Opinion writer Joe Labuz is right to bemoan the fact that the proportion of minority students on the UW-Madison campus is so small the minority presence in varsity athletics makes up a significant fraction of all minority students on campus (Oct. 20, “Athletes the key to diversity? Are you kidding me?”). This is particularly true for African-American males, who make up less than 2 percent of the undergraduate population but about half of the men’s football and basketball teams, as noted recently by University of Pennsylvania expert Shaun Harper in a lecture at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

But Labuz is wrong to disparage the role of athletics in contributing to our campus diversity goals. While their time for clubs and organizations is limited by the demands of their schedules, athletes take classes like all other students — indeed, progress in classes is required for athletic participation. Their engagement in classes contributes to a more diverse classroom environment and helps ensure a greater variety of ideas and experiences are represented. This is particularly important in fields like mine, sociology, where diversity is essential to the subject matter and varied backgrounds among students can enrich classroom discussion and debate. Outside of class, athletes, including those from minority backgrounds, are especially active in service activities, contributing 1,500 hours of community service in 2008-09. In short, minority athletes on campus are not just a boost to campus diversity numbers, but they also enhance the diversity climate in significant ways.

I agree a truly diverse campus community would be one in which our minority population were so large that minority athletes did not make up such a significant fraction. While we work toward that goal, however, let’s recognize the many programs that contribute to minority representation on campus — including athletics.

Adam Gamoran

Professor, Department of Sociology

Faculty representative on the Athletic Board