Letter to the editor: Too much importance placed on athletics

The article “Hempfield Area officials get sneak peak of ideas for high school project” (May 27, TribLIVE) reported that the new design could include a new athletic wing. Have nonathletic students been pushed to the back of the school board’s priority list?

I believe putting school athletics first has gotten us into the mess our society is in. Sure, athletics has some benefits. But so do other activities, like ROTC, community service, student government, 4-H and vo-tech.

How many Hempfield graduates have become pro athletes? Not as many as those with careers in STEM , construction and food service, or are truck drivers or stay-at-home parents. Yet gym class is mandatory, and shop and most home economics classes are electives. Young adults need to know how to cook or change a tire before they need to know how play a sport.

Hempfield ranked 50th in the Pittsburgh area on a recent academics-based list (“Hempfield board ponders national ranking amid debate over what is ‘woke’ in region,” May 23, TribLIVE). I would like to see a survey five years after high school — graduates’ careers, how much debt they incurred going to college and what impact they have had on their community.

Students, after graduation, you will see very few people you went to school with. No one will remember or care if you won or lost a game or if you were popular. Your life starts after high school. Ignore the bullies and people who think they are better than you. Work hard, and those same people may someday be your employees.

Todd Neptune

Hempfield