On May 30, 2006 a group of Guilford College faculty and administrators including Vice President Randy Doss, Athletic Director Marion Kirby, and Sports Studies Professor Bob Malekoff attended the Integration Institutes Conference and workshop at Sweet Briar College.
According to The College Sports Project, Integration Institutes provide an opportunity for presidents, academic and athletic administrators, faculty, and coaches to share ideas and objectives about a Division III sports model that celebrates the primacy of educational goals.
“The workshop dealt with gaining a sense of total community among student athletes and non- athletes at Division III schools,” said Kirby.
At the conference faculty members and coaches from various colleges were taught ways to encourage both student athletes and non-athletes to attend sporting events and other on campus activities together.
Doss believes that in order to get athletes and non athletes to significantly interact, “we must give structure to informality” and “be conscious of traffic flow.” He also pointed out, “Guilford has a student/athlete council advisory board that has been dealing with the issue of integration for years.”
Erik Belmont, a senior at Guilford College and member of the student concerns council, is aware of this council but has heard little about is activity. “I’ve heard the issue of integration mentioned, but I don’t know how they’re going about dealing with it,” he said.
“People freak out when they hear the word required”, said Doss. “But maybe it should be mandatory that all students attend sporting events and poetry readings.”
In terms of other ways to encourage integration Kirby mentioned having one non-coaching staff faculty member involved with each sports team.
“Guilford values community service, getting the athletes more involved with community service would allow them to meet people outside of their immediate peer group”, said Doss.
Doss also suggested the idea of making the football field astro-turf so that all of the games could be played on the same field; therefore fans of different sports would be meeting at the same place.
“This (the issue of integration) is a two-way street,” said Doss. “The non-athletes need to be just as willing as the athletes to interact with one another.”
Doss also stressed the fact that the issue of diversity and integration is deeper than simply athletes versus non-athletes.
“We have significantly different people from significantly different backgrounds,” he said. “65% of the student body is from out of state, but most of the athletes are from North Carolina. The majority of the athletes here identify as conservative. Out of state students are more likely identify as liberal and be less religious than in state students.”
“The road that divides the back of Founders Hall from Ragan Brown Field House offers visible barriers between athletes and the rest of the student body,” said Kirby. “That barrier doesn’t need to be there.”
Kirby added that he’s seen and heard talk of the social divide at Guilford between athletes and non-athletes for years, but that it can be hard to tell where perception ends and reality starts.
Graham Payne, a sophomore at Guilford College and member of the rugby team said, “that it depends on what social groups you look at, you won’t see kids from the outdoors club hanging out with football players. As a whole there is no student/athlete integration at Guilford, but that of course there are exceptions to that rule.”
Doss went on saying that the social divide transcends Guilford’s campus “It isn’t just a Guilford thing, it’s an NCAA thing, it’s a Division III thing.”
“Athletes come to Division III schools for different reasons than non-athletes do. Athletes come to play. Other students have different reasons for attending. At the same time, athletes and non-athletes are far more similar than they realize.
“Students at Guilford are all passionate about something,” Doss added. “They have different interests, but to some extent, they all want the same things.
“It would be easy to deal with difference if we were all the same.”
“This is a never ending battle, there is no finish line, and we can always find room for improvement.