At the college level it is obvious that colleges really are a minor league for the NFL. But this belief that athletics is as valuable as education has spread to high schools. The latest example is Somerville High School. The news item here is the fact that three high school athletes have been accused of rape. These charges may or may not be validated in the courts.
What gets me about this story is the fact that the alleged incidents took place at a weekend camp that the high school has run for at least twelve years, The purpose of the camp is to promote team-building. There were 165 students at the camp; they were members of the boys and girls soccer teams and the football team. The students were accompanied by twenty adults, all of whom were connected to the high school in some capacity.
Now Somerville has been a working class city for at least as long as I can recall, although it is moving towards gentrification. However, it is not yet a wealthy city. How it can afford to hold this camp year after year escapes me. How much does it cost to house and feed 185 people for a weekend? Would the money have been better spent on some attempt to improve academics?
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