There’s a collective image of sports and athleticism that’s nigh unshakeable: a competition, complete with a designated champion and loser. Working to try and shake any of those stereotypes, a new Brooklyn College group calling themselves Athletes for Altruism, is working to reach out to their community through sports and athletics.
Athletes in places of privilege, for instance your average NBA player, often exhibit altruism in many shapes and forms. But in a college setting, where athletes are often trying to make a name for themselves and impress recruiters, this seemed like a refreshing tack and approach to athletics.
The club, co-led by presidents Moksha Mehra and Rohan Mathur, is trying something different in its approach to college-level athleticism: it’s focusing on sports for the sake of others. In their information session this Tuesday, Feb. 4, the club’s leadership outlined a vision for a group of athletes who work “to promote the general welfare and integrate community health initiatives with serving the less fortunate through fitness-centered activities,” said Mathur.
This commitment to well-being seems to run deep in the Athletes for Altruism group and is extended to the members of the group as well as their community. Across the whole e-board, there were a range of forms of exercise represented, and each member seemed intent to pass that knowledge onto willing members. Whether you wanted to get more definition, put on muscle, or get on a healthy diet, there was someone willing and able to point you in the right direction.
“It is also important that we provide fitness and diet counseling to those seeking it in the Brooklyn College community,” Mathur told the Vanguard.
As well as their own experience and advice, the club is leveraging its connections to host talks and clinics in the hopes of bolstering the sports and athletics programs, raising awareness of both themselves and healthy practices. Everything from their goal, from how they accomplish it, to their table of snacks (which included a mixture of traditional snacks and healthy alternatives) and their planned events, which include bake sales that are more health-conscious, seemed united in the vision to help people lead healthier lives.
Perhaps more important to the club than solely promoting healthier lives, the Athletes for Altruism are most dedicated to bettering the community. They are planning on doing community outreach via participation in local events like 5K walks, tennis and ping-pong tournaments. But the club is also planning its own series of events; on their docket are, among other things, a Zumba workout open to members and BC students that is being sponsored by Cora Dance, an organization that aids underprivileged communities. Even further down the line is a charity basketball tournament and a collaboration with Hamza Khilji, a well-known Brooklyn College student who previously ran for USG President.
The club’s first meeting was all too short but very promising. While it may seem like a niche area of the field of sports and athletics, especially one to begin with, the meeting had enough attendants to ensure that they may continue operating smoothly. With a solid, if not firm, idea of their upcoming plans and with the connections they seem to have, I see little to no barrier in the way of the club’s efforts to grow their ranks. Above all, it’s great to see more organizations on campus devoted to using their connections and knowledge to help and promote others, and it’s even downright refreshing to see this effort be student-led.