Transitioning Times

Every year I am involved in a college scholarship selection process for a graduating male student-athlete who wishes to continue their education and participation in athletics past high school.  Included on the application for consideration, is one very significant question, “What does being a student-athlete mean to you?”  This question always brings about the most interesting responses. The essays have mentioned everything from the importance of “leadership and discipline” and the vital role that parents play in getting their children to practices and games to what seems to be a well-rehearsed “acceptance speech” directed to a particular coach (or coaches) for “always being there” and “showing them values and endless possibilities”.  There have even been those who feel that they can make anything happen and change the world because they have had successful academic and athletic high school careers; who use words like “strength, courage, and power” in their essays....

What’s that song you’re listening to?’ ‘Who sings it?’ These are common questions we ask the people around us or search the internet to discover. But how often do we ask, ‘What is this song about ?’ Every day people are exposed to music at home, in the car on the way to/from work or children’s activities, at stores, in the community. We don’t even pay much attention to most of it, and yet we can find ourselves humming or singing along with friends, family, or children, not really knowing what messages we may be endorsing by joining in on those catchy tunes and repeated refrains. In recent years, there has been much media attention given to this question about the messages contained in both lyrics and corresponding videos. A few years ago people were talking about Robin Thicke’s ‘ Blurred Lines ’, featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams, which repeats the phrase, ‘You know you want it.' Lyrics like this perpetuate the idea that someone else has the right to tell you, when you...

When I read headlines like this it gives me a sense of dread that students in our institutions of higher learning lack the conscience, morality, and basic human goodness that would prevent them from  behaving in such a manner.   The blatant disregard these fraternity members showed for other people’s bodies, their rights, feelings, and very lives exposes a disturbing level of ignorance about what is right and what is wrong in regards to our relationship with other people.  Kappa Delta Rho’s website claims that it has been over a century that this fraternal order has been charged with developing “educated gentlemen who promote human dignity, positive relationships among men, and moral excellence of the highest ideals.”  Excellent - except for the fact that the frat members on Penn State campus evidently thought it was perfectly okay to use a private, invitation-only Facebook page to post photos of nude and partially nude women in sexual or otherwise embarr...

As a parent of two children, one boy and one girl, I perhaps was not as vigilant as I should have been in controlling their access to video games and movies that had “adult content.”  I breathe a sigh of relief that I do not have to raise them in today’s environment.    I still remember no longer allowing my son to watch professional wrestling on television.  He used to love to physically wrestle with his stuffed power ranger, and I thought it was cute.  Then, the news of the death of one child by another resulting from a choke hold that the child saw on TV’s “Wrestlemania,” caused me to end my son’s growing preoccupation with professional wrestling.  He took it well and found another way to pass his time.  I always controlled the games he could play on his Playstation I then Playstation II, and he seemed fine with being limited to sports only video games.  My son was told why and also knew that he should not be shooting weapons while playin...

An  opinion piece  was recently published in Time calling for an end to the rape culture hysteria.  There has, of course, been some backlash from the feminist blogosphere.  Essentially, what the opinion piece says is that rapists should be held accountable for raping people.  Yes.  Absolutely.  We agree wholeheartedly...however.  If these rapists are not being held accountable by their schools, or law enforcement, or the criminal justice system at large, can we really attribute that to each of those individual people being incompetent?  What does it mean when every person a victim speaks to asks them weighted questions about their behavior prior to the assault?  What does it say about the messages young men receive when we have to have PSA's about victims needing to be awake to consent?  Doesn't this assume that these young men have received a contradictory message at some point?  That it's okay to take what you want from a p...