The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 14, 1994 Page: 3 of 16
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OPINION
THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1994 3
swc
FROM PAGE 2
League, these schools do not give
athletic scholarships and refuse to
suspend admission standards for the
sake of athletics.
As a member of the University
Athletic Association, Rice could drop
all of the subterfuges and half-truths
that have been fostered by its efforts
to compete against gargantuan state
universities such as UT and A&M.
Rice, for example, would no longer
need to quietly exempt athletes from
entrance requirements that other stu-
dents are required to satisfy on pen-
alty of expulsion.
Rice could put to more important
uses much of the $4.6 million it spends
annually to cover the athletic deficit
Most important, Rice could close
forever the scandalous "back door"
through which admission decisions
for 10 percent of each year's entering
class are made, not in the Admissions
Office by those whose proper task it is
— the dean of admissions and his
professional staff, advised by the Com-
mittee on Admission — but in the
Athletic Department by coaches.
The Rice faculty is on campus day
in and day out, year after year, and its
members see with their own eyes the
deleterious consequences of big-time
athletics.
Their judgment is a matter of
record. When polled in 1992,83 per-
cent of the faculty agreed that
intercollegiate sports at the level of
the SWC were either an "ancillary"
activity of the university, or of "no
importance whatsoever."
Seventy-eight percent declared the
back door admissions procedure to
be "unacceptable."
Seventy-five percent said academic
standards should be improved, even if
that meant moving to a different level
of athletic competition.
Following through on these con-
victions, the Rice faculty last year for-
mally endorsed 11 detailed recom-
mendations calling for the regulariza-
tion of athletic admissions and other
related reforms.
Only one of these recommenda-
tions has thus far been implemented
by the administration.
Will the administration and the
Board of Governors give the faculty's
recommendations on athletic reform
the respectful consideration they de-
serve? Or will those recommendations
continue to be ignored?
Will the option of joining the Uni-
versity Athletic Association receive
serious examination? Or will the uni-
versity, pushed by a handful of sports
enthusiasts in high places, blunder
into an athletic conference even less
suitable for Rice than the SWC, one
that may force upon us even greater
ethical compromises and larger bud-
get deficits than before?
Bill Hobby, ex-lieutenant governor
of Texas and one of the university's
most distinguished alumni, spoke the
plain truth two years ago when, as a
member of the Rice Board of Gover-
nors, he likened athletics at Rice to an
"albatross," weighing the university
down.
His has thus far appeared to be the
lone voice of dissent on a Board that
seems determined to keep Rice in the
business of big-time spectator sports,
regardless of what the other constitu-
encies of the university think, and no
matter what the costs, both ethical
and monetary.
One can only hope that appear-
ances have been deceiving and that
some serious soul-searching is now
underway in high university circles,
for the decisions that are about to be
made will shape the destiny of the
entire university — not just the ath-
letic program — for many years to
come.
Thomas L. Haskell
McCann Professor of History
Brenda leaves 90210, follows Jym to Texas
Jym
Schwartz
If you have a keen set of eyes and
a photographic mind for details, you
may have seen (very briefly) in the end
credits of "Beverly Hills: 90210" that
the fictional school of California Uni-
versity is played by my alma mater,
Occidental College.
This is limited to, of course, exte-
rior scenes and maybe classrooms
since there has never been a dorm
room built which opuld house both an
actor and a camera, let alone a direc-
tor, lights, lighting technicians, boom
mikes, key grips, best boys and the
occasional gaffer (whose job it is to
gaff people trying to get on the set
without permission).
So every week 1 tune in with reli-
gious regularity and fervor to watch
my loan dollars at work (I consider my
money to still be there as long as I am
paying off my undergraduate educa-
tion).
It's fun to see my school on TV: I
can point out the corner of Johnson
Hall where I passed out my freshman
year and the steps of the Freeman
Union where I passed out my sopho-
more year.
My junior year 1 had a nocturnal
encounter with the bushes in front of
Haines... Well, suffice it to say the list
goes on forever and the party never
ends.
Council
O
/
FROM PAGE 2
Signs of Rehabilitation — Using
new-student status as a blanket miti-
gating circumstance was never dis-
cussed at a council meeting; mem
bers just started using it Using signs
of rehabilitation as a mitigating cir-
cumstance, on the other hand, was
vociferously debated at an open meet-
ing at the start of the semester.
The council overwhelmingly de-
cided that, even if the violator appears
sincerely remorseful and council mem
bers judge that this student would
never commit a violation again, the
penalty should not be lowered. Sam
Cole and I were the only two members
to vote for using signs of rehabilitation
as a mitigating circumstance.
A debate ensued, concerning
whether Sam and I should be bound
not to use this mitigating circumstance
in penalty deliberation. The council
decided that, in order to maintain con-
sistency with regard to the penalties
that are given, we would be bound by
the council decision.
One would think that, since it was
agreed that no member would use
signs of rehabilitation as a mitigating
circumstance, it would never come up
in penalty deliberation. Amazingly, this
is not the case. Tune and time again,
certain council members have said,
"Well, he appears remorseful—I don't
think he deserves a suspension." "I
dont think she's going to cheat again
— that's why I voted for a lower pen-
alty."
I am disgusted that Sam and I
agreed not to use signs of rehabilita-
tion as a mitigating circumstance be-
cause all other council members said
they would not, but when it comes
down to an actual case, Sam and I do
not use that mitigating circumstance
to vote for a lower penalty while some
other members do.
The council was wrong to decide
not to use signs of rehabilitation as a
mitigating circumstance. Suppose a
student turns herself in to the council,
writes a letter of apology to the profes-
sor, every student in the class, and the
Thresher, and appears sincerely re-
morseful. There is no way I, in good
conscience, could give that person
the consensus penalty. Yet, if signs of
rehabilitation do not count as a miti-
gating circumstance, I could be re*
quired to vote for consensus.
Am I Bound? —This brings up an
important question of whether the
council can require me to use a certain
method to decide for what penalty I
wisfi to vote. There is not formal
mechanism for intra-council enforce-
ment of regulations short of expulsion
from council.
However, for the purposes of con-
sistency, it is important that the coun-
cil operate with in guidelines stringent
enough to ensure that the same pen-
alty is given for the same sort of viola-
tion. This is required from both an
ethical standpoint (it is unfair to the
person who got the higher penalty)
and a legal standpoint (the council
could be sued for being inconsistent).
It is generally agreed within coun-
cil that members are bound by the
consensus penalty structure: for ex-
ample, if the consensus penalty is an F
in the course, no member would ever
suggest abandoning our penalty struc-
ture and giving a higher penalty.
However, there is no agreement as
to whether council members are
bound by decisions concerning miti-
gating circumstances. If a majority or
supermajority of council decides that
some factor should not be used as a
It is still possible to get a high quality
graduate degree
at very low tuition rates
over 67 fields of study at the master's and doctoral level
we're a comprehensive, teaching/research university
The Graduate School
(U
UNIVERSITY OF
WYOMING
The Graduate School - PO Box 3108
University of Wyoming - Laramie, WY 82071
WYOMING - the best the West has to offer
But, at the same time, there is
something disquieting about all this
national fame for Oxy. Nagging ques-
tions whinny and stamp their hooved
feet somewhere in the back of my
mind: What is this doing to Oxy*s
academic reputation? Will the quality
of students decrease because of the
show's popularity? Is the administra-
tion trying to make Oxy into CU? Will
Dylan and Brenda ever get together
again?
None of these questions have obvi-
ous answers, with the exception that
Dylan and Brenda dont need to ever
get together again because it's clear
they share something so deep... but
that's another column.
At any rate, I worry that when I say
I went to Oxy, people will automati-
cally think I spent college surfing,
doing drugs, socializing, drinking beer
and worrying about who was sleeping
with whom.
This is a completely untrue and
unfair stereotype of coliege life in Cali-
fornia Personally, I couldnt even af-
ford drugs 'cause I spent all my money
on surfing wax (which hurts like hell
ifyou have chest hair and surf without
a wet suit).
Again, I make use of my poetic
license to illustrate a point: while cer-
tain types of people are attracted to
certain types of schools, the fact re-
mains that each person has a different
experience in college.
One person can go to the Univer-
sity of Nebraska at Omaha and have
an intellectual awakening while some-
one else can come to Rice and drink
him/herself into a coma
It depends on the person, to which
extent the Occidental College/Cali-
fornia University distinction is unim-
portant
But in the mind? of many people,
your alma mater is a statement about
you.
What does it say that 1 chose a
school which would potentially sabo-
tage its image and reputation for the
sake of notoriety?
I'll tell you what it says.
It says that once I left, things went
to hell in a handbaskeL The sundry
Boneheadsoftheadministration made
many mistakes while I was there, but
this one takes not only the cake, but
the entire pastry shop and the card
store next door.
Just imagine what is going to hap-
pen to this place once I leave. I hear
George Foreman is looking at going
to college in his show, and the extra
bucks sure would help with keeping
the tuition low. How could a camera
here and there hurt?
I'm still waiting to see if it will
become necessary to officially disown
Oxy, but until then, they're on proba-
tion as far as I'm concerned.
They recently sent out faculty trad-
ing cards on all their hottest profs,
complete with vital stats like educa-
tion, researchgrants, publications and
batting averages.
Somewhere, somehow, there is a
public relations person who needs to
be shot
I'll send them a copy of this col-
umn, and I hope they take as a warn-
ing from not only myself, but many
alumni that they are being watched.
Future donations will depend on their
actions.
Sinite Vona Tempores Volvere and
give up on the trading card gimmick,
guys.
Jym Schwartz is a second-year graduate
student in the department of Geology
and Geophysics even though he misses
the "earthquakes,floods and world<lass
rocks," that make Occidental College
such a great place to learn geology.
mitigating circumstance, are all mem
bers bound by that decision?
I have acted for the purposes of
consistency as if I am bound. Thus, I
have not used signs of rehabilitation
as a mitigating circumstance, because
most council members voted not to
use it However, I have not used new-
student status as a blanket mitigating
circumstance, while it appears that
most members think it ought to be
used. If, next week, this is put to a
formal vote atacouncil meeting,would
I then be bound to use new-student
status as a mitigating circumstance?
I do not know the answer to that
question. Presumably, since I agreed
to be bound by the council's decision
concerning signs of remorse, I should
agree to any decision regarding new-
student status. But possibly, I was
wrong to agree not to use signs of
rehabilitation as a mitigating circum-
stance.
There is a balance that must be
reached between individual autonomy
and consistency. How many of my
own views should I sacrifice for the
purpose of the council handing down
consistent penalties?
I must struggle to find that balance
within myself. I have yet to reach an
answer.
Bradley Monton is a Jones College
senior and a member of the Honor
Council.
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Howley, Peter & Epperson, Kraettli. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 14, 1994, newspaper, January 14, 1994; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245857/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.