The Theme of Patriotism in Persepolis - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 680 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/07/01 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Persepolis Essay Did you like this example? Persepolis is an extended description of the historical conditions during Marjanes life. Marjane had a patriotic passion for her country Iran. When she was a young girl, there was a cultural revolution in Iran. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Theme of Patriotism in Persepolis" essay for you Create order Students (including Marjane) were forced to were a veil during school. Marjane didnt quite understand the reasoning behind this and thought she should have her own choice in religion. Many were teetering this concept of the cultural revolution. Eventually, the French non-religious school she attended is halted and the sexes are schooled separately. Growing up, Marjane and God have several conversations, and she is set on being a prophet when she grows up. Throughout this graphic novel, Marjane always exemplifies a spirit of patriotism, boldness, freedom, love, and individual thought. Her pure, childlike heart desires both equality and an elimination of suffering. When she expresses her intention of becoming a prophet, Marjane is mocked, but her parents support her and are unalarmed by her wishes. After she hears her parents concerned about the fire that killed 400 people at a nearby theater, Mr. Satrapi decides to explain the events of the Revolution to her. During this story, Marjan e learns that her grandfather was a prince prior to Reza Shahs rise of power, which would excite any child. Her grandfather became a communist and was imprisoned. While in prison, her grandfather was tormented by going into cells overflowing with water, which Marjane has a difficult time processing. During her grandmothers visit, she explains to Marjane the poverty and hardships they faced during her husbands imprisonment. The Satrapis maid Mehri was given into their care as a child. Marjane and Mehri grew into a sisterly bond. Mehri falls in love with the boy next door and has Marjane write her love letters since she didnt know how to write. Once Mr. Satrapi discovers this love connection, he talks to the boy and tells him Mehri is a maid. Then, the boy is no longer interested. In this time, social classes arent combined. This initially upsets Marjane significantly. She believed her father to be a good man and felt his actions were unjust and unloving. Therefore, she and Mehri attend marches, which aggravates her parents since the marches were formidable. As Shahs rule worsens, many lose their life. Shah travels to the United States and eventually relinquishes his rule. The previously imprisoned Siamak and Mohsen visit the Satrapi family and explain their experiences in prison. Soon after, Marjane discovers that even her Uncle Anoosh was held captive. However, her Uncle Anoosh was identified as valiant for his position in government to hinder the power of Shah, which ultimately declared independence from his brutal rule. Unfortunately, Anoosh is later arrested and killed for a false accusation about being a Russian spy. Due to this event, Marjane completely rejects God and her desire to be a prophet. Around this time, the Iran-Iraq War starts. From this event, her life seems to spiral into a world of pain and shattered expectations. Marjanes hopes of traveling to the U.S. are squandered when the Americans are coerced out of Iran. Those of religious authority closed schools to make alterations, which also harms Marjanes hopes. Shes even assaulted because her veil isnt on. The war only worsens, and her friend Mali comes to live with her as a result of it. Murdered children, bombing raids, deaths of millions, and the death of her hopeless Uncle Taher become enough hardships for Marjane to become a rebel. After her parents return from Turkey, Marjane becomes westernized and is nearly arrested but let off without arrest. One day, her neighborhood was bombed, and her neighbors house was wrecked. She even noticed her friends arm protruding from the debris. After all these disastrous events, her parents make the executive decision to send her to Austria for her safety. She spends the last night with her beloved grandmother and hea ds to the airport the next day. When she turns back to see her parents from afar, her mother had fainted. Yet, she hoped to see her parents again one day.

Queer Centric Love Stories By John Bebe - 1234 Words

However, when it comes to queer-centric love stories, the most common reaction follows the lines of â€Å"this is a gay story, about two gay people, and is about them being gay†, due to the lack of substance to the plot. Even if a work does have a complex plot, the public’s reaction and treatment of the work as â€Å"a gay story† is harmful to perceptions of queer life. Specifically, the manner in which many queer stories, and â€Å"Brokeback† (with the death of Jack) tragically end. These tragic ending, tragedy that is rooted in the character s sexual orientation, only further sends the message that you can’t live as a queer person without pain and consequences, that there is no legitimate way for a happy ending to occur for queer characters. In†¦show more content†¦Integration of Female Characters: The â€Å"Damage† of The Closet The most notable difference between the film adaptation and the short story is the film’s additional emphasis and integration of female characters. In the film, Alma has more of a focus, becomes more complex of a character, and has more lines than in the original story. Additionally, Laureen is a developed character with a personality and character arc, which was also something not found in the original story.This additional emphasis on females provides the audience with a new perspective from which to view the story. However, it is a perspective that is essentially harmful to the queer community. By having a focus on the female characters, the film â€Å"hedges against relying too much on gay-masculinity-as-realism both by cyclically returning point of view to the women in the film, and by draping a light scrim of comedy over Jack and Ennis’s relationship. The moment when Michelle William’s Alma sees her husband locking lips with his â€Å"fishing buddy† has achieved its own iconic status: Oprah Winfrey, when she hosted the cast for a pre-Academy Awards endorsement of the film’s power, focused first on how hard it must have been for Heath and Jake to kiss each other—heavens!—but then insisted that the film was a lesson in the damage the closet wreaks on the lives of women who love closeted men (Joshua Clover)†.

Night World Huntress Chapter 14 Free Essays

string(68) " figure out is what it means by ‘where two eyes are watching\." Did you have trouble getting away?† Hugh said It was the next morning, a very different sort of day from yesterday. The sky was overcast and the air was heavy. Everyone Jez had passed at the Concord BART station looked a little depressed. We will write a custom essay sample on Night World : Huntress Chapter 14 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Eh, a little,† she said, and sat down by Hugh on the platform. They were at the far end of the station, beyond the covered area with benches, beside a little concrete security house. It was a safe and private meeting place since the station was almost deserted after the morning commute. â€Å"They chained up my bike with this huge chain. Claire drove me to school-she’s been watching me like a werewolf guarding dinner. And Aunt Nan called the office to make sure I didn’t cut† Hugh shifted in concern. There was a tiny breath of warm wind, and it stirred his fair hair. â€Å"So what did you do?† Jez grinned. â€Å"I cut.† She shrugged and added, â€Å"I got a guy from my auto shop class to drive me here. It wasn’t hard.† He smiled at her sadly, his gray eyes distant. â€Å"But they’re going to find out. Jez, I’m really sorry for completely messing up your life.† She shrugged again. â€Å"Yeah, but if I don’t do it, everybody’s life is going to be even more completely messed up. Every human’s.† â€Å"I know.† He shivered slightly. Then he drew up his legs, clasping his arms around them. He looked at her with his chin on his knees. â€Å"So what did you find out?† â€Å"That the girl Morgead thought was the Wild Power isn’t.† He looks so cute that way, Jez thought helplessly. So-compact. Morgead would never sit like that. Hugh winced. â€Å"Great. You’re sure?† â€Å"Yeah. It was a little kid, eight years old, and she was something special-but not that. She was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jez tried to think of a way to describe it. Hugh watched her with eyes that were clear and fathomless, sad and wry and gentle all at once. And suddenly Jez got it. She gasped. â€Å"Goddess-I know! She was like you. That kid was an Old Soul.† Hugh’s eyebrows went up. â€Å"You think?† â€Å"I’m sure of it. She had that same way of looking at you as if she’s seen all of history and she knows that you’re just a little part. That†¦ trig picture’ look. As if she were beyond stupid human things.† â€Å"But not a Wild Power,† Hugh said softly. He looked half discouraged and half relieved. â€Å"So then the Morgead connection is useless.† â€Å"Actually, no. Because he’s got evidence for the Wild Power on videotape.† Jez explained about the movie and the fire and the blue flash. â€Å"So somebody around that kid is probably it. I know that area and so does Morgead. We may be able to find out who.† Hugh chewed his lip. Then he looked directly at her. â€Å"It sounds dangerous. Just how is Morgead taking tins-you coming back and all?† Jez stared out across the BART tracks. They looked like regular train tracks, except for the big one labeled danger electric third rah.. There was a sound like faraway thunder, and then a train came whizzing up like a sleek futuristic white dragon. It stopped and a few people got on and off in the distance. She waited until it left again to answer. â€Å"He†¦ wasn’t very happy at first. But then he kind of got used to it. I don’t think he’s going to make any trouble-unless he finds out, you know.† She wasn’t sure what else to say. She didn’t want to talk to Hugh about Morgead-and she certainly didn’t want to explain what had happened. Especially not when she was so confused about it all herself. â€Å"You still think he’d hate you if he found out you were half human?† Hugh’s voice was quiet. Jez laughed shortly. â€Å"Believe it. He would.† There was a silence, while Hugh looked at her. Suddenly Jez found her mind posing an odd question. If it were Hugh or Morgead, which would she take? Of course, it was a completely ridiculous question. She couldn’t have either of them. Hugh was an Old Soul, and beyond her reach. Not to mention that he only thought of her as a friend. And Morgead might be her soulmate, but he would murder her if he ever discovered the truth. But still, if she did have a choice†¦ Hugh or Morgead? A day ago she’d have said Hugh without question. How strange that now it came up the other way. Because, impossible as it was, deadly as she knew it to be, it was Morgead she was in love with. And she had only just understood that this moment. What a pity that there was no hope in the world for them. Jez found herself giving another short laugh- and then she realized that Hugh was still looking at her. She could feel color rise to her cheeks. â€Å"You were miles away again.† Tm just foggy. Not enough sleep, I guess.† Plus all that fun yesterday. She was still sore from the stick fight and the fall with Iona. But that wasn’t Hugh’s problem. She took a breath, groping for another subject. â€Å"You know, there was something I wanted to ask you. Morgead said the Council had dug up another prophecy-about where each of the Wild Powers is from. Have you heard it?† When he shook his head, she quoted: â€Å"One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark; One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark.† â€Å"Interesting.† Hugh’s gray eyes had lit up. † ‘One from the hearth’†¦ that’s got to be the Harman witches. Their last name was originally ‘Hearth-Woman.’ â€Å" â€Å"Yeah. But the line about the one from the Day World-that one’s a human, right?† â€Å"It sounds like it.† â€Å"That’s what Morgead thought-that’s why he thought the little girl might be a Wild Power even though she was human. But what I can’t figure out is what it means by ‘where two eyes are watching. You read "Night World : Huntress Chapter 14" in category "Essay examples"'† â€Å"Mmm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hugh gazed into the distance, as if he liked the challenge. â€Å"The only thing I can think of that combines the idea of ‘Day* and ‘eyes’ is a poem. It goes something like ‘The Night has a thousand eyes, and the Day only one.’ The one eye being the sun, you know, and the thousand eyes the stars at night.† â€Å"Hmpf. What about the moon?† Hugh grinned. ‘I don’t know. Maybe the author wasn’t good at astronomy.† â€Å"Well-that doesn’t help much. I thought it might be a clue. But the truth is that we don’t even know if it’s the human Wild Power we’re after.† Hugh put his chin on his knees again. â€Å"True. But I’ll let Circle Daybreak know about that prophecy. It might help eventually.† He was silent a moment, then added, â€Å"You know, they dug up something interesting, too. Apparently the Hopi Tribe predicted the end of the world pretty accurately.† â€Å"The Hopi?† â€Å"I should say, the ends of the worlds. They knew that it had happened before their time, and that it would happen again. Their legend says that the first world was destroyed by fire. The second world was destroyed by ice. The third world ended in water- a universal flood. And the fourth world-well, that’s ours. It’s supposed to end in blood and darkness- and end soon.† Jez murmured, â€Å"The first world-?† â€Å"Don’t remember your Night World history?† He tched at her, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. â€Å"The first civilization was the shapeshifters’. Back when humans were scared to go out of their caves, the shapeshifters ruled and the humans thought of them as gods. Animal spirits, totems. It was Shapeshifter World. That lasted for about ten thousand years, until a bunch of volcanoes suddenly became active-â€Å" â€Å"Fire.† â€Å"Yeah. The weather changed, people migrated, and the shapeshifters lost control. After that it was really Witch World. The witches did better than everybody else for ten thousand years, but then there was an Ice Age-â€Å" â€Å"And the Night Wars,† Jez said, remembering. â€Å"When the vampires fought the witches.† â€Å"Right. And after all that, the vampires were in control; it was Vampire World. Which lasted about another ten thousand years, until the flood. And after the flood, human civilization really started. It was Human World, and it has been for a long time. The Night People have just been hanging on around the edges, hiding. But. . .† He paused and straightened. â€Å"That started about eight thousand B.C.† â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"Yeah. The millennium marks the end of our ten thousand years.† He gave his gentle, half-mocking smile. â€Å"We humans are about to lose our lease. Something’s going to happen to bring blood and darkness and then there’ll be a whole new world.† â€Å"Only if we don’t stop it,† Jez said. â€Å"And we will- because we have to.† Hugh’s smiled changed, softening. â€Å"I think we’re lucky to have people like you trying.† Then he lost the smile completely. He looked uncertain. â€Å"Jez- you know, Old Souls aren’t really beyond ‘stupid human things.’ We’re as human as anybody. And we †¦ I mean, and I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jez’s heart was beating uncomfortably fast. The way he was looking at her-she’d never seen Hugh look like that at anything or anyone. Another rumble in the distance, and then a train came rushing in. Hugh blinked, glanced up at the digital clock display above the platform, then checked his watch. He cursed. Tm supposed to be somewhere. I’m late.† Jez’s heart gave a strange thump. But not of disappointment. Weirdly, it was more like relief. â€Å"Me, too,† she said. â€Å"I’m supposed to meet Morgead before everybody else gets out of school. I ought to take the next train to San Francisco.† He still hesitated. â€Å"Jez-â€Å" â€Å"Go on,† she said, standing up. â€Å"Ill call you if I turn up anything. Wish me luck.† â€Å"Be careful,† he said instead, and then he was hurrying away. Jez watched him go. She couldn’t help wondering what he had been about to say. Then she turned to walk back to the central part of the station. She was partway around the concrete guardhouse when she heard a noise on the other side. A stealthy, sneaking noise. Not the kind a security guard would make. Jez didn’t hesitate. Smoothly, completely soundless herself, she changed course, turning back and going around the structure the other way to get behind the sneaker. The instant she had a clear view of the intruder’s back, she jumped. She landed on top of her quarry, with a control hold on the person’s wrist. But she already knew that this wasn’t going to be a fight to the death. â€Å"Jez-ow-it’s me!† Claire spluttered. â€Å"I know it’s you, Claire.† â€Å"Let go of my arm!† â€Å"I don’t think so, Claire. You having an interesting morning? Hear any good jokes?† â€Å"Jez!† Claire struggled, hurting herself, then got mad and hurt herself more trying to hit Jez. Jez allowed her to sit up, still keeping hold of her. Claire’s face was flushed and wrathful, her dark hair sticking in strands to her cheeks. Her eyes were shooting sparks. â€Å"Okay, so I’m sorry for eavesdropping. I followed you when Greg Ludlum drove you here. I wanted to know what you were doing. I didn’t know that you were completely freaking insane!† â€Å"Well, it’s too bad you didn’t figure it out earlier. Because unfortunately I have to kill you now to keep you from talking.† Claire’s eyes widened and she choked. Jez suddenly realized that underneath all the sparks and the yelling her cousin was terrified. She let go of Claire’s arm and Claire slumped away from her, rubbing it. â€Å"You-you are insane, aren’t you?† Claire looked at her sideways, through clinging strands of hair. â€Å"I mean, all that stuff about the world ending-it’s some kind of bizarre game you’re playing with your weird friends, isn’t it? Some kind of Dungeons and Dragons stuff†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What do you think, Claire?† Jez stood up and offered Claire a hand, worried that someone might notice them. She kept that hand on Claire as she herded Claire back behind the guard house. The truth was that this situation wasn’t funny. Claire really was in trouble-because Jez was in trouble. Her entire cover was blown. Everything she’d worked for in the past year-Claire could destroy it all. Claire knew way too much, and Claire hated her enough to use it. â€Å"I think †¦ I don’t know what to think.† Claire swallowed. â€Å"Who was that guy?† â€Å"One of my weird friends. Right?† â€Å"He didn’t seem so weird. When he said things- I don’t know. They sounded†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Claire’s voice trailed off. Finally it came back, almost inaudibly. â€Å"Real.† â€Å"Great.† I am going to have to kill her. What else can I do? â€Å"It’s not a game, is it?† Claire said, looking at her. All the anger was gone from the dark eyes now. They were simply bewildered and frightened. Then Claire shook her head. â€Å"But, I mean, it’s impossible. Vampires and shapeshifters and witches-it’s all just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice trailed off again. Jez was simply looking at her, with eyes that might be less silvery than a year ago, but that she knew were still pretty strange. And after a few moments Claire’s gaze lost its focus and her whole body seemed to fall in on itself, as if it had lost something vital. Innocence maybe, Jez thought grimly. â€Å"Oh, God, it is true,† Claire whispered. ‘I mean, it’s really true. That’s why you’re gone all the time, isn’t it? You’re off-doing something.† Jez said, â€Å"Yeah.† Claire sagged against the guardhouse. â€Å"Oh, God. I †¦ God. I feel so strange. It’s like-nothing is what I thought.† Yeah, I know the feeling, Jez thought. When the whole world turns around and you have to adjust in two seconds flat. It happened to me, too, a year ago. But none of that was going to help Claire. All she could say was â€Å"I’m sorry.† Claire didn’t seem to hear her. She was speaking in a voice that was just a breath. â€Å"That’s why†¦ that’s why all that weird stuff with your father. Nobody knowing anything about his family and all. I knew from the beginning that there was something about you; I just couldn’t tell what it was.† Oh, great, Jez thought. Here it comes. She tried to keep her face impassive as Claire faced her squarely, raising her eyes with a look somewhere between wonder and dread. â€Å"That guy-he said you were only half human. Which means you’re half†¦ something else?† â€Å"I’m half human and half vampire,† Jez said quietly. The interesting thing was that it was so easy to get out. She’d only ever spoken the words aloud to one person before: Hugh. Now she looked to see if Claire would actually faint or just fall down. Claire did neither. She just shut her eyes. â€Å"You know the really insane thing? I believe that.† She opened her eyes again. â€Å"But-I didn’t know you could be. Half and half.† â€Å"Neither did anybody else, till I was born. I’m the only one.† Jez examined her cousin, realized that she really wasn’t going to faint. When she spoke again, her voice came out more challenging than she meant it to. â€Å"So now that you know, Claire, what are you going to do about it?† â€Å"What do you mean, what am I going to do?† Claire glanced around, then her voice dropped as her eyes glinted with interest. â€Å"Look-do you, like, have to drink blood and everything?† â€Å"Not anymore,† Jez said shortly. What was this? Who would have thought that studious, straitlaced Claire would have such an interest in vampires? â€Å"But you mean you used to?† â€Å"Before I came to live with you guys. I thought I was a full vampire then. But I found out that I could live without it, as long as I didn’t use my powers.† â€Å"You’ve got powers? Really? What kind?† â€Å"No kind. Look, enough with the questions. I told you, I’m not a vampire anymore.† â€Å"And you’re not evil.† Claire said it flatly. Jez looked at her, startled. â€Å"What makes you say that?† â€Å"I heard what you were talking about, saving the world and all. I didn’t understand it, but it sounded like you were on the right side. And-† Claire hesitated, then shrugged. â€Å"And I know you, okay? I mean, you’re arrogant and stubborn and you never explain anything, but you’re not evil. You just aren’t-inside. I can tell.† Jez laughed. A real laugh. She couldn’t help it. Of all people, Claire. She’d misjudged this girl who was her own age but had nothing else in common with her. Her cousin had unexpected depths. â€Å"Well, thanks,† she said. â€Å"I try not to be too evil- these days.† Then she sobered. â€Å"Look, Claire, if you really think that, and if you really believe that the stuff you heard was true-â€Å" â€Å"About the end of the world? I don’t believe it. I mean, I heard it, and I believe you believe it-and when I first heard it I kind of believed it, but-â€Å" â€Å"Just-skip the rest and plain believe it, Claire. It happens to be the truth. And I’m trying to do something about it.† â€Å"Something about a Wild Power, right?† Claire wasn’t sagging anymore. She looked almost excited. â€Å"But what’s a-â€Å" â€Å"You don’t need to know. The point is that if you want to, you can help me.† â€Å"I can? Really?† â€Å"You can help me by going back to school and forgetting that this ever happened. You can help me by keeping my secret and not ever saying a word about this to anybody. And, incidentally, you’ll be keeping your family safe at the same time.† Claire looked away, worked her jaw. â€Å"This stuff you’re doing is pretty dangerous.† It wasn’t a question. â€Å"Very dangerous.† Jez stepped back. â€Å"And I’m late for it right now. So do we have a deal? Will you help me or not? Can I trust you?† â€Å"Or otherwise you’re gonna kill me, right?† Claire looked at her sarcastically. Jez rolled her eyes. â€Å"Don’t tempt me. Seriously, are you going to help?† â€Å"No.† Jez froze, looking down at the shorter girl. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Jez-don’t get mad, but I don’t think I can. Not that way.† Claire was looking back up steadily, her small face serious and surprisingly determined. ‘I mean how can I possibly just walk away, after hearing all that? If everything you said is true, how can I forget?† â€Å"You can because you have to. We all do what we have to do.† Jez looked around the station. Another train should be coming any minute. She simply didn’t have time to spend convincing a human to stay out of business that would kill her. To properly explain it to Claire would take days. All she could do was ask for something she never would have imagined Claire could give her. â€Å"Claire†¦ there’s no way I can convince you or make you do what I want. But I’m asking you-† She let out her breath and went on: â€Å"I’m asking you to trust me. I’m asking you to walk away and at least try to forget this. And to believe that I’m trying the best I can to do the right thing.† Claire kept looking at her steadily for a moment. Then, all at once, the dark eyes filled. They turned away, and Claire’s throat moved once as she swallowed. Then, slowly, she nodded. â€Å"Okay,† she whispered. â€Å"I mean-it’s okay for now. I mean, I guess I can talk to you later about it.† Jez let out her breath. â€Å"That’s right.† Claire stood there for another second, then straightened her shoulders and turned away. But just as suddenly she turned back, looking tense and almost explosive. â€Å"There’s something I have to say to you.† Jez glanced down the tracks. No train. â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"It’s-it’s†¦ that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I bugged you and tried to get Mom mad at you and everything. I was just-I was jealous because they let you get away with anything, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shook her head fiercely and then went on, shrugging grimly as if she hated to admit it. â€Å"And, yeah, because you’re so gorgeous and confident and everything. It made me feel bad and I wanted to hurt you. So. Anyway. There. I’m sorry.† She started to walk away, wobbling a little. â€Å"Claire.† Claire paused, then turned around. Jez spoke a little hesitantly around the obstruction in her throat. â€Å"It’s okay. And thank you.† â€Å"Yeah.† Claire grinned and gave a little shrug. â€Å"See ya later.† She turned around and started walking again. See ya, Jez thought. She felt suddenly tired and strangely emotional. There was too much inside hen sadness and relief and worry and a new feeling for Claire. She crossed her arms and looked around the station, trying to relax, taking deep, even breaths. And saw two werewolves coming straight for Claire. How to cite Night World : Huntress Chapter 14, Essay examples

College Athletes Should Not Be Paid free essay sample

?Amongst the controversy surrounding the NCAA’s recent crackdown on violations with regards to college programs compensating players and players accepting compensation from universities and outside sources, one question has understandably been brought up. It is a question that was bound to be asked sooner or later, and one without an obvious answer: should college athletes be paid? It is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, question that surrounds the world of college sports. The answer, quite simply put, is no. Allowing universities to pay students athletes to participate in sports would require a complete overhaul of the NCAA rule book. At this stage, too many questions need to be answered: how much would athletes get paid? Where would the money come from? Would athletes in certain sports get paid more than others? This is just the tip of the iceberg. The amount of time that it would take to (re)write this part of the rulebook would be ridiculous. Not only do NCAA officials have to write the new rules, but there would also have to be many revisions made before a final copy is finished. Then the new regulations would need to be approved by the majority of the NCAA universities. And there is no guarantee that would happen with the first edition of the rules, so the process would continue to repeat itself until an agreement is reached. On top of that, the Title IX Act would need to be amended in order to accommodate the new rules in order to ensure equality across all genders. All the time it would take to create a set of rules and regulations and amend the necessary laws to make paying college athletes possible would use up many NCAA resources and cost a lot of money. It is one thing to spend time to make money or spend money to save time, but creating new rules and/or amending old ones would be spending time and money just to give even more money away from the university (to pay the athletes). The fact that the NCAA and its affiliates would have to allocate such a large amount of money to creating the new rule book raises another important question: where will the money come from? Initially, it would not come from the NCAA: they would most certainly be in some amount of debt after spending copious amounts of time and money on the rulebook. So why not use the revenue brought in by the athletes? First of all, that is the money the NCAA would have spent on the creation of the new rules and regulations. Secondly, even without incorporating the costs creating a new rulebook would require, that money is reserved for the colleges and universities, the NCAA and NCAA subsidiary conferences (Big Ten Conference, South Eastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, etc. ) in order to pay for coaches, training staff, officials for competition, construction and uptake of facilities, advertising, and a per diem for athletes and staff on road trips, among many other countless expenses. Not only do the numbers not work financially, there are also questions on the morality of using revenue to pay players. The main argument behind changing the rules to allow compensation for players is that they bring immense amounts of revenue into colleges and universities but receive nothing in return. While this is a valid argument, it usually only applies to the big money making sports such as football and basketball. The NCAA’s mantra is fairness and equality across all sports and genders, which makes compensation for revenue generation a touchy subject. In terms of morality, you could not rightfully pay the athletes in the â€Å"big two† sports but not in others. Conversely, you could not fairly pay athletes in the other sports for the revenue that they had very little part in creating. For example, think about running a lemonade stand and having to share the profits with your siblings who had no part in it. Or consider seeing your brother get paid for mowing the lawn while you get nothing for shoveling; neither of these would be fair to student athletes. The NCAA would take too much flak if compensating players came down to revenue. If universities were to compensate based on the amount of money brought in to the school by each sport, they would be indirectly saying that they believe certain student athletes to be more valuable than others. Some schools also bring in considerably more money than others from their sports programs. Schools like the University of Florida and the University of Alabama would have no problem using the money brought in by football and basketball to pay all of their athletes (which would still be going against the aforementioned sports ethics, but let’s pretend for a little bit). That is all fine and dandy, but what about smaller market schools like Bethune-Cookman University and the University of Montana? These schools bring in more than $50 million less than the previously mentioned schools. Not only does this limit the amount of money these schools could use to spend on paying athletes, it puts them at a great disadvantage from a recruiting standpoint. This is an extremely important piece of information. Aside from the idea of maintaining amateurism, the entire reason that the NCAA has rules against paying players and players accepting said compensation for play is to keep the recruiting game fair. As nice as it would be, it would be nigh impossible to compensate athletes with the revenue that they bring in, which further muddies the discussion on where money would even come from if athletes were to be paid. Some people would say, ‘raise tuition’. To put it nicely, institutes of higher education would have mutiny on their hands if that was their answer. Speaking for myself and other college students I can and will say that this would not be a favorable or accepted idea. I would never pay more for my education so that someone else can be paid to play a sport, let alone an amateur sport that I do not have any interest in. Just imagine having your taxes raised in order for your local bar league softball teams to get paid for their ‘service’. Not even the most leftward-leaning liberal would agree to that nonsense, yet some people have proposed the same thing, (in principle), for college sports. In a world where a college degree is becoming more and more valuable, the cost is already becoming increasingly unaffordable; and that is without the additional pay that has been proposed by many. The worst part of it is that this proposal comes from the people that would be least affected by it: university officials, university boosters, etc. Another idea that has been proposed is to re-classify athletic roster spots as â€Å"jobs† and athletes as â€Å"employees† in the Federal Work Study program. In theory and on paper this idea sounds great, but in reality it is not as great as it seems. First off, employees in the FWS program are only allowed to work twenty hours a week. Every college athlete in every sport, male or female, spends much more than 20 hours on their respective sports each week. From practice, to film sessions, to weightlifting and conditioning, not to mention competition, that time adds up. What would the athletes â€Å"overtime† be considered? Would the FWS program or NCAA be liable for the athletes at that point? Since the sport would fall under both, it is a tough question to answer. To this point, no one has answered it either. All of that is before the financial aspect of the proposal is even discussed. Over $1. 2 billion was given to 750 thousand students last year. There are almost 170 thousand Division One athletes in the country right now. If each one of those athletes were to collect the maximum of $7,000 from FWS, it would require an additional $1. 2 billion dollars of federal funding, and that is without even having Divisions Two and Three in the discussion. $1. 2 billion is a whole lot of money, and it is very unlikely that such a substantial increase in the FWS budget would be approved. One of the best parts of college sports is the fact that they are amateur athletics. Not only are these athletes getting a college education, but they are also getting to continue their athletic careers in the sports that they love, and many of them are doing so on a scholarship. Is that not enough? More than half of the student body at any given university would give almost anything to have that chance; and athletes are asking for more? It reminds me of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the child who has everything but keeps asking for more. At many colleges and universities, student athletes are already given preferential treatment over their non-athlete peers. Just one example is Oklahoma State University, where there are numerous reports and admissions of athletes having school work done for them by tutors and professors giving athletes grades they do not deserve in order for them to be eligible for competition. Not only is this against NCAA rules and unethical, it is also sending the wrong message to student athletes. By allowing this to happen, or even by just standing idly by, universities are telling athletes that as long as they are good at sports they will not have to do any work in life; and on top of this, people want to pay them? In no way does that seem like it would be a good idea or end well for the athletes later in life. Most student athletes’ drive and motivation comes from wanting to keep their roster spot, wanting to move up on the depth chart, pride, the fear of losing a scholarship and the possibility of playing at the professional level (which is often the biggest factor). If college athletes were to be paid, that would take away much of their drive, they already have what they wanted: money. If they are guaranteed money in college and the professional level, why would they try their best and risk injury? The level of competition would decrease, which would decrease fan interest, which would in turn decrease revenue brought in by athletics. This case scenario happens in the world of professional sports all the time: a player inks a new deal with a team after a season of hard work, only to slack off once they are guaranteed money: the same would happen to a college athlete as well. All of these signs point towards not paying college athletes. Compensating college athletes for play would not only be financially unrealistic, a legal mess, and against sports and business ethics, it would ruin amateur sports. If that is not enough to convince someone that paying college athletes is a bad idea, then I do not know what would be.