Citing a perceived divide between the two segments of the student body, President Eisgruber today announced a new initiative to increase the number of interactions between athletes and non-athletes during the former group’s regularly scheduled sports practices.
“It’s important for all Princeton students to feel integrated into campus life,” said Eisgruber, in an official statement. “Unfortunately, our student athletes tend to become isolated from the rest of the community, spending hours every day, it seems, playing sports together, without any non-athletes present. We want all students involved in athletics to know that going to practice doesn’t have to mean seeing the same old faces again and again. Practice can be a time to meet new, interesting people, some of whom have no affiliation with your team and will likely serve only to obstruct the physically demanding and mentally taxing training regimes that have been prescribed by your coaches.”
Eisgruber goes on to note that non-athletes shouldn’t be intimidated by the tight-knit social groups athletes form with each other and should take the first step in bridging the gap. “I know that when I see the football team huddled together on a field or the swim team stretching beside their pool, I immediately think, ‘I do not belong here. These people are about to be involved in serious, strenuous physical activity. This is no time to introduce myself and ask them what kind of music they listen to.’ This is exactly the mentality we have to do away with.”
Overall, student athletes have responded positively to Eisgruber’s statement. “I think this is a welcome change,” said Stephanie Park, a member of the crew team. “I mean, I love rowing, but some days I’ll look around the boat and I’ll realize that it’s all just other rowers. It would be nice if some people in our boats were just there to study, or even to play an instrument in which they are classically trained.”
Some non-athletes, on the other hand, have taken issue with the initiative. For example, David Newman, a student in the Woodrow Wilson School, says that he was badly injured while trying to follow Eisgruber’s advice. “I understand that it’s not really possible to come to a full stop on ice skates, but either way the hockey team did not seem receptive to my overtures of friendship.”
In a follow-up statement, Eisgruber clarified that he does not expect athletes to spend time with non-athletes after practice or on weekends, considering that “non-athletes are in general pretty lame.”
– MA ’19, Illustrated by KG’19
