Should College Athletes be Paid?

By Jasper Townsend Class 707

While college athletes earn their schools millions of dollars a year, they are not 

given an actual paycheck. Instead they receive an academic scholarship, which pays for 

school, but not all living expenses, and this this has caused much debate between the 

NCAA and many college athletes across the nation. College sports is big business in 

the US and for all that these players do for their schools, they deserve some of these profits 

on top of their scholarships to ease the burden of daily living expenses.

One reason that college athletes should be paid is that many of them are living in 

poverty. According to www.ncpanow.org, “University of Texas football players’ fair 

market value was $513,922 but they lived $778 below the federal poverty line and had a 

$3,624 scholarship shortfall.” This shows that while they were generating money for 

their school and becoming stars, they were living under the poverty line. Another piece 

of evidence found by www.dailyfinance.com proves this point even further. “The report 

also found that the room-and-board provisions in a full scholarship leave 85% of players 

living on campus and 86% of players living off campus living below the federal poverty 

line.” This shows that athletes need paychecks so they are not living in poverty or at 

the very least, they should receive a stipend for living day to day. 

Another reason college athletes should be paid is that they do not have enough 

money for daily necessities. As said by www.theweek.com, “Because even full-ride 

athletic scholarships don't cover the full cost of attending school, athletes are often short 

a few thousand bucks for ancillary expenses on top of tuition, room and board, books, 

and fees: Money for gas, shampoo, and, yes, maybe a few beers.”  This quote shows that many 

students do not have enough money for basic objects and activities. In another source, 

www.dailycamera.com says “Miller, from Littleton, sympathizes with his out-of-state teammates 

who have to stretch their stipends even further to pay for flights home.” This shows that these 

players need to stretch their stipends so much thay even have to use it for airplane tickets to visit 

nephews.

Some may say that college athletes should not be paid because the athletes are 

not eligible for any other support. Students can be supported by their schools by 

receiving stipends. As said in an interview with Julian Hayes on the Hawks on 

www.usatoday.com, “There are simple things like gas money, toiletries, clothing — things that 

people take for granted. A student who is on an academic scholarship has time to bring in some 

extra income, whereas a full scholarship player most likely is not able to do that.” If the 

student receives a stipend, it is legal and helpful. 

College athletes should be paid living wages. Many of them are struggling to meet their 

daily needs, and these talented, young stars of tomorrow deserve better . They generate millions 

for their school, and  they deserve some of the profits.

Works Cited 

"Boulder DailyCamera.com: Colorado, News, Business, Sports, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information - Boulder Daily Camera." Boulder DailyCamera.com: Colorado, News, Business, Sports, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information - Boulder Daily Camera. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://www.dailycamera.com/>. 

"DailyFinance." .com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://www.dailyfinance.com/>. 

"Home | National College Players Association." Home | National College Players Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://www.ncpanow.org/>. 

"USA TODAY: Latest World and US News." USA Today. Gannett, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://www.usatoday.com/>. 

"The Week Magazine: Political News and Cartoons, Current Events and Entertainment Online." The Week. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://www.theweek.com/>. 

drums girls and dangerous pie

        In the book Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, the main character Steven Alpers character changes greatly. When this book begins, Steven is a kid who is barley noticed by his teachers or classmates. He thinks his little brother Jeffery is very annoying and so he ignores him. Steven makes jokes and doesn't take anything seriously. Stevens character changes when Jeffery is rushed to the hospital from getting an extreme nosebleed but when he returns, Stevens mom tells him that his little brother has cancer. After hearing this Steven matures greatly. He starts caring for his brother much more than before. An example of this is when Jeffery has to be taken to the hospital but his mom can't go because she is sick. For support, Steven misses school and goes to the hospital with jeffery. Another example of Stevens character changing is socially. When his brother is diagnosed with leukemia, he goes up socially in school. For example, Rene Albert who is supposedly the prettiest girl in the school becomes very good friends with Steven. When this happens everyone in the school knows him.

         Overall, Stevens character changes a lot in this book. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars because the book seems very repetitive. I would recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction.

Should Juvenile Offenders be Prosecuted as Adults

                                                                      No
            When juveniles are 13 and 14, their minds are not fully developed. By placing them in a prison with other adults, this would probably cause more harm then good. It is scientifically proven that 90 percent of teenager offenders actions do not effect their adult life. If placed in prison as an adult even though you are a child, your punishment will be much more severe. this includes more prison years, harm from other adults, etc. as a child, these punishments would not been as harsh.

                                                                      Yes

              If a juvenile does a very bad crime, such as first degree murder, then they should be sentenced as an adult. This can teach them lessons on how not to be a criminal and how it is bad for you. There are very harsh punishments for improper actions. After the crack and cocaine epidemic, laws were changed so juveniles could be charged as adults.

The Thing About Luck

       In the book i have just started to read, the two main characters named Summer and Jaz are very different. This blog post is going to be about their similarities and differences. Lets start off with Summer. Summer has lots of friends and is a normal kid. She always ttys to help other people and look on the bright side of life, even though she hasn't had much herself. Summer had gotten malaria, which was very rare that year.

       Jaz, on the other hand has no friends. He spends hours building amazing lego sculptures in his room, alone. He is a child who concentrates very hard, works very hard, but everyone acts like he is different from everyone else. He and summer are brother and sister, even though they are nothing alike. 

     The only things they have in common are that they both are brother and sister, and they both care for each other. They both do not have the greatest amount of luck, but they are still grateful for what they have.

character change

 In the book Lord of The Flies, the main character Ralph has not changed very much. In the beginning of the book, Ralph had already felt that he was a ruler, and that he would be great at it. Thinking this he is elected ruler by all of the other boys on the island. Now halfway through the book, the group of boys are still stranded on the island, and ralph is bossing everyone around, and he doesn't do any of the work. I think that ralph is going to go insane. I think this because he has not been a very good leader and he has been very stressed. He will probably crack under all of the weight of maintaining everyone.

Memoir

   The hard sound of the school bell indicating the end of the period knocked me out of my glaze. The

room around me erupted as everyone packed up and ran out to their next class.  As quickly as I could,  

I jammed all of my social studies supplies into my bag And ran out into the  narrow ocean of people.

I can find my way to my next class by following everyone else in my class I thought. The hallway

was so full of people that I couldn't see anyone. That's when the second bell rang. The hall emptied

like a bathtub draining. The only sounds I could hear were my own footsteps echoing down the hall.

My face was hot and sweaty, and I had no idea where I was going. My stomach was in knots like

garlic bread. I was too stressed to think about how to find my way anywhere. They must have started

class already I thought. Coming to reality, I took out my agenda book and found my way to the

classroom.  While walking there, I came to the important realization that you can't only rely on your

friends.

How my character has changed

    I have just finished reading The Kill Order, the prelude to the amazing series, The Maze Runner. Mark, the main character had changed drastically over the course of this book. In the beginning, before the sun flares struck the earth Mark was a very timid and shy person. When all of the power went out in the railroad, Mark was too scared to think, so Trina, Marks friend has to save him. But as life gets harder, and the men in the berg attack their homestead in the Appalachian mountains, Mark has to harden up and be strong. Alec, a former solider for the military helps him do this. When Trina gets captured by the cranks, Mark and Alec have to go find them. But when the PFC catches them, Mark releases his anger bubble and is almost driven to the edge with lunacy. He catches himself and tells himself everything will be okay. By the end of the book, Mark is not a shy timid person anymore, but a tough solider, like Alec.