by Kimberly Pena

The question of whether college athletes should be paid is highly debated in the world of sports and beyond. These college athletes spend many hours training, working out, studying films and on top of that, they are students.

It is not easy to be a college athlete because of all the accompanying responsibilities and the pressure to succeed. Simply being a student can be tough on a person.

However, there are many other factors that contribute to whether a student should be paid to play a sport. These students know what they were getting into when playing a sport at a university and must understand that it will be their responsibility to manage a job if it is necessary to sustain themselves.

There are those who believe that athletes must learn how to take the highs with the lows of being a student athlete. It is tough, but that is what these students signed up for.

With that being said, there must be some form of sympathy for these players because they simply love the game too much and it means too much to them to just give it up and only be a student.

But, there are solutions for those student athletes who find it difficult to manage a job in their busy schedules. Their own school may offer part-time jobs to their students that accommodate their schedule.

Many university jobs understand a student’s busy schedule and will work with them to meet their needs, while providing the student with extra cash to spend.

Until there is a system that pays student athletes fairly and thoroughly, there isn’t much universities can do to resolve this debated issue. The complications grow when factors such as who is paid and how much they should be paid are taken into consideration.

Universities already provide several of their athletes scholarships and grants that amount to some or all of their tuition. There are also tutoring and other academic programs to help student athletes keep up with their academics.

Then there is the side of those students who work full-time and are excellent students and still cannot afford to pay their tuition. There is no  sympathy for those students in how they can settle their financial restrictions.

No one said being a college student was going to be easy and sometimes going through a little financial hardship makes a person grow and better appreciate the little things in life.

Sports are essential in a university. It teaches students many skills such as working as a team, responsibility, socialization skills and work ethic, among other values.

However, student athletes should not get paid until there is a system that works and complies with the needs of every student athlete.