tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33290030.post1469808308731284294..comments2023-09-28T01:58:33.466-07:00Comments on Sporting Madness: CIS issues: Trouble for Trinity playersAndrew Bucholtzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14156615450275929751noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33290030.post-53959484406045297352008-09-15T09:48:00.000-07:002008-09-15T09:48:00.000-07:00Fair comment, Caleb, as long as everyone knows wha...Fair comment, Caleb, as long as everyone knows what they're getting into. I have no problem with people choosing to abstain. My point was more that some people may choose to attend Trinity because of its deservedly strong reputation in athletics, and may go there in spite of the code of conduct rather than because of it.In my mind, those people are more likely to break Trinity's code when they're off campus on a road trip, and they're more likely to go too far and break the law than if they were perhaps allowed to blow off a little steam within the realms of the law. You're right that their actions gave the university a black eye, and they do deserve punishment for that. Road trip hijinx are by no means unique to Trinity, either. My argument's just that this situation may not have happened or may not have gotten as out of hand if the code wasn't so rigid. If these players were allowed to party at home, they might not have taken things to excess on the road.Andrew Bucholtzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156615450275929751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33290030.post-14314742133576583672008-09-15T09:35:00.000-07:002008-09-15T09:35:00.000-07:00"the silly code of ethics" you refer to is a defin..."the silly code of ethics" you refer to is a defining characteristic of Trinity. The majority of students who attend Trinity do so because of its unique code of ethics. <BR/><BR/>When our varsity soccer team drags Trinity reputation through the mud year after year (ie. trashing their hotel room and trophy after an early exit from nationals) it makes me wish that I had never made the decision to attend TWU.Caleb Ratzlaffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00563114899219817143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33290030.post-61925320517555140922008-08-29T14:21:00.000-07:002008-08-29T14:21:00.000-07:00Fair comment. Perhaps things have changed since I ...Fair comment. Perhaps things have changed since I looked into going to Trinity, as that was almost six years ago now while I was still in high school. Still, that Code of Conduct is incredibly restrictive by the standards of most Canadian universities: I have no gripe against those who choose to go to Trinity, but those restrictions are not something I'd choose to subject myself to. You certainly can have fun in university without alcohol, but you can't have as much, in my mind, as most of the best university social events are held at bars or clubs or otherwise involve drinking to some extent.<BR/><BR/>You're also quite right that every university would take criminal charges seriously, and I didn't intend to suggest that Trinity is doing the wrong thing by investigating this and suspending the athletes involved during the process. Certainly, that's probably what most schools would do. My point in bringing the Code of Conduct into it is that it seems to me that Trinity athletes would be far more likely to receive a more severe punishment than those at schools with looser regulations around alcohol and lower expectations for their student-athletes on the leadership front. I think Canadian schools as a whole take the idea of athletes as leaders too far, and Trinity does so more than others. Not all athletes are role models, and they shouldn't be pressured to be.<BR/><BR/>The other point I brought in the Code of Conduct for is that a restrictive atmosphere tends (in my experience) to lead to people going wilder when they're outside of it. If these athletes didn't have to be surreptitious about their drinking and only indulge occasionally on road trips, my feeling is that they'd be less likely to go on binges and make poor decisions while under the influence of alcohol. That may not have made a difference in this case, though.<BR/><BR/>Moreover, as the final decision on what will happen to these athletes hasn't been made yet to my knowledge, my comments were just an educated guess. Perhaps Trinity will be no harder on these athletes than another school would be. Perhaps other schools would prevent them from playing again as well: a lot depends on the severity of the charges and what arises from them. Still, it seems to me that Trinity is more likely to come down hard on these guys than other schools would, due to the code and due to their desire to keep their reputation clean. From here, it looks like these athletes are unlikely to play for Trinity this year.Andrew Bucholtzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156615450275929751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33290030.post-89269676440170952962008-08-29T10:32:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:32:00.000-07:00Allegedly did, 'scuse me.Allegedly did, 'scuse me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33290030.post-14258226329699651622008-08-29T10:31:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:31:00.000-07:00"to those puritanical enough to give up alcohol, d..."to those puritanical enough to give up alcohol, drugs and fun for five years."<BR/><BR/>Trinity Western University students aren't Quakers. The school has become much more progressive in recent years, realizing the no-dancing policy was outdated and is even having discussions on allowing drinking in some form, whether it be off-campus or not. <BR/><BR/>Even still, your claim that the TWU code does not allow "fun" is a bit over the top if you really want to be taken seriously. <BR/><BR/>This also has nothing to do with the code the students sign in order to attend TWU - what these young men did was illegal, resulting in criminal charges, which would also be taken seriously at any other university.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com