = 0.06).
A series of Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVAs) was performed to examine how gender, membership in high alcohol consumption organizations, and membership in low alcohol consumption organizations impacted levels of binge drinking, average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week, and the frequency of alcohol use within a year. The MANOVAs were followed by univariate analyses of significant effects. The mean levels for binge drinking episodes in the previous two weeks, the average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week, and frequency of alcohol consumption in the previous year are presented in Tables 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
It was hypothesized that college students who participated only in organizations that they did not perceive as promoting alcohol consumption would exhibit the lowest levels of alcohol consumption. A 2x2 between-subjects MANOVA examining the effects of gender and low alcohol consumption organizations found that only the main effect of low alcohol consumption organizations was statistically significant (L = 0.92, F[3,121] = 3.46, p = 0.02, h&sup 2; = 0.08).
The main effect for gender (L = 0.95, F|3, 121] = 2.06, p = 0.11, h&sup 2; = 0.05) and the interaction effect for gender and low alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.97, F[3,121] = 1.37, p = 0.26, h&sup 2; = 0.03) were not statistically significant. Follow-up univariate tests found that only the frequency of use within the previous year was statistically significant (F[l, 123] = 9.61, p < 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.07). Binge drinking episodes in the previous two weeks (F[l, 123] = 2.99, p = 0.09, h&sup 2; = 0.02) and average number of drinks consumed per week (F[l, 123] = 1.5l, p = 0.22, h&sup 2; = 0.01) did not reach statistical significance.
It was hypothesized that college students who only participated in organizations that they perceived as high alcohol consumption would exhibit the highest levels of alcohol consumption. Membership in a high alcohol consumption organization had no statistically significant effect on alcohol consumption (L = 0.96, F[3,121] = 1.84, p = 0.14, h&sup 2; = 0.04). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant interaction for gender and group membership (L = 0.97, F[3,121] = 1.38, p = 0.25, h&sup 2; = 0.03). However, there was a main effect for gender (L = 0.94, F[3,121] = 2.70, p = 0.05, h&sup 2; = 0.06). Gender influenced binge drinking, average number of drinks per week, and frequency of usage within a year. Follow-up univariate tests revealed that gender influenced only the average number of drinks consumed per week (F[l, 123] = 4.76, p = 0.03, h&sup 2; = 0.04).
College students who participated in both organizations that they perceived as high and low alcohol consumption organizations were hypothesized to exhibit an intermediate level of alcohol consumption. A MANOVA examining the effects of membership in low alcohol consumption and high alcohol consumption organizations did not find a statistically significant main effect for membership in a high alcohol consumption organization (L = 0.96, F[3,121] = 1.60, p = 0.19, h&sup 2; = 0.04). Additionally, there was not a statistically significant two-way interaction for membership in low alcohol consumption and high alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.98, F[3,121] = 0.95, p = 0.42, h&sup 2; = 0.02). However, there was a statistically significant main effect for membership in a low alcohol consumption organization on binge drinking, average number of drinks per week, and frequency of usage within a year (L = 0.90, F[3,121] = 4.49, p = 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.10). Follow-up univariate tests revealed that only frequency of usage per year was related to membership in low alcohol consumption organizations (F[1,123] = 9.59, p < 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.07).
A MANOVA was used to examine the effects of gender, membership in a low alcohol consumption organization, and membership in a high alcohol consumption organization. The main effects for gender (L = 0.94, F[3,118] = 2.48, p = 0.06, h&sup 2; = 0.06) and for membership in high alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.94, F[3,118] = 2.48, p = 0.07, h&sup 2; = 0.06) were not statistically significant. However, there was a statistically significant main effect for membership in low alcohol consumption organizations on binge drinking, average number of drinks per week, and frequency of usage within a year (L = 0.91, F[3,118] = 4.07, p = 0.01, h&sup 2; = 0.09). Follow-up univariate tests found that only frequency of usage within a year was statistically significant (F[l, 119] = 12.10, p < 0.01, h&sub 2; = 0.09). No statistically significant two-way interactions were found for membership in low alcohol consumption organizations by high alcohol consumption organizations (L = 0.97, F[3,118] = 1.41, p = 0.24, h&sup 2; = 0.04), for membership in low alcohol consumption organizations by gender (L = 0.95, F[3,118]= 1.91, p = 0.13, h&sup 2; = 0.05), or for membership in high alcohol consumption organizations by gender (L = 0.97, F[3,118] = 1.12, p = 0.34, h&sup 2; = 0.03). The three-way interaction for gender, membership in low alcohol consumption organizations, and membership in high alcohol consumption organizations was not significant.
A MANOVA examined the effects of gender and membership in an alcohol-promoting organization. There was a significant main effect for gender (L = 0.94, F[3,121] = 2.70, p = 0.05), and follow-up analyses revealed that gender significantly influenced only the average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week (F[1,123] = 4.76, p = 0.03), but not levels of binge drinking and frequency of usage within the previous year. A MANOVA examined the effects of gender and membership in a low alcohol consumption organization. There was a statistically significant main effect for membership in a low alcohol consumption organization (L = 0.92, F[3,121] = 3.46, p = 0.02), and follow-up analyses revealed that membership in low alcohol consumption organizations significantly influenced only the frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year (F[l, 123] = 9.61, p < 0.01), but not levels of binge drinking and average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week. Finally, a MANOVA was used to examine the effects of membership in high alcohol consumption organizations and membership in low alcohol consumption organizations. There was a statistically significant main effect for membership in a low alcohol consumption organization (L = 0.90, F\3, 121] = 4.49, p = 0.01), and follow-up analyses revealed that membership in low alcohol consumption organizations significantly influenced only the frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year (F[1,123] = 9.59, p < 0.01), but not levels of binge drinking and average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week.
It was hypothesized that levels of binge drinking would increase as level of identification with those organizations that individuals perceived as high alcohol consumption. The effect of participants' level of identification with high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations on binge drinking was assessed using Pearson's product moment correlation (r) in two ways. First, the cumulative scores from participants' GIS particular to their involvement in high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations were correlated with their response to their levels of binge drinking in the previous two weeks. Then, the average GIS scores were obtained by taking the cumulative GIS scores for the high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption, and dividing by the number of each type of organizations to which each participant belonged. The effect of level of identification with high alcohol consumption organizations on binge drinking was non-significant for both the cumulative scores (r = -0.05, p = 0.80) and the average GIS (r = 0.06, p = 0.68). There was a similar finding for the low alcohol consumption organizations, with both the cumulative and average GIS scores resulting in non-significant findings. For the cumulative GIS scores, r = 0.01 and p = 0.93, and for the average GIS scores, r = 0.07 and p = 0.75.
The relationship of religiosity (as measured by the 'Age-Universal' I-E Scale = 12) on college students' binge drinking behaviors was measured. The relationship was negatively correlated, as hypothesized, but it did not reach the level required for significance (r = -0.04, p = 0.66).
DISCUSSION
These findings seem to suggest that increasing student involvement in organizations that dissuade alcohol consumption is more likely to reduce drinking than trying to decrease student involvement in organizations that promote alcohol consumption. As with previous studies, students' sex remains an important influence on levels of alcohol consumption as males tend to drink more alcohol per week than females. There were no differences between males and females with regard to number of binge drinking episodes or frequency of alcohol use within the previous year. The hypotheses predicting that students' level of identification with particular types of groups and their level of religiosity would influence levels of binge drinking were not supported, suggesting that other factors, such as personality or family history, should be investigated.
It was hypothesized that those who participated only in organizations such as intercollegiate athletic teams and Greek societies would have the highest levels of alcohol consumption. On the other hand, it was hypothesized that those who participated only in religiously oriented activities would have the lowest levels of alcohol consumption. Furthermore, students' level of identification with their participation in high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations, as well as their level of religiosity, was hypothesized to significantly influence their reported levels of binge drinking. Interestingly, the hypotheses were only partially supported with regard to very specific alcohol consumption behaviors (i.e., number of binge drinking episodes, frequency of alcohol usage within a year, and number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week). Furthermore, levels of group identification and levels of religiosity were not significantly related to college students' reported levels of binge drinking.
Comparing the effects of membership in high alcohol consumption and low alcohol consumption organizations revealed that only membership in a low alcohol consumption organization was related to the reported frequency of alcohol usage within the previous year. This finding suggests that membership in low alcohol consumption organizations is related to a reduction in the overall frequency of engaging in alcohol consumption compared to those who are not members of low alcohol consumption organizations. However, there were no differences found between reported levels of binge drinking and average number of alcoholic drinks per week. This finding suggests that when college students engage in drinking, whether or not they are members of low alcohol consumption organizations, they are similar in how often they binge drink and the average number of drinks consumed. Thus, participation in low alcohol consumption organizations may be related only to reductions in how often these members ultimately place themselves at risk for experiencing negative consequences as a result of their alcohol consumption. It may be that the particular time of data collection influenced the results of more recent alcohol consumption behaviors (binge drinking in previous two weeks and average number of drinks per week), in that much of the data collection was conducted in the weeks just prior to students' preparation for final exams.
Finally, it was hypothesized that participants' level of identification with low and high alcohol consumption organizations to which they belonged would be significantly related to their levels of binge drinking. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that level of religiosity would be negatively correlated with levels of binge drinking. Neither of these hypotheses was supported. It was hypothesized that cognitive dissonance theory would best explain these hypothesized results, in that people tend to participate in activities that most closely reflect their personal beliefs. Furthermore, when personal beliefs may be in conflict with the beliefs of the organization in which they participate, individuals often alter their personal beliefs to more closely match those of the majority. Thus, it appears that the cognitive dissonance theory inadequately explains college students' motivations to engage in alcohol consumption behaviors.
As with all retrospective self-reports, there is error introduced, either though deliberate misinformation from participants or through faulty memory. One possibility to improve this study in the future would be to have participants complete a brief daily alcohol consumption questionnaire. Furthermore, utilizing roommates' or close friends' reports may shed light on these results.
NOTES
Accepted for publication: August 31, 2002
The author would like to thank James J. Johnson, Douglas H. Lamb, Matthew S. Hesson-McInnis, John B. Pryor, and Steven A. Miller for their assistance throughout this project.
Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of the Sample Variable F % (N= 139) Gender Male 20 14.4 Female 110 79.1 Missing Cases 9 6.5 Age 18 19 13.7 19 33 23.7 20 33 23.7 21 35 25.2 22 9 6.5 23 and older 10 7.1 Missing Cases 1 0.7 Class Standing Freshmen 36 25.9 Sophomores 27 19.4 Juniors 53 38.1 Seniors 23 16.5 Ethnie Background American Indian/Alaskan Native 2 1.4 Hispanic 3 2.2 Asian/Pacific Islander 1 0.7 White (non-Hispanic) 102 73.4 Black (non-Hispanic) 29 20.9 Missing Cases 2 1.4Table 2 Average Number of Binge Drinking Episodes in Previous Two Weeks by Gender and Group Membership Variable M SD N Gender Male 3.55 1.82 20 Female 2.94 1.62 107 High Alcohol Consumption Organization Member 3.37 1.59 54 Non-Member 2.75 1.69 81 Low Alcohol Consumption Organization Member 2.68 2.00 22 Non-Member 3.06 1.61 113 Total 3.00 1.68 135Table 3 Average Number of Alcoholic Drinks Consumed in a Typical Week by Gender and Participation in Group Variable M SD N Gender Male 12.15 12.29 20 Female 6.28 7.16 110 High Alcohol Consumption Organization Member 9.45 8.98 55 Non-Member 5.42 7.32 84 Low Alcohol Consumption Organization Member 6.55 9.23 22 Non-Member 7.11 8.06 117 Total 7.02 8.22 139Table 4 Frequency of Alcohol Consumption within Previous Year by Gender and Participation in Group Variable M SD N Gender Male 5.45 2.06 20 Female 5.33 1.92 110 High Alcohol Consumption Organization Member 5.76 1.74 55 Non-Member 5.11 1.98 84 Low Alcohol Consumption Organization Member 4.41 2.44 22 Non-Member 5.55 1.75 117Total 5.37 1.91 139Lipka, Sara. "In a New Twist on 'Equal Opportunity,' a University Cuts Women's Sports." Chronicle of Higher Education 53.11 (03 Nov. 2006): 40-40. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 10 Mar. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=23207511&site=ehost-live>.
In a New Twist on 'Equal Opportunity,' a University Cuts Women's Sports
Section: AthleticsOne after another, the 24 women on James Madison University's gymnastics team leapt along a balance beam, swung around uneven bars, and flipped over a vault here last month at one of their first practices after an unexpected setback.
Their form looked flawless, but an extra box of tissues sitting on a desk nearby suggested that their routine had not returned to normal. In late September, the university announced that, come summer, it would eliminate women's gymnastics, along with two other women's sports and seven men's teams, to streamline its athletics program and to comply with Title IX of theEducation Amendments of 1972, the law requiring institutions that receive federal funds to offer male and female students equal opportunities to participate in sports. A month later, James Madison students are still questioning why administrators made the cutbacks, what caused them to eliminate the teams they did, and whether -- in the name of gender equity -- this had to happen at all.
Cutting teams so that the proportion of male and female athletes reflects that of the general student population is one way to comply with Title IX. The law also lets institutions comply by proving they have satisfied female students' athletic interests, or by showing a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for women.
Meeting the latter tests often means adding women's teams. But James Madison officials say they could not afford to do that. Instead, the university came into compliance in part by cutting women's programs and by making it legally possible to prevent women's club teams from becoming varsity sports.
Gender-equity advocates worry that other universities in similar financial straits may choose the same solution.
Confused and Frustrated
At James Madison, the cuts mean that 144 athletes, including eight scholarship players, will no longer have opportunities to compete. Students on scholarships will keep them, but dozens of players are appealing to university leaders to justify the cuts and planning a rally in Washington to protest the current state of Title IX. (See accompanying article.)The decision confused and frustrated many athletes, says Roger J. Burke, the head coach for women's gymnastics.
"My understanding was that the intent of Title IX was to provide opportunities," he says. "A lot of the kids were asking, 'Well then, why are you cutting women's sports?'"
James Madison officials say they had no choice. The university's undergraduate population is 61 percent female, and before the cuts only about half of its athletes were women. By next July, when the changes go into effect, women will make up 62 percent of varsity rosters.
Five years ago, James Madison's athletics program was at a similar juncture. The percentage of female athletes did not match the proportion of female students, and administrators decided to comply with Title IX by adding women's softball, which had an active club team. To pay for the new varsity squad, officials reduced scholarships in several other sports.
That solution would no longer work, administrators say, because further scholarship cuts would harm the remaining teams' ability to compete. Officials realized that they had to make a bolder move.
They eliminated so many teams, though, that many observers assumed the university made the cuts primarily for monetary reasons.
In fact, James Madison officials have since said that the cuts of the women's teams were not related to Title IX. The university'sathletics director, Jeffrey T. Bourne, now says that the broad elimination of teams was necessary for the future management of the athletics program. What the department wants within five years is a group of strong teams in the Colonial AthleticAssociation. (Women's archery, fencing, and gymnastics compete in less prominent conferences.)
But while the cutbacks do streamline the athletics program, Mr. Bourne maintains that they were not financially motivated. In an overall athletics budget of $21-million, he says, he would not make a decision this painful to save a mere $549,000. He points out that all the money recouped will remain in the department, most of it going toward women's scholarships.
Even if James Madison did not need to trim its current athletics costs, officials here wanted to ensure that the budget did not grow significantly. Before the cuts, the athletics department had 28 teams and was one of the largest in the country. It could not support any new programs, says Mr. Bourne.
And there were more women's teams emerging -- another reason the university needed to act swiftly, says James Madison's president, Linwood H. Rose.
Last spring, members of the women's equestrian club had talked with an athletics official about the possibility of forming a varsity team. They did not submit an official request, but pointed out that five of their regular competitors were varsity teams, says Katie Johnson, the club's president.
In addition to the equestrians, James Madison has active women's rugby and water-polo clubs. Mr. Rose worried that one request would lead to another, and the university would lose control over the size of its athletics program.
If James Madison balanced its ratios, however, it would meet the first of the three compliance tests and no longer have to satisfy student interest. Now that the university will offer opportunities for female athletes in line with its female student population, officials can safely turn down requests for new women's teams.
"We are now in a position of being proportional," says Mr. Rose, "and we can say no."
A Common Strategy?
Gender-equity advocates argue that applying Title IX's proportionality prong is a choice, not a necessity. If its application harms male and female athletes, they say, then universities ought to find other ways to comply with the law. The advocates are also frustrated that colleges are using gender-equity law as an excuse for cutbacks they are making for a variety of reasons."Title IX is being blamed unfairly for institutional decisions that have to do with priorities and finances," says Judith M. Sweet, a longtime gender-equity expert and recently retired senior vice president for championships and education services at the National Collegiate Athletic Association. James Madison had other options for achieving compliance, she says.
One alternative would be to rein in spending on big-budget sports like football. For example, rosters that are typically close to 100 -- James Madison's is 99 -- could be brought closer to National Football League size, 53.
"It's called downsizing," says Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. "The money that you would save would go a long way toward supporting other sports."
But football is one of the few college sports that generates significant revenue, and athletics officials are reluctant to trim their rosters. They do not want to disarm their teams unilaterally, and new divisionwide legislation from the NCAA that would cap rosters seems like a long shot. Mr. Bourne says he would not put his football squad, which won the NCAA's Division I-AA national championship in 2004, at a competitive disadvantage.
Gender-equity advocates worry that cutting men's and women's programs, and blocking female club teams from varsity competition, may become an increasingly common strategy for compliance with Title IX.
Lamar Daniel, a consultant who worked with James Madison on its recent decision, knows of at least two institutions where similar moves are likely to be announced within a year.
He, for one, is unapologetic about such changes. "There is no constitutional right to play anything," he says. "Young people are resilient. They'll get over it."