Dear Portfolio Committee,

My name is Nicholas Cristaldi from small town USA, aka Rochester, Massachusetts. I am twenty years of age and returning to college after a semester off. It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be returning to school, mostly motivationally. It was nice to work fulltime and constantly have money coming in. Although I knew going back to school would benefit me in the long run. As for English 101, I was very nervous coming in. English has never been my strong suits. I have trouble going into detail with my writings, I used to write the bare minimum and that’s all. I had trouble explaining topics; it was difficult for me to paint a picture for the reader. Another weakness of mine was organizing my paragraphs. They tended to be all over the place and it prevented my papers from flowing. English 101 helped me in my trouble areas and I believe I’m a better writer since taking this class.

The first piece in my portfolio is my text-wrestling paper. I was given an article to read, summarize, and then respond to. I had a little trouble summarizing the article. I had to sit down with the article printed out, take a pen, and write notes while highlighting important points. Before writing the essay I had to use critical reading skills to summarize the article. I also organized my thoughts/paragraphs appropriately for the reader to understand where I am coming from in my paper. Also for this paper I found/evaluated source material and cited those sources.

The second composition is my ethnography. For this I had to go out identify a subculture and write about that subculture. I choose the people I like to call “Muscle Heads.” They are the overly muscular people that are found at almost any gym. I observed them and learned how they go about themselves. This paper exhibits a multi-stage writing process. I had to take notes while observing and then translate those notes into paragraphs and paragraphs into a paper.

The final writing is my memoir. This is about one of the last games of my high school baseball career. In this game we lose and are officially out of playoff contention. I learn that life is more than just baseball and sports. In this piece I was able to paint a picture for the reader using vivid details and descriptions. I allow the reader to take a walk in my shoes. I also used a multi-stage writing process. By that I mean I wrote several memoirs, all on different topics before I settled for this one.

A few months ago I’d probably tell you that my writings were mediocre at best. They were good enough to just get me by in high school. Now after English 101 my papers are well written and I’m receiving grades that I’m actually happy with. I am in no way an above average writer yet, but I am making progress. I am able to go into much more detail in papers, as well as increase my vocabulary (I no longer sound like a third grader). From now on, before I start my papers I will do outlines with pen and paper. I feel it is better for me than just logging onto the computer and starting to write. All in all I’m happy with English 101 and feel I have improved my writing ability.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Cristaldi

There is a heavily debated topic currently in American sports and that is should college athletes be paid? It has become a very popular topic due to the fact that the Northwestern University football team is currently trying to unionize. Their main goal is to receive health insurance to cover them if injuries occur. If they do unionize it would be inevitable that they would receive benefits that the NCAA does not currently allow student athletes to have.

In the article “The Olympics Show Why College Sports Should Give Up on Amateurism,” Mr. Patrick Hruby takes a firm stand against the whole concept of amateurism in college sports. His main comparison is the contemporary NCAA and the Olympics in the 1960s, when they first started allowing “professional” athletes to compete. Olympic historian Bill Mallon has been quoted in an interview saying that the Olympics would be “dead in eight years” if they were to allow professional athletes to compete (Quote by Mallon from Hruby). In a more recent interview Mallon was questioned again on the topic, his response had changed quite a bit. He explained how the Olympics are stronger/ more popular than ever, and it’s still growing. Hruby believes it’s safe to say that the notion of amateurism has outlived its usefulness. He explains that it just doesn’t fit the time period we live in.

First and foremost, the Olympics used to have the vaguest definition of amateurism, athletes who had simply refused to turn professional. Athletes who did receive compensation for their sports performance were considered professionals, and not allowed to compete in the Olympics. The main problem is that there is no agreed-upon definition of amateurism. If you want to get technical, since there is no firm definition, amateurism doesn’t exist in today’s world, merely a notion. Schools don’t allow student athletes to accept money or free items, they do allow them to accept free or discounted tuition, room and board, as well as books.

Hruby notes that even with all of the rules the NCAA has, many college athletes still receive benefits whether it’s money or other items. Sometimes, “Friends of the college program” will meet with potential recruits under the radar. An example of an improper benefit would be a post-game “money handshake” from those friends of the program. When you really think about it, is it really wrong to do that? How is it any different than receiving a signing bonus and or a performance bonus in investment banking? It’s not that different. This whole situation is almost comparable to prohibition. If you don’t allow the people to do something, it could possibly lead to a crime and corruption problem, a problem that otherwise wouldn’t exist. In the words of French sportswriter Gaston Meyer, “Do not forbid what you can’t prevent” (Quote by Meyer from Hruby).

Hruby thinks that the NCAA should follow the trail that the Olympics blazed. The Olympics doesn’t pay their participants, but rather they simply allow them to get paid. In this situation, the university athletes wouldn’t be employees. The NCAA would just allow the student athletes to appear in commercials and receive sponsorships. Hruby sums up his article by stating that the everyday fan doesn’t care whether or not college athletes get paid or not, they have no control over it. All they care is about is whether or not their teams win or loses.

Before reading this article I was a firm believer in not paying college athletes. I myself don’t have the luxury to have everything school wise paid for me. I am paying for school myself, while working. So my initial opinion was based off of envy and jealousy. After I read this article, I have a whole new perspective on the debate. I am taking a complete 180 and now believe that we should pay college athletes. In the money hungry world we now live in, we cannot pay some people and no others without stirring up some controversy. Also the fact that improper benefits does happen and will continue to happen, just bares the question, why not allow it?

The second article I found contradicts Hruby’s viewpoint. Richard Burton, a Sports Management professor at Syracuse University, argues that student athletes are paid with their free tuition, room and board, etc. He has the same viewpoint as I did before reading Mr. Hruby’s article. Burton states that, “Since you can’t trade knowledge (i.e., mental enhancement) for an immediate financial asset, higher education is often (and falsely) assumed to have no value for athletes.” He believes that with the free education the athletes are receiving and the non-existent loans they will not have to pay off. They are set up perfectly to succeed once graduating their university. That is of course if they do not make it professionally in their respective sport. They are set up to succeed, but whether or not they end up doing so it up to the student athlete themselves.

The point that Hruby made that really convinced me to switch sides was that the NCAA should just follow what the Olympics currently does. It’s obvious that the player’s respective university does not want to pay them out of pocket, even though I’m sure they can easy afford to do so. Just allow the players to receive sponsorships to do the cliché fast food commercials and what have you. In my opinion, I consider that a win win situation for both the students and university

I will play devil’s advocate against myself here. Say you allow college athletes to accept sponsorships those commercials and such would probably only go to the top 5% of college athletes (I’m probably being generous on the number as well). So that being said, not every student athlete would get paid. That might stir up controversy about giving the student athletes a weekly wage or something along those lines. But regardless nobody is ever happy, so I’m not sure if they’ll ever fully come to a solution for whether to pay college student athletes.

Work Cited

Burton, Richard. “College Athletes Are Already Paid With Their Education.” US New 2 April 2013. Web. 07 May 2014.

Hruby, Patrick. “The Olympics Show Why College Sports Should Give Up on Amateurism.” The Atlantic 25 July 2012. Web. 07 May 2014.

I’m a member at the YMCA located in Wareham. I consider myself a fit individual; I go to the gym several times a week, just to stay in shape during these dreaded cold winter months. Whenever I go to a gym I see very diverse groups of people. Certain groups do specific workouts. You can almost categorize those groups as, “Cliques.” You have your runners, who strictly run; they can do it for hours on end. They never touch a weight or even an auxiliary machine. Also you have the people that strictly do the auxiliary machines. They just look to get a sweat going; they really don’t want to strain themselves too much. Then there’s the average gym member, who does a little bit of everything. I consider myself a member of this group. Start off with some running, do a couple of the auxiliaries, then do some free weight exercises. My favorite group to watch is the guys that strictly do the free weights exercises. I like to call them the muscle heads.

Once we were assigned this paper, I knew that I was going to do the “Muscle Heads” for my topic. I had a subject and a place to observe, my only worry was how I was going to take notes so that I could actually write the paper. I couldn’t go in my street clothes and have a pencil and notepad. I had to strategically plan out how I was going to take notes. My plan was that I would go to the YMCA in my workout attire, plug my headphones into my IPhone and pretend like I was listening to music. I would just use the notepad app to take notes on my subjects. If people saw me typing on my phone people would just assume I was texting. It worked out to be a fool proof plan.

I walk through the doors of the gym and I instantly get of whiff of that distinct gym smell. It’s not necessarily a bad smell, but on the other hand it doesn’t smell pleasant, it’s just kind of there. If I had to guess the source of the smell, it would be the surface cleaner they ask you to use once you’re done with a machine. I make my way over to the free weight area and luckily for me a couple guys are already working out. I focus in on a pair of guys who are working out with each other, spotting one another and what not. The first thing I notice is how enormous these two men are, it was unbelievable. In my head I was thought that there was no way these guys weren’t on some sort of human growth hormone. I was surprised they could touch their own faces. I noticed several stretch marks near and around the pectoral/armpit area. The only reason I am able to notice these marks is because people like this always wear cut off shirts. Every single time they go, no matter what the weather is they have cut offs on. It’s not store bought cut off shirt either, it seems that they rip off the sleeves of normal shirts. I could see the frills coming off from where it was ripped.

During workouts they are very noisy. In between every repetition they grunt or breathe rather loudly. It is pretty comical; I had to keep myself from laughing several times. Along with the noises, they are constantly encouraging each other, “Come on, one more rep you can do it! Nice job man, that’s how you work. It may suck now but it’ll pay off in the long run, believe me.” I mean it’s good for self-esteem I guess, but it seems odd to do it at a public gym. I know I’d be embarrassed if it was me. Another thing I thought was funny was that these guy did strictly upper body workouts they don’t do leg exercises. It’s almost as if they consider walking a major workout. Their legs aren’t abnormally skinny since they have to carry around their cumbersome upper bodies. You’d think they would try to keep it somewhat even, but I guess not.

Instead of going to the bubbler every so often to get a drink of water, they insist on bringing an entire gallon of water with them. That they never finish, barely drinking half of it. I understand the idea of wanting to always be hydrated, but a gallon of water seems a bit excessive. Lastly, they always have to finish their workouts with a protein shake. The protein is packed in tiny plastic bags; it’s almost a drug to them. If they don’t have it post workout, they’re noticeably flustered. If I had to guess I would say they consume more protein than anything else, seeing as their muscles are popping out of their bodies. After sucking down a protein shake or two, they just walk out of the gym and leave the building. That may sound normal at first, but note that they do not shower post-workout, which I find absolutely repulsive. I sweat a lot during my time at the gym and my workouts aren’t nearly as strenuous and extensive as theirs. I can see not showering if they were in a rush, but not showering is a regular occurrence for them, which amazes me.

Honestly I didn’t really learn much from studying these “Meat Heads.” For the most part everything I thought about these stereotypes was true. So by doing this paper it just confirmed that this stereotype does in fact exist. I guess in this case these men believe bigger is better, and by bigger I mean abnormally huge. It’s their lives and they can do whatever they please to their bodies, but I know that I personally would never want to be that big.

It’s the seventeenth game of my final high school baseball season. We must win the rest of our games to make the state tournament. We’re up against one of our rivals, Bourne High School. It has been back and forth all game, despite the fact that our ace pitcher is on the mound. He’s about six foot three inches tall with a rocket for an arm; he would eventually get the chance to play division one college baseball. I myself was having a rough game at the plate. I was known for being one of the top hitters on the team, so the fact that I wasn’t having a very good game was a big disappointment.

The bottom of the seventh inning was finally upon us and we were down by two runs. Not the most ideal situation, but we had to try and overcome the late game deficit. We had a larger crowd than usual, and they were cheering their hearts out. The fans in the bleachers all wore red to show support for our team. I knew there was a chance that I could get one more at bat, and I wanted it really bad. I strapped up my batting gloves, grabbed my bat, and attempted to loosen the tension I had. As well as calm my nerves, which were going crazy. The next thing I knew it was my turn to bat, I proceeded to the batter’s box. In sports, there is a time to play, and there is a time to win. What you do during winning time defines you as a player.

As a step to the plate I have to be aware of the situation. We’re down 6-4, with runners on first and second, two outs, in the bottom of the seventh. I step in the box, tap home plate once, and get in my batting stance. The pitcher winds-up and the pitch comes in with incredible velocity, “Ball!” shouts the umpire. I take a small exhale of relief since my nerves are at a new high. I tap the plate again and get ready for the next pitch. The pitcher throws the ball, but this one comes high and tight and I duck out of the way, “Ball two!” shouts the umpire yet again. Now I step out of the box and take a look down at my third base coach. He has nothing but confidence in me despite having a rough game. That brought my spirits up and helped me believe in myself. I knew with a two-zero count that the pitcher had to give me something good to hit, no way had he wanted to chance walking the bases loaded. I take one last deep breath, and everything turns quiet, I can’t hear any of the fans. The pitch comes to the inner part of the plate; I swing and hit a hard ground ball through the diving efforts of both the third baseman and shortstop. The runner on second base rounds third and scores. The crowd is in an uproar. Usually I’m not known for showing emotions on the field, but after that hit I give a subtle fist pump while on first base.

The next batter had an opportunity to tie the game and keep our season alive. With runners on first and third with 2 outs, he could be the hero. Instead, he proceeded to strike out on three straight pitches. I could not believe it. I dropped to my knees at first base. My baseball career was essentially over. The next two games meant nothing. All I had ever worked for was gone. I went from the top of the world to rock bottom in a split second. I was absolutely devastated to say the least. As much as I didn’t want to, I walked over with my head down and shook the opposing team’s hands. I then proceeded to sit on the bench hunched over with a towel over my head, as if my world just ended.

After about ten minutes of sulking by myself on the bench, my coach comes over to talk to me; he could tell I was taking this loss the hardest. Let it be known that I wasn’t the biggest fan of this man. He’s a nice guy and means well, but I didn’t think he was the best of coaches. Coach Carvahlo sits next to me and pats me on the back. He says, “Nick, I know you’re disappointed, we had a chance to win and we didn’t convert. It sucks that I couldn’t help you make states in your last season, but it’s just baseball. At the end of the day, you have so much more ahead of you. Baseball may not be in your future anymore, but you have so much more to do and so much more to offer. You have college next year and that’s just the next amazing step in your life. You have so much potential in this world and I know for a fact you’ll make a positive impact one way or another. You’re not the first and you’re certainly won’t be the last person to not make the state tournament. Years from now you’ll be able to teach this great game to your children. In the end, baseball is merely just a game.” I sat up straight and thanked him for the inspiring words. I did feel much better after that talk, baseball is just a small part of my life and there will certainly be more important things in it than baseball.