Huntington University athletes are sometimes left in the dust when it comes to campus activities. There are a few athletic teams that disallow their players to participate in certain events that occur throughout campus. Powderpuff and Olympiad are just a couple of those events, plus some intramural sports as well as social activities. While it makes sense to not push yourself when in a sports season, you should still be able to enjoy yourself in these different areas.

Not only are they sometimes now allowed to participate, but occasionally, they can’t physically be there because of the time that practice and the sport takes up. There have been a few instances in which players wished to be at an event but couldn’t because of scheduling issues. I am aware that as an athlete, it is their job to attend practice and certain games or meets because they are essentially paid to do so. However, it is just a bummer to not be able to attend activities because of the sport. It is especially difficult for freshmen. They are trying to learn other people’s names at the beginning of the year and attend anything they can in order to become more comfortable in a new and frightening environment, although the upside to this is that as a freshman athlete, you do know the people on your team and are with them constantly.

Although there are downsides to being a collegiate athlete, there are also positives, of course. As mentioned, the people you really get to become close with are your teammates. Everything is done with your teammates during season, and usually that bond with them will last throughout the rest of the school year and your time here at Huntington as a whole.

Overall, there are pros and cons to being an athlete at Huntington. On one hand, you always have your teammates to depend on, but on the other, you miss out on certain social events that you could have met other people at. There are slight overlapping issues within the activities and athletic occurrences that cannot be changed, and of course that is nobody’s fault. For other activities, though, it should be the responsibility of the player that determines what he or she can compete in.