Comments on: T. Boone Pickens Donates $165-Million to Oklahoma State…For Sports Boone-Doggle!! http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2006/01/11/t-boone-pickens-donates-165-million-to-oklahoma-statefor-sports/ Essays on politics, culture and ideas about Israeli-Arab peace and world music Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:07:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Richard Silverstein http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2006/01/11/t-boone-pickens-donates-165-million-to-oklahoma-statefor-sports/comment-page-1/#comment-4600 Richard Silverstein Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:41:39 +0000 http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2006/01/11/t-boone-pickens-donates-165-million-to-oklahoma-statefor-sports/#comment-4600 <blockquote>Don’t be a hater because you don’t like sports.</blockquote> Aren't we being presumptuous?! I don't "hate" sports at all. I love sports. But I love academic life even more. And this worship of athletics impoverishes any academic pretensions that a school might have. You can't possibly believe, can you, that this gift will somehow improve the school's academic offerings or performance? This gift is meant for one thing & one thing along--to give this school a stellar athletic program. Pickens could care less about academics & you know it or should know it. No one who is serious about academics will go to this school. So the notion that athletics will attract a serious intellectual mind to the school is nigh unto preposterous.

Don’t be a hater because you don’t like sports.

Aren’t we being presumptuous?! I don’t “hate” sports at all. I love sports. But I love academic life even more. And this worship of athletics impoverishes any academic pretensions that a school might have.

You can’t possibly believe, can you, that this gift will somehow improve the school’s academic offerings or performance? This gift is meant for one thing & one thing along–to give this school a stellar athletic program. Pickens could care less about academics & you know it or should know it.

No one who is serious about academics will go to this school. So the notion that athletics will attract a serious intellectual mind to the school is nigh unto preposterous.

]]> By: Jack http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2006/01/11/t-boone-pickens-donates-165-million-to-oklahoma-statefor-sports/comment-page-1/#comment-4592 Jack Tue, 29 Aug 2006 16:04:05 +0000 http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2006/01/11/t-boone-pickens-donates-165-million-to-oklahoma-statefor-sports/#comment-4592 Don't be a hater because you don't like sports. I think you're horribly wrong by saying this sets a horrible precedent. I think it encourages others to give to universities, athletics or not. I also think that boosting the athletic programs helps boost the academic programs - because as you mentioned, a LOT of people base their decision on college on how the university performs in athletics. This is quite common, and in my opinion, quite acceptable - because college isn't ALL about school. Don’t be a hater because you don’t like sports. I think you’re horribly wrong by saying this sets a horrible precedent. I think it encourages others to give to universities, athletics or not. I also think that boosting the athletic programs helps boost the academic programs – because as you mentioned, a LOT of people base their decision on college on how the university performs in athletics. This is quite common, and in my opinion, quite acceptable – because college isn’t ALL about school.

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