University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, April 23, 1993 Page: 3 of 8
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4
4
V
University Press
Editorial
Friday, April 23,1993
Lamar University
Page 3
*
* President Cottle:
■Don't let latest
*
controversy
linger too long
■ Once again controversy has
•dominated the news coming from
4the athletic department and once
again Mike Newell is the source
•of the controversy.
4 ] Rex Cottle, LU president,
wasted no time on his first day in
•office to look into complaints
^against Newell made by former
players. But what does the stu-
dent population really know
4about the whole situation?
! Newell has been known to be
•‘abusive and not praising, but is it
^ny wonder considering who
hired him? It seems the board of
•regents are abusive of power,
afioney and student interests.
; Speaking of the regents, they
were chastised in a recent state
.•.audit for their role in the hiring
of Newell. Newell has been doc-
umented as saying he was given
4“a blank check” budget to work
with — given to him by the
regents.
* j -Is this just another way for
the regents to cover their tracks
arid push all of the blame onto
‘someone else? What do Gary
Gallup and Billy Franklin think
of all this?
4 i
What this institution needs is
regents who have served on the
university level in some faculty or
administrative position — people
who know how to put the stu-
dents first.
If anything is to be done, then
let it be done now. If Newell is to
be relieved of his position, then do
it now. If this investigation is
dragged on for longer than two
weeks, there is no reason to have
hope for the future of Lamar ath-
letics and the university’s leader-
ship.
But bear in mind that if
Newell goes it may be only fair
that some regents should follow
suit — the regents were audited,
not Mike Newell.
The most troubling question is
what can the university afford to
do? Can Lamar fire Newell and
rebuild the program from
scratch? Or can the school keep
the status quo and chance an exo-
dus of disgruntled players?
Maybe Patrick Nero, assistant
athletic director for development,
was right when he implied this
program is not worth risking his
integrity and reputation.
‘Only Koresh wanted
4 i
[deadly catastrophe
•to end long standoff
JThe Waco Tribune
Herald
! ■ The catastrophe at Mount
* Carmel was exactly what every-
one — except maybe Vernon
Howell — hoped to avoid.
► • Monday’s deadly conflagration
^ at the Branch Davidian com-
pound was the worst possible
* fending to the government’s 51-
»day standoff involving federal
agents and the heavily armed reli-
* gious cult. FBI officials saw their
» popes for a peaceable resolution
go up in flames.
* The friends and family mem-
-•bers of the Branch Davidians
who died in the windswept fire
are grief-stricken over the tragic
Hoss of their loved ones. Men,
women and children from several
nations died in the fire.
4 Now is the time to mourn
» many people — both federal
agents and Branch Davidians —
4 who died since the Feb. 28
t assault on the religious compound
by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
J' and Firearms agents...
4 There will be investigations,
but it appears the actions taken
1 Monday by the FBI were simply
t another effort to further restrict
the perimeter and put additional
* pressure on the cult members in
* tfie hopes of resolving the situa-
tion peacefully. It looks as though
Howell made the decision to kill
» himself and his followers, which
distressfully included pregnant
women and innocent children.
If Howell was suicidal — as
events strongly indicate — then it
is possible that Monday’s deadly
ending would have come to the
same result eventually.
After what happened in the
shootout at Mount Carmel com-
mune, agents could not have been
blamed for wanting to return with
all the firepower available and
raze the compound. To their
credit, they waited it out and gave
Howell every opportunity to sur-
render peacefully. Howell even
got access to high-priced legal
counsel.
It seems that many lessons can
be ascertained from this terrible
episode, both for local govern-
ment and for the federal govern-
ment.
Reports of illegal activity must
be taken seriously, not allowed to
age on the shelf.
Had the concerns of former
cult members — not just about
firearms but about physical, psy-
chological and sexual abuse —
been addressed two years ago
when first brought to law
enforcement’s attention, things
might have been different. Also,
Howell could have been arrested
outside of the compound without
a gun battle.
Now is a time for mourning.
But as fitting as it is (to) grieve, it
is just as fitting to ponder what
can be done so that what hap-
pened at Mount Carmel never
happens again.
4
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4
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Editor...................
Managing Editor.
News Editor........
Sports Editor.......
Sports Assistant.,
Copy Editor.........
Wire Editor..........
Photo Editor........
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StaiT Reporters...
Cartoonist..................
Advertising Assistant
Mailing Clerk...............
Production Assistant.
University Press
.................................................................Mark Bankston
..........................................................................C.E. Louviere
................................................................Stephan Malick
............. Tom Riley
....................................................................Brad McBride
...................................................................Victor Ode gar
..................................................................Susan Flowers
.................................................................Matt Lumpkin
................................................................Tracy Silverberg
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Nawasa Dowden, Tarita Felix, Tracy Harbin,
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Publisher
Student Publications Board
-Joseph Kavanaugh,Chairman
Offices are located at 200 Setzer Student Center, Beaumont,
Texas. Letters should be addressed to P.O. Box 10055, Beaumont,
Texas, 77710.
Georgia court gives public access
to university disciplinary actions
By Anthony DiResta
Guest columnist
In a ground-breaking decision
granting public access to state uni-
versity trials, the Georgia Supreme
Court ruled last month that secrecy
surrounding a university court
charged with evaluating campus
crime violates the sunshine laws of
Georgia.
Students everywhere may bene-
fit, as this decision can be used to
open traditionally long-secret disci-
plinary procedures so everyone can
judge for themselves just how fairly
justice is dispensed on their campus.
Specifically, the Georgia high
court ruled that the organization
court of the student judiciary at the
University of Georgia, a student-run
tribunal charged with evaluating the
conduct of fraternities and sororities,
is a body dispensing justice that has
the authority to make decisions on
behalf of the state. The court specif-
ically rejected the state’s contention
that the so-called “Buckley
Amendment” prohibits access.
All the justices of the Supreme
Court concurred in the judgment.
As the opinion poignantly noted:
“We are mindful that openness in
sensitive proceedings is sometimes
unpleasant, difficult and occasionally
harmful. Nevertheless, the policy of
the state is that the public’s business
must be open, not only to protect
against potential abuse, but to main-
tain the public’s confidence in its
officials.”
At issue was whether The Red &
Black, an independent student-run
newspaper covering the University
of Georgia community in Athens,
could attend proceedings of the orga-
nization court and review documents
generated by it.
After reporters from The Red &
Black were rebuffed in their
attempts to gain-access to two hazing
cases before the Organization Court,
The Red & Black filed a lawsuit in
the Superior Court in Fulton County,
Atlanta.
The suit claimed the universities’
court systems are empowered by the
state to make decisions affecting the
public interest. Claims were brought
not only under the state’s sunshine
laws, or Georgia’s Open Meetings
and Open Records Acts, but under
the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
After a trial, the state court judge
in Atlanta ruled that, while the Open
Records Act applies to the records
generated by the Organization
Court, the public and media could
not attend its proceedings.
On direct appeal to the Georgia
Supreme Court concerning the
judge’s ruling on access to hearings,
The Red & Black argued that access
limited only to the records of the
Organization Court is insufficient —
and unconstitutional.
The so-called student “justices”
and “advocates” are responsible for
evaluating student and organization
activity and dispensing justice for
alleged wrongs occurring on campus.
The discharge of such a responsibili-
ty must be monitored objectively to
ensure that no misconduct, bias or
conflicts of interest exist, as well as
to engender respect for the integrity
of the process.
For any such observation to be
valid, it must include'a clear look at
the dynamics of the process itself —
the nuances which are not captured
on the written page.
Thus, the decision of the Georgia
Supreme Court in agreeing with
The Red & Black’s position is far-
reaching in First Amendment and
access law.
It will assist tremendously the
news media’s attempts to cover mat-
ters of public concern occurring on a
college campus.
The Supreme Court’s ruling
interprets the Buckley Amendment
narrowly, and thus state universities
should not be allowed to use that
federal statute as a shield to contin-
ue any tradition of secrecy.
Our democracy functions proper-
ly only if it maintains the trust of the
people. Access to governmental
decision-making therefore is critical.
Hopefully, the Georgia Supreme
Court’s decision will motivate stu-
dents everywhere to demand their
right to watch their campus courts so
they can decide for themselves if
they can trust them to be fair.
Anthony DiResta, a partner in the
Atlanta law firm of Morris, Manning &
Martin, was co-counsel for The Red &
Black along with R. Keegan Federal of
Federal & Goetz of Atlanta. This col-
umn was supplied by the Student Press
Law Center oj the Society of
Professional Journalists in Washington.
Children paid for federal actions in Waco
The image could have been a
scene from Dante's "Inferno."
Flames engulfed the entire Branch
Davidian complex and in the fire's
wake 80 people and a self-pro-
claimed prophet were dead.
This should not have happened.
The tactics the Federal officers used
were out of line. David Koresh and
his followers were known to be vio-
lent and the Feds could not have
doubted that when cornered, Koresh
would turn violent or as the public
knows now, to suicide.
Our peace officers are supposed
to protect and serve the public. Our
military forces are the organization
we pay taxes to kill and destroy and
I believe that the military could have
handled this situation better, certain-
ly no worse.
Did our law enforcement officials
not learn anything since 1985 when
in an attempt to dislodge the radical
MOVE members from a
Philadelphia tenement building, the
results destroyed an entire city block
and left 11 people dead.
Two wrongs do not make a right
Sure, the whole ordeal was an
embarrassment to our Federal law
enforement officers and that can be
understood, but a hastily executed
operation does not redeem a hastily
executed operation.
Children and foreign nationals
died in the Mount Carmel complex.
What about consideration for them?
Koresh and his group may have been
nuts but children are children until
taught otherwise. Negotiations
should not have ever been broken
off until those children's safety had
been secured. What was the rush?
This episode shows a fault in our
law enforcement system because the
day when a peace officer can't or
won't negotiate to a solution is the
day we all have something to fear.
Student nominates regent lor 'award'; staff member corrects UP
Letters to the Editor
Editor:
In the immortal words of the
Wizard of Oz, “Many men are grad-
uated from institutes of higher
learning, and they have no more
brains than you, Scarecrow. But they
have one thing you don’t have — a
diploma.” This sums me up perfect-
ly-
Before I receive my diploma
from Mirabeau University, I have
nominated our glorious leader and
chairman of the board of regents
Ted Morcpower for what I have
named this year's Golden Dunce
Award. My Golden Dunce Award
honors the person who chairs the
state of education here at Mirabeau
U.
The following might well be an
acceptance speech by Mr.
Morepower:
“I am Regent Ted Morepower
(with this award worn proudly).
Before I accept this award, I would
like to read a quote by Stephen
Becker. ‘Better a man who knows
his own stupidities than a man who’s
too sure of everything.’ I’ve worked
hard to make Mirabeau University
the kind of university that serves all
of my needs all of the time. I know
if my needs are met, your needs are
met. My goals, combined with those
of others, have been to do away with
football and to promote the basket-
ball and baseball programs. We will
continue to use the ‘What-the-
Heck’ Baseball Field and we might
even use the Mundane Center for a
little indoor soccer.
“Student fees will have to be
raised to cover the costs of bringing
you the best education possible.
New equipment, new facilities and
raises for teachers will have to wait
— maybe next year.
“I want to assure you people that
all the nonsense about that audit
and poor management has been
taken care of. You just study hard
and leave administration to us.
“I would like to take a moment
to say what a fine job that George
McAwful is doing to the John Green
Institute. If he does to the institute
what he did to this university, he
will have earned his $125,000 salary.
I agree with George when he said a
penny diverted is a penny earned.
“Once again let me thank all you
little people for your support. Your
silence says it all. It is a shame that
tuition must go up, but keep that
T
money coming in.
“Remember, an education that
doesn’t cost a lot ain’t worth having.
Thank you. May the farce be with
you.” u
Steve Kuritz
Beaumont senior
Editor:
In my past letter to the editor, I
found that the newspaper staff incor-
rectly quoted my department, and
thus placed me in a position in
which I was previously not involved
as mentioned by Mr. Moreau about
his experiences in the Carl Parker
Building.
I would like to state for the
record that I am not a
Telecommunications staff member,
nor was I originally involved in the
issue that Mr. Moreau originally
mentioned in his letter to the editor.
However, I did express my opinions
and would also like to state those as
being my opinions, and are in no
way to be construed as the position
or opinion of Lamar University.
I would further like to clarify a
statement I made concerning Billye
Potts’ removing signs from the
Telecommunications Building. My
original letter to the editor stated
that she informed me she had taken
some signs down from the Carl
Parker Building, but in no way did
my letter make mention of the spe-
cific signs that were removed. My
point was that signs must be posted
in approved places as per the poli-
cies of the university and that it was
apparent that signs had been posted
which were not placed in the proper
area. The Setzer Student Center has
copies of this policy which they will
be glad to send to those concerned.
Please correct my department and
make it clear that I am not represent-
ing the university in my opinions. In
fact, I feel offended that the newspa-
per is connecting my opinion with
my position at La.nar. Neither are
related.
Phillip Laird
Information Services
Editor's note: The University Press
policy is to identfy staff end fac-
ulty who write letters by their
departments. Letters are personal
opinions and are not reflective of
departmental thinking unless
stipulated in the leffer.
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Bankston, Mark. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, April 23, 1993, newspaper, April 23, 1993; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth499716/m1/3/: accessed July 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lamar University.