I now realize that I may not have made myself clear in my last op-ed piece about the athletic trainers. I am not advocating for just anyone in the student body who plays some sort of sport to be able to go and get stem or do physical therapy. My concern lies with the health and safety of our club and intramural athletes mainly in terms of a serious injury.

As a Dickinson College sanctioned activity, it is important that there are policies in place to protect the members of the student body who participate in club sports. Although there are already policies to keep club athletes safe, these are not enough. As such, this safety issue will require the participation of both the club athletes and the Dickinson administration in order to be resolved.

There are several solutions that do not involve the athletic trainers spending extra hours treating “people whom they have nothing to do with”, and still ensure that there is an appropriate level of safety being adhered to.

1. To have a chunk of time during the day when club athletes can come into the trainers for assistance with an injury.

2. To hire an additional trainer who is solely responsible for treating the club athletes.

For both of these solutions, there would have to be adjustments in the health and safety policies of the club sports to ensure that the trainers and Dickinson are legally in the clear. In addition we need to make sure that the lines of communication between the various club sports and the administration are clear in terms of what is expected on the part of the club sports to ensure their safety.

I firmly believe that this is a necessary and ultimately more beneficial solution than continuing with the current situation and risking the serious injury of a member of a club sport due to a less effective safety policy.