Empire 8 Completes Successful Student-Athlete Summit
February 12, 2008
ROCHESTER, NY – Conference member schools gathered Jan. 25th and 26th for the second annual Empire 8 Student-Athlete Summit in Rochester. The event, which featured guest speakers Tim Marchell, Leslie Barnes, and Dr. Cricket Lane, brought together representatives from each institution to develop an action plan to bring back to their respective campuses.
“It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to interact with, and learn about, fellow student-athletes,” said Drew Aash, Empire 8 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee national representative and baseball player at Ithaca College. “It was rewarding in the fact that we were able to learn about each other, each other’s campuses, our accomplishments, and also some of our common problems.”
Marchell, the director of mental health initiatives at Cornell University, has been in the forefront of hazing education. He led the development team at Cornell that set up its own web site to provide education about the ongoing problem of hazing among student groups and recently spoke about hazing in sports at the 2008 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn. in January. Marchell spoke to the Empire 8 student-athletes and administrators about hazing issues on Friday night, the opening evening of the summit.
Lane, the first Director of Student-Athlete Development at the University of North Carolina and Barnes, the Director of Student-Athlete Development at Duke University, covered the topic of leadership development during Saturday’s portion of the summit. The two have teamed up to speak to various groups about issues facing student-athletes and about CHAMPS/Life Skills programs. The pair spoke to the group and also conducted a small group discussion on leadership development.
“The facilitators were great,” Ash said. “They led, but did not dominate the discussion. They made everyone feel as comfortable as they could by setting ground rules for all in attendance, whether a student-athlete or administrator.”
School representatives at the summit included members of SAAC, CHAMPS/Life Skills, and Student Athlete Mentor programs. An advisor from one of those programs at each institution accompanied the students.
The student-athletes from each school determined topics that are particularly relevant to their campus and will develop a plan to improve an existing program or educate others about a new program. Each institution’s plan will be implemented over the next year with the results of the program to be presented at next January’s event.
“Once again, the summit was an outstanding event,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “The student-athletes are committed and anxious to make a difference on their campuses and in their community.”
The event is part of the NCAA Strategic Initiatives Grant Program focusing on Social Responsibility and Integration. The grant program deals with student-athlete well-being, sportsmanship, and diversity and gender equity.