Academic Scandal Shocker at Stanford: An "Easy Class List" For Athletes Existed!

"A drama class in Beginning Improvising and another in Social Dances of North America III"

How would athletes find out about such classes? The Chronicle says that the Athletic Academic Resource Center had a list titled “Courses of Interest” and said courses perfectly fit into the rigorous demands of a college football player’s schedule (ie – they were in the morning, so as not to coincide with practice).

How do professors feel now that it has been revealed their classes were on the dreaded “list?”

"Sociology Professor Cecilia Ridgeway was surprised her Interpersonal Relations class was on the winter quarter list. Ridgeway said she had heard about the document in years past and talked to the athletics department about removing her class from the list. She said department staff told her at the time that the list did not exist."

I like how she talks of the list as if it were a the legacy key at West Beverly Hills High School or something. Well, at least that quote is better than this one:

"“(Stanford) accommodates athletes in the manner that they accommodate students with disabilities,” said Donald Barr, who teaches a Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, Health course, which was highlighted by resource center advisers."

Obviously, athletes everywhere are encouraged to take “certain” courses. I talked to a former Division I athlete this morning who played at a popular football school, and he said it never was a secret which classes were the easiest. I remember walking into classes as a freshman at Virginia Tech and seeing half-a-dozen hulking lineman sitting in the back. What makes this look bad for Stanford is having an actual list that was handed out.

I expect the school to trot out Owen Marecic sometime in the next 96 hours to debunk the list. Marecic, the two-way monster who will be drafted next month, famously majored in human biology with a concentration in infectious disease, national security and international health.