In response to Ms. McCracken’s Nov. 22 letter, “Athletes deserve early registration,” just how na‹ve and self-centered are you to believe that student athletes should be able to register early due to time constrictions and that “a normal student has all day to go to class”?

Has it not occurred to you that many “normal students” are not here on scholarships for athletics and have to find another way to pay for school? No, Mommy and Daddy don’t always pick up the bill by default. Believe it or not, some people here are paying their own way through college. This requires student loans, which sometimes just cover tuition, and many students work one or multiple jobs to make up the difference.

Take myself, for example. I have a great job that pays well and that I love, and that helps put me through college.

However, due to the type of business, I am only able to work between 8 and 5. But wait, that’s when all the classes are. Now I should get special treatment.

But I don’t.

The bottom line is that when the university begins to hand out special privileges to certain groups, for whatever reason, other groups come along, either complaining or wanting the same treatment. We will never see anyone completely satisfied. It’s a vicious cycle, so it shouldn’t be started by letting a certain group register early, no matter the case.

Besides, isn’t the goal of higher education to educate the mind and prepare for entry into the working world? When athletics and other programs that are in place to make money begin to dominate, higher education is lost, and a university merely becomes a business.

You say that you “feel I have the right to register earlier than others due to the great time commitment I have made to my sport and the university.” To hell with your commitment — I feel I have a right to register early because I actually pay for my school. You ought to just be happy in the fact that you don’t.

Jason Taylor

Senior

Management Information Systems