College Basketball

PRESSURE THROUGH THE GENERATIONS The academic pressures that our bizarre to them. Let’s just say when they tell me With these pressures to succeed come generation experiences differ from those our parents experienced. I need more sleep, I laugh. Often times a choice must be made between sleeping or finishing school work to attain the desired GPA. piles of schoolwork. This leads to endless nights of studying, memorizing and perfecting the knowledge necessary to score an A. At Sion, this BY ELLIE STINGLEY CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF One thing that seems to define our generation is academic pressure and pressure to succeed in the real world. This pressure is thrusted upon stress to achieve is magnified and students are held to an academic standard the previous generation didn’t necessarily experience.

I sit on the stool at our kitchen counter with us immediately as we enter high school, if not This obsession with being the best comes a thud and sigh from fatigue. I close my laptop before. Earn perfect grades in high school. Get an with health problems some ignore. In addition out of defeat and start watching my mom prepare exceptional score on the ACT. Attend a high-level to limited sleep, high concern to reach society’s dinner at the stove. Taking note of my tired body college. And once you get there, earn a respected standards has caused a spike in anxiety and high language, she asks me what’s wrong. blood pressure in teenagers, according to Rubbing my exhausted eyes, I tell her emaxhealth.com. Holding our generation about the seemingly endless struggle up to high academic standards is fantastic of my research paper for English class. and can lead to remarkable leaders of As much as I hate to admit it, I begin tomorrow. But if those standards are drilled complaining. so deeply into our minds, we may crack

My mom then reminds me of under the pressure and the expectations of how different her day-to-day struggles a promising future will be unattainable. were at my age. When she was in high Yes, our generation has a high school, research papers meant going to expectation of success and that can the library and finding the perfect book lead to problems of its own. However, among thousands. She couldn’t turn to it is important to remember how the Google. generations before us struggled just as

My mom was right. For one thing, much if not more than we do. Technology I’m lucky to have the opportunity to has made our lives 10 times faster and it’s even have English class and access to hard for many of us to believe there was something as amazing as the Internet. ever a time before Google or wifi. And I would rather be tired from None of us have to worry about being looking at a computer screen than from drafted into the war. We girls are given the wandering a library, searching for the opportunity to attend school and don’t perfect source. (Cartoon by Elizabeth Arroyo) have to depend on marrying rich to live a

But something my mom also comfortable life. Our generation does not pointed out was the academic pressure she sees degree. And finally, land the perfect, high-paying have it the worst. inflicted on our generation. Both she and my dad job in our poor economy. Our generation strives It’s a new generation, new blessings, new have agreed that my backpack’s load every night is to fulfill these expectations as adults and the curses. And it is our job to discover a way to turn much heavier than they carried around the halls of media inform us that flawless report cards and an these curses and obsessions with making the high school. And the amount of obsessive studying acceptance letter from a prestigious university are perfect life into motivation for a better future, one teenagers endure during the school week seems the keys to success. that we can call our own.

THE FATE IS IN THE COURT College sports actually add to the away. Six years later, Lawrence is still one of the most desirable college towns in America according the air to welcome our home team back, ready to play and ready to show their school what they are appeal of the school. to bestcollegereviews.com, and was voted the best here for. BY SARA WATKINS REPORTER college basketball arena by athlonsports.com. I have never met a person that walked into the doors of Allen Fieldhouse and came out not loving it, no I think that sports in college are played not just for the students, or for the alumnae, or even just for the players. Sports are played for the school.

College basketball can either make or break a matter what school they pledge their allegiance to. College sports are played for all of these elements, school. It can give a school the confidence to build I was born and raised a KU fan, but that is and the community that supports them, and cheers up their team, or it can break down the school, not why I am in love with it. In my opinion, the for the them every step of the way. become a money-sucking vacuum and discourage school is one of the most beautiful places in the It is known as the Flutie effect, when a students and players. But when a team is great, the world. The fieldhouse has an atmosphere that no school succeeds in a sport, everything changes greatness spreads throughout the entire city. one could ever imagine without experiencing it for the town it encompasses. In 2008 when the

There is a sense of legacy that comes along first hand. Some people attribute the atmosphere to Jayhawks won the National Championship in men’s with a great sports team. Kansas, for example, the the fact that the arena is considerably small, some basketball, the town of Lawrence skyrocketed in players graduate, the coaches come and go, but the attribute it to the fact that the student section takes all aspects. Businesses grew, the school became team aspect hasn’t changed. In 2009, the year after up almost half of the crowd seating, but it is more. more appealing to future college students, and the they won the National Championship, the team Nothing but goosebumps and smiles. That basketball team gained more devoted fans, and lost seven players. Despite losing some of their is all that happens when I am in the ‘Phog’. There those fans who already loved them only deepened most important players, the team still managed to is nothing like the screams that occur when the their love. win their fifth Big 12 Conference Championship, players storm out onto the court. The newspapers It is not just the team that attracts the love of proving it is not just the players. It is more. that are thrusted in the air when the visitor team the city, it’s not just the coaching, or the mascot, or

The love for the team and the town never went runs out. At last, a shower of confetti is thrown into the success of the team. It is all of it combined.