<p>"It was an untimely case of writers block for Maurie Carr.</p>
<p>"The Princeton-bound Western Albemarle senior was picked by her peers to deliver one of two student speeches at graduation. Honored by the selection, Carr eagerly accepted the invitation. But when she sat down to write the speech, she had trouble finding the appropriate words. </p>
<p>I was unsure of what I could say that people would be interested in hearing, Carr said. My preliminary speech sounded like I wasnt talking about what was important to me. </p>
<p>Then it dawned on her. Searching for inspiration, Carr simply looked toward the game she loved. </p>
<p>A few years ago I was in Amelia Island, Fla., watching Martina Navratilova play, Carr said. She was given an award, and when they interviewed her afterward, I remember her saying Youre only as good as the people you play with.</p>
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<p>I love that sentiment and it will serve Maurie well at Princeton. Through the preceptorial method and small study sections, Princetons educational experience is often a group experience helping to lead to the realization that each of us depends on others.</p>
<p>Oh Byerly, we can always count on you to appear quickly once any story about a Princeton student is posted. You seem just a tad bit paranoid. You're right about this student already having been highlighted. I'm afraid I hadn't read the post you mentioned. My apologies to all.</p>
<p>By the way, as regards stories about scholar athletes, two of your last three posts on the Harvard board are about them:</p>
<p>"She's a keeper" (soccer star)</p>
<p>"Georgia Scholar Athlete Headed for HARVARD" (basketball star) (By the way, I love the all capital letters for your alma mater.)</p>
<p>Now, scurry back to the Harvard board Byerly.</p>
<p>Byerly, Byerly, you appear with such vigor on every other school's board that I must assume you believe that this is a competitive sport. I do not. It's my opinion that the prospective students on these boards are best served by positive stories rather than negative attacks. It seems to me that you have argued for this kind of positive behavior in the past. Are you forgetting your own lessons? Surely Harvard taught you better than that!</p>
<p>...and Zephyr, there really IS such a thing as a "scholar-athlete."</p>
<p>Read the story I posted about the young man from Ventura County, CA.</p>
<p>"Attacks???" Nay nay. I think you are to be commended for adopting my initiative in this regard. The jock stories, however, tell us less about the attractions of most schools to most applicants.</p>
<p>I would hope that you take your own advice more to heart in the future.</p>
<p>Allow me to add one more thought. You state that "athletes only get you half credit." I'm not certain how you count students at Harvard, but at Princeton, there are no "half credit" students, only "full credit" students, each of whom contributes to the undergraduate experience that defines Princeton.</p>
<p>"...and Zephyr, there really IS such a thing as a 'scholar-athlete.'"</p>
<p>Oh. sure. But Princeton admits "scholar-athletes" that are substandard compared to the "scholar" pool, as does every school. A few successful ones doesn't cover for the legions of subpar heavily muscled types to be found wandering the halls.</p>
<p>hardly a "press mention," since all the links are from princeton's official athletics site. and hardly bragging, either. the profiles are more or less purely informational, without the usual quotes by teachers and associates, as in the small-town profiles at issue.</p>