Freewrite #1

Within in the article, “An Investigation of College Stereotypes: the myth of black athletic superiority and the dumb jock stereotype,” G.A. Sailes conducted a survey at Indiana University in order to determine some common stereotypes regarding student athletes. This survey was designed to gather information regarding “beliefs about intelligence, academic integrity, and academic competitiveness among male college student-athletes, as well as assumptions about intelligence, academic preparation, style of play, competitiveness, physical superiority, athletic ability, and mental temperament in African American athletes.” His survey showed that many students don’t believe student athletes are as intelligent or as academically prepared as nonathlete students. He also determined that white male students believe that the african american athletes are even less prepared for college level academics. G.A. Sailes states within the article that “the findings indicate that white and male students believe that athletes are not as intelligent as the typical college student and that they take easy courses to maintain their eligibility, and that African American athletes are not academically prepared to attend college, are not as intelligent and do not receive grades as high as those received by white athletes.” The article provided the survey results in order to create statistics that supported the claimes of stereotyping among student athletes and nonathlete students.  The article showed that the “dumb jock” stereotype is still alive and is flourishing on college campuses.