NY Times Loyola op-ed

Submitted by Blue Vet on

[Apologies if this has been posted but I haven't seen it here.]

Earlier this week, the New York Times carried an opinion piece by a Loyola professor contrasting education (i.e., Loyola) and "big-money" schools (i.e., Michigan).

A good education means knowing the importance of evidence. Yet this champion of education neglected to note that 4 of Michigan's top players made All Academic Big Ten. In addition, he ignored Michigan's international reputation for academics. (It's also harder to get into than Loyola: UM's 29% acceptance rate vs. L-C's 60%).

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/poetry-march-madness-basketb…

Longballs Dong…

March 30th, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^

I don't think the OP did and I don't think you guys did... or maybe I read a different article.  He never compares UM and Loyola.  He never claims Loyola is a good school.  He doesn't really say anything.  His article was not have-nots vs haves.  His only comment was that Loyola is not a sports school.  He doesn't say "... but we're a top academic school."  He literally said nothing that should upset anyone here.  Michigan (other than the lake) is not even mentioned in the article.  It's one guy basically saying it's weird that this school suddenly cares about sports becuase it's been invisible forever.  He even points out some of the tangible benefits of the gained discussion and camaraderie.  I suspect everyone read the OPs weird response and is acting only on that.  The article is about poetry and nonsense, no need to feel attacked here.  

FauxMo

March 30th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^

Hey, let's just admit it: If you want a truly revolutionary, progressive and education-focused college experience, go to a school founded by an 1800 year old church that covered up the systematic abuse of children by "religious leaders" for decades (centuries?)...

Waldorf Wolverine

March 30th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^

I grew up in Chicago back when Loyola last made its tournament run. Its law school is notable in the sense that if you want to enter Chicago politics, Loyola is where you should go. Otherwise, it's a decent local college, not a national name like Michigan, and the two are not comparable. 

LB

March 30th, 2018 at 1:27 PM ^

The Block M is recognized far and wide. My daughter and son in law have gotten "Go Blue" in more than one country. I honestly don't know what Loyola's emblem looks like. I don't say that to be snarky, it's the truth. I will look it up now though.

BlueWon

March 30th, 2018 at 4:15 PM ^

with 1M other pilgrims more decades ago than I'd like to admit.

I was wearing a block M hat -- the Japanese guy in line with his family in front of me had an MBA from UM.

We travel well.

OSUMC Wolverine

March 31st, 2018 at 7:49 AM ^

Horrifying experience...in Dominican republic this week and have had three different street vendors ask me 'spartans?' With my Michigan attire....painful. good news is lots of 'go blues' from other vacationers.

OSUMC Wolverine

March 31st, 2018 at 7:50 AM ^

Horrifying experience...in Dominican republic this week and have had three different street vendors ask me 'spartans?' With my Michigan attire....painful. good news is lots of 'go blues' from other vacationers.

EGD

March 30th, 2018 at 1:30 PM ^

Okay, I read the article and I think the OP is very misleading in how he presents the piece. The author does not compare Loyola to Michigan or any specific institution, other than to illustrate the minor role of athletics at Loyala versus "big money schools." I certainly did not read or infer a suggestion that Loyola is more selective, more prestigious, or otherwise superior to M.

A2toGVSU

March 30th, 2018 at 1:47 PM ^

OP, you have an awfully hawt take on a harmless article. It is remarkable that Loyola is in this position considering it doesn't have the $$$ behind hoops like every other school in the F4.

cletus318

March 30th, 2018 at 1:35 PM ^

He ignored facts about Michigan because it was pretty obvious the piece wasn't about a singular institution opposed to the entire complex that is big-time college athletics. If you want to argue he's overvaluing the quality of a Loyola education (an exercise I find largely useless for any school), fine, but pretending he was attempting to slight Michigan is intellectually dishonest.

Blue Vet

March 30th, 2018 at 2:01 PM ^

Replying to criticisms on the web is often an invitation to negging. For instance, my post gets negged while a reply that repeats my point gets voted up. Nor am I trashing Loyola.

Mostly, I object to a characterization of my post as "dishonest," intellectually or otherwise. I've reread the op-ed piece, considered your point, and still believe my post, as Vinnie says, holds water.

The op-ed writer explicitly cites Loyola as the positive half of his argument, and implicitly tosses Michigan into the category of "big-money" schools. While it's technically accurate that Michigan is a big-money school, and he didn't Michigan directly, the gist of his piece contrasts a Loyola education against its next opponent.

EGD

March 30th, 2018 at 2:19 PM ^

The author of the piece is a tightly-wound English professor who evidently pays almost no attention to college sports.  He explains in the article that he had intended to hold his usual evening poetry class the same night that Loyola was playing in the tournament, but after seeing all of the attention being paid to the game in the Loyola community and even having his class disrupted by cheers from a nearby classroom, he eventually broke down and decided to show the game in his own class--and found the experience rewarding and valuable.  He explains how watching the game with his students helped him and them build a camaraderie and community within the school environment that otherwise would not have existed.  It's an argument for the sincere power and value of intercollegiate sports, and a suggestion that those of his kind--who might ordinarily disdain something from popular culture like the NCAA hoops tourney--might reconsider.

Somehow you interpreted this as a veiled stab at Michigan. 

I realize it's only a quarter after two in Ann Arbor, but seriously quit drinking and go to bed.

 

mgowill

March 30th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^

Some of his comments about college athletics are common talking points on this blog. I find from reading the article, he’d agree with much of what people argue here. I think the spirit of his article is to remind people that with a student athlete, the student should come first. We know that isn’t always the case. Since his article was about the joy and exuberance that Loyola basketball has brought to the students, he didn’t go into a ton of detail about who “big time college programs” are. That wasn’t the point of his article, just a point of student athlete advocacy he felt he could make. Again, we make the same exact points here.

cletus318

March 30th, 2018 at 4:18 PM ^

You took what was mostly a fluff piece about Loyola (one that was admittedly idealistic) and contorted it into a shot against Michigan because it mentions big-time college athletics. No, your post does not hold water, and calling it intellectually dishonest was me being charitable.

Mpfnfu Ford

March 30th, 2018 at 1:37 PM ^

Loyola is tied in US News with Tennessee, South Carolina and Auburn at 103. Sure, they're better than your average crappy religious college (looking at you, Liberty) but they're pretty dang mediocre academically. 

Bando Calrissian

March 30th, 2018 at 1:46 PM ^

Lot of hot takes about Loyola. I know a lot of Loyola grads. I've worked with a lot of them in professional capacities. It's a good school that serves a specific purpose. Is it Michigan? No, and few are, which is kind of the point. But just because they happen to be playing Michigan in the Final Four as a cinderella story doesn't mean they're hot garbage that should just be pushed into Lake Michigan already.

Coach Carr Camp

March 30th, 2018 at 2:09 PM ^

Seriously OP, did you read it? It did not contrast Loyala and Michigan at all. Literally, the University of Michigan was not mentioned once. It was a short piece about how the excitement of the tourny run was carrying over into other academic activities in a positive way. What made you feel the need to take away from a harmless fluff op-ed article and bash Loyola in your post?