JUNK RUNTAH

bad minton

It seems like my school is teeming with student-athletes and just about anything is considered a sport in this joint. Ive become accustomed to notification from the athletics department about whos going to be absent and requests to be as accomodating as I can, and Ive heard from students that Im more sympathetic to the plights of student athletes than most.

That was then, and this is now.

A couple weeks back that all went to crap when one of my student-athletes lied to me about missing class for a badminton tournament. He asked to make up the in-class assignment, and I told him Id check with the athletics office because I hadnt heard about the badminton tournament. Well, when I checked, the coordinator told me that there werent any excused absences for the badminton team that day. I emailed the student her reply, and suggested he have his coach talk to me if there was some sort of error. I heard nothing, until today.

Today, when he emailed me about his grade thats stuck somewhere between a B+ and an A-. Today, when he who lied to me and I probably could have pursued it as academic dihonesty, told me that it wasnt fair because I hadnt offered enough opportunities for him to make up the work he missed (I dropped the three scores, but he wanted more). Today, when he played the poor-pitiful-student-athlete card. Today, when the semester is already over and all that remains is his final exam.

I am afraid that my view of student athletes is eternally tarnished - all because of the one bad-minton player.

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