Columns

MEIDENBAUER | In Support of the Women’s Rowing Team

By |

Toward the end of March, The Cornell Daily Sun published an article written by Anna Hooper ‘25 on the Cornell Women’s Rowing team’s performance at the Doc Hosea Invitational. While seemingly innocuous, the points in the article that implied how the team supposedly performed poorly feel out of touch, as someone very familiar with the team. I once again find myself pleading for all to be kinder to student athletes and recognize their achievements. While I’ve discussed this subject before, I’d like to share more about what it truly means to be a student-athlete, and why articles like this aren’t an accurate depiction of where a team is currently at.  

Sports aren’t just about performance in terms of times or standings; those are merely a goal. Athletes simply spend too much time for a medal or a trophy to be the sole driving factor behind why we participate in our sports.