Praxis: A Writing Center Journal • Vol 10, No 2 (2013)
WRITING CENTERS IN ATHLETICS, A NEW CONTACT ZONE Alanna Bitzel The University of Texas at Austin alanna.bitzel@athletics.utexas.edu When I meet someone for the first time and explain what I do, I commonly hear some version of the question “So, what? You write papers for football players?” It was in the spirit of combating this disheartening and marginalizing view of student athletes and athletics support services that I wrote my initial Praxis column, “Supporting Student Athletes.” There, I describe the Writing Lab (Lab) at The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT’s) Football Academics Center and our approach to working with student athlete football players. In beginning this conversation, my intent was to disavow notions that our writing tutors are doing more than they should for our student athletes and highlight writing center work happening in unconventional environments. In his response to my column, J. Michael Rifenburg advocates for “greater awareness of how student-athletes are a unique subset of our student population.” I support increased scholarship on student athletes and writing, of course, and I absolutely agree that we, as writing center practitioners, must continually examine how we can adapt to student athletes’ unique circumstances.1 As Rifenburg suggests, we must develop strategies that promote a “clearer understanding of the cognitive processes” associated with sports that may be applicable to writing2 and demonstrate how “studentathletes operate within a complex discursive community.” In calling for more research centered on student athletes, Rifenburg describes the strategies I suggest as being “strikingly similar to strategies the typical campus writing center would espouse.” Writing centers have supported student writing for decades, and I believe this expertise can prove invaluable in supporting student athlete success. Rifenburg argues, however, that NCAA guidelines impinge upon athletics academics centers to such a degree that “tutoring methods cannot mimic what occurs in a traditional campus writing center.” Rifenburg refers to “strict NCAA academic compliance mandates, which, for example, disallow a tutor writing on a student-athlete’s paper or collaboratively brainstorming.” Neither a prohibition on writing on a student’s paper nor on collaboration appears in the 2012-2013 NCAA Division 1 Manual.
The NCAA only addresses the broader issue of “unethical conduct,” in Bylaw 10.1, which includes academic fraud: “Knowing involvement in arranging for fraudulent academic credit or false transcripts for a prospective or an enrolled student-athlete” (10.1-(b)). The “2000 Official Interpretation” of Bylaw 10.1-(b) clarifies reporting requirements but does not include these prohibitions.3 Rifenburg also asserts that NCAA guidelines foster an environment in which athletics writing support “cannot tolerate tutor error” or “chaos.”4 He identifies logistical requirements that impede chaos– tutors working in designated spaces, students signing in for writing sessions, and administrators observing tutoring sessions. Such requirements, common in many workplaces and writing centers, are not NCAAspecific and do not necessarily prevent creativity in sessions. Adopting a writing center approach that embraces collaboration and chaos during writing sessions does not violate NCAA guidelines. The NCAA recently amended Bylaw 16.3.1.1, which describes academic services. Effective August 2013, the bylaw will read: Member institutions shall make general academic counseling and tutoring services available to all student-athletes. Such counseling and tutoring services may be provided by the department of athletics or the institution's nonathletics student support services. In addition, an institution, conference or the NCAA may finance other academic support, career counseling or personal development services that support the success of student-athletes. This amended bylaw eliminates specific limitations on support services and grants an institution greater latitude in implementing academic services to “support the success of student-athletes,” as long as they are in accordance with the institution’s academic integrity policies. At UT, students, including student athletes, can visit the Undergraduate Writing Center (UWC) for their writing support needs. Since the UWC provides writing support services in keeping with our institution’s academic integrity policies,5 our Lab should certainly be able to apply writing center practices and principles with student athletes to foster