Lisa Creatura (The Beacon)
By Lisa Creatura, Guest Commentary
As a part of the recent RISE Campaign, the university has created four 30 second videos promoting campus "heroes." These videos have been advertised on YouTube as well as the university's popular Facebook page. Each video features a student athlete and his/her life as a pilot. While I appreciate the university's effort to recognize hardworking talented students, I am extremely concerned with the university's exclusive acknowledgment of athletes as heroes in these advertisements.
A hero can be anyone. Yes, it is a very subjective title but it is certainly not limited to athletes. My heroes inspire me to work hard and to give back to others. Not all heroes are athletes and not all athletes are heroes.
I would like to acknowledge that this is not a criticism of the athletes featured in the commercials. This is a criticism of the university's value of non-athlete students. While each featured athlete is influential and hardworking, the university fails to recognize other heroic students on campus. Each day I encounter pilots with remarkable stories and backgrounds. Students who have or are currently battling diseases, students who have dedicated their lives to service, students who are the first in their family to receive a higher education, or students who have overcome adversity - these students exhibit extraordinary characteristics that unfortunately go unnoticed by the university.
University of Portland, like many other universities, frequently places its athletes on an unfair pedestal above the rest of the student body. They receive a lot of praise by the school for their contribution on campus. According to its website, the RISE Campaign is about a "broader vision of what the University's people can accomplish." The RISE Campaign should recognize all people on campus, not just the athletes. I would like to see recognition of students who represent the school in ways other than athleticism. Students from ROTC, volunteers from the Moreau Center, members of ASUP, and student employees are just a few of the groups that are unrecognized by these campaign ads. These students also deserve to be represented as university heroes.
Lisa Creatura is a senior spanish major. She can be reached at creatura13@up.edu
