Student athletes deserve a voice in the Athletic Department

In his letter to the Review , Blake New completely misses the point regarding the color of Dan Romano's hair. Yes, some would say he was given a choice between washing the dye out of his hair or not traveling with the team over spring break. This is a position that no one, particularly an Oberlin student, should ever be placed in - acquiesce to an unfair regulation passed down by an authority to which he or she has no recourse, or suffer the consequences. The only authority figures Romano could address about his situation were Coach Mooney and Oberlin's athletic director, who stood behind the coach he had hired. Furthermore, could Romano's teammates even stand up for him if they so chose, without facing similar persecution? Romano, like every Oberlin athlete - varsity or club, has few known or effective means to address what they feel is mistreatment by the athletic department, except by going through the athletic department.

We question what exactly Coach Mooney's "personal appearance policy" is and who it covers. There are players with tattoos, goatees, bleached hair, and hair down to their ass. It seems as if Mooney's policy is simply a matter of personal preference and is arbitrary in its enforcement. Oberlin should be leading the change of what society deems as "normal", not stifling individual lifestyles for the sake of conformity. Does it bother anyone that an Oberlin student was forced out of a school-sponsored activity because an employee of the college didn't like the way the student looked?

New's letter fails to question why a personal appearance policy is appropriate in Oberlin sports at all. Coach Mooney might cite baseball's proud and long-standing tradition of never having a green-haired player as the origin for his "personal appearance policy". Of course, baseball has also had traditions of drug and alcohol abuse, misogyny, racism, homophobia, gambling, chewing tobacco and other lifestyles that make green hair seem healthy in comparison. Steve Howe can snort cocaine all day and play for the Yankees, but Dan Romano changes the color of his hair and he gets kicked off a team...at Oberlin?

Blake New says, "If we were not so concerned with drawing individual attention to ourselves, maybe our athletic teams would fare a lot better." Or maybe the baseball team would fare a lot better by not dismissing players when they are already shorthanded. A team inspires respect by playing well, not by dressing well. Some of the most successful teams on this campus - cross country, swimming and ultimate, have no appearance policies. We find it difficult to believe that a coach can build a winning program by antagonizing his or her players.

In concluding, New said "Judge a person by the content of his character...what better place to build character than on an athletic team. Ask some of the baseball players their view!!" Apparently character is built by alienating a person for their individual differences and villainizing a person who has no means of self-defense. As for asking the baseball team, Coach New, we did! Did you? Currently, there exists such an atmosphere of paranoia that players are afraid to express their opinions for fear of reprimand. If an environment exists at Oberlin such that people are afraid to express their opinions, then a hard look needs to be taken at what it is that is creating that environment.

We feel that Dan Romano's case is another instance of an Oberlin athletic team being damaged by the lack of a venue for players to discuss problems they have with a coach or the athletic department. Last year, 13 members of the women's basketball team did not return due to disagreements with Ann Gilbert's coaching style. Ann Gilbert then publicly labeled some of the former women's basketball players as "...at best intramural players.". Until real change is affected in the athletic department as a whole, student-athletes will continue to be vulnerable to abuses of power by the athletic department. We see the current situation as a chance to move beyond discussions of these individual cases and instead discuss a chance to improve relations between student athletes and the Athletic Department. Therefore we encourage a dialogue between student athletes, long range planning boards, and administrators as to what form and structure an independent grievance board in the Athletic Department should take.

This letter should not be seen as a personal attack against any specific coach. Instead, we are trying to show how individual cases have led to a need for an independent venue for grievances in the Athletic Department. We'd like to initiate change in the system of "checks and balances" within the athletic department, a system which at present is flawed. We applaud the work and success of many of Oberlin's coaches to work within the Oberlin environment and value system. We see their work and realize the potential for great future success in the Oberlin Athletic Department. The undersigned wish to give student-athletes more of a voice in the Athletic Department. Oberlin Students for the Empowerment of Student Athletes is a newly formed group, signing members: Matt Meisenhelder, college senior and Captain of OC Men's Ultimate; Andrew McCormick, college senior and member of OC Men's Ultimate; John Fedora, college junior and member of OC Men's Ultimate; Beth O'Brien, college junior and ex-member of OC Women's Basketball ; B.J. Johnson, college senior and member of OC Men's Volleyball; Christopher Wells, college senior and Captain of OC Men's Cross Country; Sam Krasnow, college junior, Captain of OC Men's Lacrosse and member of OC Men's Soccer; Fernando Bretos, college sophomore and Captain of OC Men's Rugby; Dan Bourque, college sophomore and member of OC Men's Ice Hockey; and Katy Hansen, college sophomore and Captain of OC Women's Ultimate Christopher Wells, Amanda Gillespie college junior and women's lacrosse; Daniel Bourque, college first year and ice hockey