As a first-time columnist, I was humbled by the overwhelmingly positive response I received to my first column about student fan support for our men’s basketball team and other athletic events. Many times I feel the main barrier to that phenomenal support is a disconnect between the student-athletes and the Northwestern population at large. But we’re not so different, you and I. We all came to Northwestern in pursuit of excellence, in all aspects of our lives, and believe it or not we are striving to achieve it in similar ways.

There are thousands of talented high school athletes out there, kids who have played the game they love for years. There are also thousands of other talented students who participate in extracurricular activities such as music, theater, writing and leadership in student organizations. These activities help expand each of our experiences and mold us all into well-rounded beings, yet only a select few will have the academic prowess to excel at world-class academic institutions such as Northwestern. Students of this university are blessed to have such a unique opportunity. Unfortunately, athletes seem to step on this campus with a stigma attached to their extracurricular choice — sports — and our commitment to excel in both academics and athletics is often questioned.

All college-bound students, no matter their future endeavors, must take the same entrance exams and fill out the same applications. Because of Northwestern’s prestigious academic reputation, coaches here are not even allowed to recruit high school athletes who will not meet the school’s entrance requirements outright. Once admitted, there is no easy track for athletes. We have no secret list of easy classes. We sit in the same lectures, take the same notes and pass the same exams. The entire student population chose Northwestern for the doors our diplomas will open upon graduation, the avenues and platforms the University will provide and the opportunity to excel with our own minds. Athletes are no different. The only difference between us is how we choose to spend our free time. And with more than a 20-hour-per-week time commitment to something outside of academics, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that we might not care as much about our academic success.

We do our homework on airport terminal floors, often hunting for any free place with an open outlet. We watch movies through headphones on bus trips to avoid disturbing teammates who might be studying for an upcoming midterm. Often times we must take our exams on the road. This can mean anything from waking up at 7 a.m. to take the test prior to competition or coming back from a game, sweaty and still in uniform, to make sure we take the test on the same day as the rest of the class.

We take pride in our grades just as much as anyone else. Student-athletes earned a 3.22 cumulative GPA this Winter Quarter among all 19 varsity sports; our 20th consecutive quarter attaining more than a 3.0. In fact, 71 percent of student-athletes achieved GPAs of 3.0 and above, and Northwestern’s graduation success rate is 97 percent, leading the Big Ten by 8 percentage points.

Athletic director Jim Phillips reminds student-athletes several times a year that “the logo never comes off.” This means no matter where we go, what we do or what we say, someone, somewhere is watching. We represent something much larger than ourselves: this university. The color purple. The only difference between students and student-athletes is our choice of extracurricular activities. Instead of clubs, sororities/fraternities, plays, orchestras or jobs, we chose to play sports. Many of us are even involved in those same clubs on campus outside of athletics, and if we are not, we give back to the Evanston community by volunteering with local schools, teams, hospitals or organizations where we represent Northwestern proudly.

Our commitment to this university lies all around us, not just in our respective sports. Athletes and non-athletes alike, we were all raised to understand the value of a good education. We were all raised to pursue excellence in all that we do. It would be a shame if we focused on our differences instead of our similarities.

Emily Allard is a Communication senior and a member of the Northwestern softball team. She can be reached at [email protected]. If you want to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].