Miami Hurricane, March 22, 2002

              'Canes end
season in first
round loss
page 5
Rearview
Mirror to
perform tonight
ACCENT page 7
Star player
status merits
exemption
OPINION page 11
The Miami Hu
Coral Gables, Florida
ANE
Since 1927
Volume 79, Number 40
WWW.THEHURRICANE0NLINE.COM
riday, March 22,2002
Academics for athletes come under fire
Ernesto Lonctono and Margarita
Martin-Hidalgo
Of tn
Surfacing allegations th.il ,1 universi
ty disciplinary .tjuH-llate committee
went soli e>n a football player whti got
caught cheat ing twice in separate e lass
es taught lit the sattie professor, have
once again thrust into the spotlight the
rocky marriage between stringent ath
letic programs anel academics
Miami Mm  limes rcccttllv reported
that the Honor ( ouneils appeals eom
mittee   composed tit the Provost. Vice
I'resident lot Sliiile'til Att.urs md a stu
dent  represeiil.ilive'    overturned  the
s.uietion recommended hv the student
run Council, whieh advises! that UM
wide receiver Andre lohnson Ih- mis
pended tor two semesters tteginning
thislall
Had the punishment been upheld,
the national champions would have
stepped em the field ein August t I lor
the first game ol the season shy of their
Rose Bowl eei Meisl Valuable plaver
lhe' Honor ( ouncil's Selections and
Appeals Committee suspended
lohnson lor the upe oming summer ses
sums, lohnson tlid not reply tna request
tor an interview
lohnsons tirst academic foul plav
occulted on September 7) during a
..logy exam lor .1 a lass taught by
adiiiiiat protessi.r Thomas Petersen, a
retired Miami hade' Juvenile Court
lodge anti lormer chief prosecutor lor
lhe'Miami Made Stale' Mtornev sulfiae'
Petersen confronted lohnson atler
two stutlents alerted htm ot the possi
bility thai lhe. player and two ol his field
mate's mav have swapped answers The
three lests, which got haneletl in fl lhe
same time, were identical
I'he teaeher briefed 'ootball coaeh
larre (oker about the nteielenl. I dm
s.uel he weiulel discuss the matter with
lohnson anil the leam as a whole
"I want to work with these' siueicnts
in every possible way." wrote Petersen
in a memo obtained bv dm limes.
"anti I eerl.iinK tlon't wanl to leopar
di/e their athletie eligibility or their
standing within the universitv il there
is an explanation or resolution that is
lair to the other students who lottJe lhe
test"
In mid December, |t»hnson handed
in an essay on So Matter Hots loud I
Shout: A ■*■ m the I.lie tf luyewlc
Court,* bote, bv Pulitzer award winner
I dw.ird Humes.
I ven a tursoiv rcaelmg nt this
papci clearlv shows it to be- a oatt) nl I
promotional dest riplion ot the bexik'
wrote Petersen tn a complaint
addressed to the Honor ( ouncil.
lohnson saiel he was eiblivtous to the
source ol the repeirt smee his girltnentl
had written it He was the first stutlent
MflM referred lei the Honor ( ourie il
Petersen told The Hurruane all the
information that pertained to him
printed bv Vtv limes was aee urate
"I   hope  something positive will
eome out of this," Petersen told the
Hurriiane ."ll mav be ,i good oppnrtu
nitv   io   reexamine   the   m.o
betwven academics and athletics." he
addeel
lohnsons ease eiid ntit shock tat
ultv members interviewee!
bv the' lliirrii.uie'
'What   I   read
mirrors      what
colleagues    have
told me trorn other
departments," saiel a
pre itesst >r t n t he ( ollege
ol Arts and Sciences vvhei
spoke   on   condition   ol
anonvnuty.   That   is,   the
souree said, that ae.tdemie  st.tnd.trels
tor student alhletes partteul.irly those
in demanding sports programs are
lower than tor those who are not.
\ former professor from the fnglish
department, who laught several foot
ball   plavers unhiding   lohnson lolel
The Hurrietiiie "most ol them are at a
10th grade reading and writing level"
RUSSEU WOJTUSIAK I
THE PRICE OF GLORY: Allegations of preferential treatment
plague Andre Johnson and student athletes.
The source said thai during the three
ve.irs he taught at I'M.assistant coach
es sometimes inserted "direct and indi
reel pressure" to give stueleiit athletes
who performed poorly a passing grade
I'he   prolessor   maintained   that
although his colleagues at I'M were
Students cope with parking pains
DAVID EPPOtlTO /
ON THE GRASS: Students are allowed to park on the green surrounding the University
Center while construction of the new Pa*v/ta Garage takes place.
Jaclyn Lisenby
I'M students find lhe creation d
the new Pavia parking garage I
blessing and a sins.
While ls»M spaces were losl lu
.losing the I'avta lot tor eonstrtie
lion, 214 spaces have been aeldcel bv
placing concrete space markers on
the lawns surrounding the Cl', the
1 owe Art Museum, and the
Behavioral     Medicine    building.
according  to   the  department  of
parking and transportation
Howe'U't, sluele-nts said that these
spates are somewhat difficult to get
to and il takes more time tor sin
dents lo line! I space, or rather, a
ee) lo gel lo a sp.ue
"It's annoving and problemati. 'I
have lo gel here fifteen minutes ear
lier."      savs      studenl       Danielle
Minervtni
Curbs have been lowered in some
placet to make easv access Io the
tempotan parking, but since it is
onlv temporarv. entrances are not
all e le ,irl\ narked a ease to Imd.
Students are finding the con
slruction to be M inconvenience,
but eeimpl,unts are relattvtlv lew
for now, thev ire •-wallowing their
complaints in hopes eil a belter
parking alternative next semester.
"We reallv need the garage," sa\s
treshman   Richard   Hargett.   "It's
about time we made some steps
loward fixing the parking problem
on campus. It's iusi t.io bad thev
have te> ruin the grass Its not very
nice, aesthetically
"I onK have trouble on Mondays
when I come to schoeil later in the
day," sacs commuter stutlent
Voland.i Oaai But I had that prob
lem before the .(instruction started
But I ceiuld usually find a parking
space by the counseling center and
now I can't"
Fnglish       professor       Naias.i
kov.kcvie savs,"I have a facultv tag,
so it doesn't affect me as much, but
the Writing Center lot, where I usu
ally park, is much busier now"  '
I'he parking problem affects
commuter students much more
than dorm residents, ihev said
Ofl e ampus  testdent   lily   Baca
said that the construction hasn't
affected  her at  all, because   she
doesn't have to commute
"I go out on weekends anel come
home at night, when parking is not
a problem anvwav 1 tust fen) fl
11ton, where I live," Baca said.
lhe garage will have >M spaces,
more than twice as manv as the old
Pavia lot ottered It will be equipped
with Iwo blue light phones and a
.'I hour securitv guard and is
expected to open in August HWI
Mother of rape victim warns of dangers
By Rebeca Oliveira
Kristin temper was a sophomore
in college when she e.ime home lor
winter break in IfW tin New Ve.irs
Ive. her parents, Andrea anel Mike.
went out to a party When they got
home, ihey found her laving in the
living room, Alanis MornssettcVioii
Oughtta know" booming Irom the
speakers She wasn't breathing
When Andrea leaned in to check
lor a pulse, she saw a gun between
Kristin's legs and a poet! eif blood
behind her body She was dead
Mike and Andrea thought Kristin
had killed herselt because ol a bad
breakup a tew months before Kiev.
didn't tlnd out the ruth until the next
dav, when a police detective reported
what he had found in Kristin's jour
nai: she h.id been raped, and had
been suffering trom clinical deptes
sion
Ihis was the storv. Andrea ('ooper
brought to the flamingo Ballroom on
Wednesday night "Kristin's Story,"
het lecture about rape and depres
.inii. brought to light not onlv her
daughter's sttirv. but eipened venues
tor either sexual assault victtms to
seek help
"It was amazing. She's a very
strong woman," said I ucy Ivans, a
iunior who attended the talk "It was
verv encouraging; very comforting."
"It's a topic we- reallv haven't cov
ereel well entiugh em campus," said
ftfinifer Brack, Assistant Diretteir tit
Business Services
Ihe lectWC covered options tor
victims ol rape and depression, tutor
mation tor friends ami tamilv,as well
as various contact numbers, books
and websites ( ooper also gave warn
mg signs ot clinical depression and
what Inends and lamilv can and
should do lo help
"The things she s.nd were  verv
applicable with the situation here al
CM," said Mike lohnston. membci ot
Pi Kappa Alpha    She was verv hon
est, veiv open and verv sin.
"I reallv think the Iniversitv
should endorse more programs like
this for a lot more topics
Andrea (ooper began "Kristin's
Story" in |i*W as i wav to help cope
'ier loss Since then, she has spti
ken lo over >0,(KK) college students
lhe National Offices ot Delta Delia
Delia and Alpha Chi Omega, Andrea's
and Kristtns sororities, respectively,
pav lor len annual talks on college
campuses all over the countrv
"I've been waiting two tears lor
this," Brack said "I was thrilled we
had this experience tonight"
With a nearlv full mem, most peo
pie were verv satisfied bv ( coper's
in.orrnat.on. However, this was nol
lhe ease tor all the attendees
"It was prohablv must helpttil to
petiple who were not. v k tuns or didn't
know anything," said Stacey stigel, a
iunior.
"I thought there were a lot ot issues
she didn't address.' sate! Kellv Np.
seipheimorc. 9
well aware that this trend was not
exceptional."everv time I brought it up,
thev made I point that I nettled to
change the subject"
The professor said he often felt the
need to "slow down the pace of the
class" m order lo keep some stutlent
athletes on tr.iek at the expense of the
more diligent students.
fhe highest scoring tootball plaver
he taught earned I i • And trust me
when I tell vou, I was not a tough grader," he said
"Seem teachers seem more lenient
with athletes than others," said (.regorv
labor, a iunior maioring in sports management There's definitely a double
standard
labor added he teels he is more hkelv lei get I better grade in a class with
manv athletes
Several pmfessors, including the former faculty member, also expressed
meant over what thev perceive to be a
'systematic problem" in the priorities
of the athletic programs. Some leel the
athletes are being cheated out ot their
eelue ation
"They're being exploited." said the
fnglish pnttessor
During practice a couple of weeks
atgo. ( oach I arrv ( oker declined to
comment on the lohnson ease, he' said
the episode was behind them.
"We are here to go to school, to get an
education."he said."\s Ittngas I'm here,
that's going lo be our philosttphy," he
added
There is the perception among many
facultv  members that the academic
"See HONOR "•Page 2
DAVID EPPOtlTO /
RECEIVING H0-NORS: Jose Diaz taps President Shalala for
the second highest honor society on campus
Mortar Board taps
President Shalala
By Danielle Scott
At 9:25 Wednesdav morning in
the middle ol a meeting about eom
mencement. President Shalala was
surprised in her office by being
tapped for Mortar Board, the seceinel
highest honor societv em campus
"What an honor Do we have initi
ation on mv schedule?"Shalala said.
"Shalala exemplifies everything
we stand for It's an honor to have
her." Mortar Board president Lilly
(iiiallar said.
lhank vou  I'm thrilled. I was
verv surprised," Shalala said.
Mortar Board seaetarv Ben
Veiung and member lose Dia/ were
on hand to welcome Shalala into the
dub
With three dings on the triangle
bv Guallar, a short welcome speech
bv loung, and the tapping ot the
mortar board on Shalalas head by
Diaz, she became an official hon
orary member Vice president ot
selection, 1 tselle Vila, was in charge
ot organizing the lapping
"It went reallv well." Young said
Onlv 23 student^idve been cho
sen to iom the new Kappa Tau chapter ot Mortar Board," Young said.
Mortar Board, Inc   is a national
honeir seiciety that recognizes col
lege seniors tor distinguished abili
Iv and achievement in scholarship,
leadership, and service. It began in
ISH8 as the tirst national organiza
tion    honoring    senior    college
women
Members must exhibit scholar
ship, leadership and service and
must have excelled within and out
side of the universitv. Guallar said.
To be considered students must also
have above a V4 GPA and he a second semester iunior
The  CM   Mortar  Board chapter
organizes book drives, scholarships
lor students, and trips to elemen
tary schools
"We like to inspire kids to make it
because we've made it," Guallar
said
Their tirsi annual scholarship of
$500 went to sophomore Dave
Tenster tor his academic career, and
work inside and out of the dl
See SHALALA* f/>age 2