THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270073
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TEENSPEAK
SOURCE: BY LORRAINE EATON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 72 lines
SUFFOLK DOES IT. So does Portsmouth. And students in Virginia Beach may soon be doing it, too.
Last week, Virginia Beach School Board members suggested raising the minimum grade-point average for athletics and other Virginia High School League activities from the current D- to a flat C. And they may extend the requirement to include all extracurricular activities.
Other South Hampton Roads school districts follow the VHSL standard that requires students to pass at least five classes. In Portsmouth and Suffolk students must clear the 2.0 bar. But the 2.0 idea sparked heated debate among Virginia Beach students at this week's Teenspeak at Bayside High.
Wannabe career athletes in pursuit of athletic scholarships in particular would benefit from tightened requirements, some said.
``I think it might encourage people to get better grades,'' said senior Marisa Ferrera, 17. . . . ``They'll be able to survive even if their sports career doesn't.''
But on the other hand, such a policy could actually whisk opportunities away from athletes. Barred from playing sports, athletes would not have the opportunity to compete for athletic scholarships, which may be their only ticket to college.
``I know there has got to be a good amount of students here who even if they worked hard and did all of their homework they couldn't possibly get all C's in all of their classes,'' said senior Nathan Sanford, 16.
Then there was the issue of motivation.
``I know if I didn't have a 2.0 and I wanted to be in a club or play a sport and I couldn't, I just wouldn't want to do anything,'' said junior Reggie Hill, 16. ``That's not fair.''
``All of those people are just going to drop out because they have nothing to look forward to,'' said senior Heidi Hill, 17.
After 45 minutes, the six students still could not agree on a fair standard.
``A D-minus to me is not passing,'' said junior Crystal Davis, 16. ``It should be at least a C. They need to be concentrating on their studies, not playing sports.''
``I think a D-plus or C-minus is fine,'' Heidi said. ``I know a lot of people who struggle and it's not because they are not working. I think they should be able to play their sports so that they can get into college.''
``But all you have to do is pass five classes with a D-minus and they'll move you to the next grade,'' Nathan countered. ``If you can graduate and participate in graduation with a D-minus, why shouldn't you be able to participate in school events with a D-minus?''
If the 2.0 policy covered all extracurricular activities, there would be another drawback, Nathan said. The board might be ``taking away something that used to. . . make my school better - a diversity in the sports and in the clubs.''
``Before the school board makes any kind of decision on this,'' Reggie said, ``they need to ask the students and get their opinions.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
REGGIE HILL, 16, JUNIOR
CRYSTAL DAVIS, 16, JUNIOR
NATHAN SANFORD, 16, SENIOR
Photos
Lesley Parr, senior, 17
Marisa H. Ferrera, senior, 17
Heidi Hill, senior, 17 by CNB