Letter to the Editor

To the Editor,

I was impressed with the essay presented by Emily Davidson in the Nov. 10 issue of The Muhlenberg Weekly. Her thoughtful deliberations about the level of sports activity and academic pursuits that she might pursue in college were illuminating. I also applaud the stance taken by her parents as Emily wrestled with her options. I am delighted that Emily decided that Muhlenberg College, a liberal arts college committed to maintaining sports at the Division III level while sustaining strong academic standards, matched her interests. Students and parents who will be visiting our campus as those young people search for their approach to college studies would benefit from reading Emily’s reflections.

It was my privilege and delight to teach in the Biology Department for forty-one years and I can attest to the diligence and determination shown by many student-athletes, both men and women, who did well in challenging courses in demanding majors while striving to do their best in equally demanding Division III sports. I always believed that the mix of those endeavors was of great benefit for the future aspirations of our graduates. Emily noted the cooperation of coaches and professors to ensure that students could balance all of the demands faced by student-athletes. Likewise, I took part in cordial interactions with many coaches over the years so that my students could fulfill their obligations in labs and field trips and still participate fully in their sport.

After graduation, “playing” against students from all three divisions, our alums achieved noteworthy success in top-level graduate and professional studies. Having recently served for eight years on Muhlenberg’s Alumni Board I am especially aware of the accomplishments of recent Achievement Award winners, some of whom were my former students. Serving for many years on the Board committee given the challenge of selecting award winners, I am also well aware of many other classmates who achieved comparable success. I am confident that Emily’s future accomplishments will mirror those of the many women and men student-athletes that I enjoyed working with in my classes, labs, and research projects over those four decades.

Sincerely,

Carl S. Oplinger ‘58 Professor of Biology, Emeritus