To the editors:

The comment “Nothing to be Proud Of” (Sept. 22) by Andrew P. Schalkwyk is a display of freedom of speech on par with flag-burning. I never did believe The Crimson would publish a frontal attack against an essential part of Harvard University.

Schalkwyk has no idea of the commitment level of athletes at this school. This is not high school athletics. Varsity athletes here spend countless hours throughout the year (not just the nine months students are in school) working out in order to uphold a veritable tradition of Harvard: athletic excellence.

The “student” comes first in student-athlete. We all earned our admission here in the same way Schalkwyk did: in the classroom. At Harvard, there are no diplomas awarded to athletes with a special “athlete” stamp that would magically taint our diplomas. Our diplomas are the same as yours.

Athletics is an integral part of this school. Just because many students decide that book work is more important than being part of a society and choose not to attend sporting events does not mean that athletics has to be the odd-man-out.

Harvard could not compete with other top-tier institutions without offering social events such as football games and crew races. Not only does it offer the most die-hard alumni a chance to remain connected to the school, it also offers students a chance to escape the monotony of schoolwork and enjoy the social scene.

And because Harvard offers varsity athletics, is Schalkwyk attempting to say that Harvard should forget about over 100 years of Harvard football tradition, among other things, because student-athletes are part of a different pool of applicants than non-athletes? Personally, I did consider applying to Harvard in the “regular” pool of applicants to avoid the upturned noses of such persons. Alas, I did not do so. I guess I find solace in being an honors government concentrator with a 1580 SAT score, a 4.2 high school GPA, and a 3.5 Harvard GPA.

MATTHEW B. DRAZBA ’08

September 22, 2005

The writer is a member of the Harvard football team.