UT Profs Remarks Denounced As Racist By Colleen De Beise CPS AUSTIN, Texas--A law school professor's remarks on race and achievement have prompted criticism and calls for his resignation from the University of Texas-Austin. The professor, Lino Graglia, touched off controversy when he told a news conference Sept. 11 that black and Hispanic students cannot compete academically with whites at selective institutions. "These cultures do not encourage achievement," he said. "Failure is not looked upon with disgrace." Graglia made the remarks as honorary co-chair of Students for Equal Opportunity, a new campus group that supports the 1996 Hopwood court ruling ending affirmative action at Texas universities. Reaction to his comments was immediate. Chancellor William H. Cunningham issued a statement, calling Graglia's comments "an insult to thousands of minority students and alumni associated with the University of Texas System." Minority state lawmakers called for his resignation. State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, told a press conference at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that Graglia's comments could hurt minority enrollment at the university. "I don't know this man's mind, but I think he should take under consideration what his commentary UC- Berkeley Students Flock To Class On Tupac Shakur By Maggie Welter College Press Service BERKELEY,CaIif.-- Reading, writing and—rapping? That's right, at the University of California- Berkeley slain rap star Tupac Shakur is joining the ranks of Shakespeare and Robert Frost. Students enrolled in "The Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur" are studyingthe unreleased poetry and lyrics of the rapper who died last year after being shot in Las Vegas. What may be more unique about the class is its origin. The two-unit course offered by the history department, is the brainwork of, and is actually being taught by, Berkeley junior Arvand Elihu. "I was in history class about Medieval England and I kept making connections between Tupac and history. His poetry provides insight into our times just as historians like Tacitus did of their times," said Elihu. "He is the Bob Dylan of our day." Elihu shared his observations with history professor Robert Brentano, .who was overcome by Elihu's passion and asked him to • give a lecture on the subject. "You should have seen him," said Brentano, "he is a wonderful, energetic teacher, and he really sparked interest in the students." Infamous Lizzie 1893 re-enacted at 'Stanford By Michelle Levander Knight-Ridda Newspapers STANFORD, Calif. Stanford University re-enacted America's first celebrity trial Tuesday with an all-star cast that included Chief Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist and Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, both Stanford alumni. could do," Barrientos said. "I have a feeling that people all over the state are going to be saying, 'Don't go to the University of Texas.'" Already, minority enrollment has plummeted with the end of affirmative action programs. At UTs law school, only four blacks and 26 Mexican-Americans are enrolled this year. The Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce also demanded Graglia's resignation. "It is no secret that Hispanics and African Americans score lower than whites on standardized tests," the group said "But this has nothing to do with intellectual inferiority. "It is the result of hiitorically underfunded public schools...lt is the result of years of exclusion from the learning environment, and this is a problem that still exists today." Graglia, who says he has no plans to resign, issued a statement saying he regretted the remarks. The professor said his words were "taken out of context and misunderstood" and, "I realize now, especially after being called by some cordial Mixican-American and black parents, that it was carelessly put, and I regret it." He added that he opposes affirmative action but, "I am, and always have been, opposed to all forms of racial or ethnic discrimination." Controversy is nothing new to the 67-year-old tenured professor. In 1986, former President Ronald Reagan rejected his proposed nomination to the sth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because of his outspoken remarks on affirmative action and busing for integration. Many professors say they support Graglia's free-speech rights although they do not agree with his remarks. Three black student leaders, however, have filed a racial harassment complaint against The lecture also sparked a desire in Elihu to further explore the works of Shakur. He designed the course, syllabus board as faculty sponsor. "I think it can be beneficial to look at things that most people untouchable," Brentano said. Raphael Darvish, a junior in the class, is finding it beneficial. "I went in with the attitude that Tupac was bad for society, you know, ditching women andpolice and all in his music." After five classes however, Darvish said he looks at Shakur in a different. "It's amazing how much talent this guy had, his rap and poems are so much deeper than we know. He is not the same guy we hear cussing on CDs and all. I'm beginning to see that he might have made a difference in the African- American community if he had lived." Darvish isn't the only one impressed with the course. Only 50 students were allowed to enroll for credit, but about 80 have shown up to every class so far and they are giving Elihu a lesson in juggling a waiting list. Elihu says the class isn't really about studying Shakur; it's about using his lyrics as a looking glass into the problems facing American society. "Tupac has painted numerous pictures of our society, about our fears, ambitions and shortcomings," he said. And just like the first time around in Lizzie Borden's 1893 double murder trial, the swift jury verdict of not guilty Tuesday hinged on a wicked rhyme. The original verse, still famous . today, was widely recited at the time of the original trial: "Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one." The modern day sequel was Graglia, saying his remarks caused severe "emotional distress." The university is investigating the complaints to see whether Graglia treats minority students differently than whites. To date, there is no evidence that he does, said UT interim president Peter Flawn, who met with Graglia following the comments. Students for Access and Opportunity, a new student group, organized a Sept. 16 rally to urge UT officials to step up their efforts to maintain diversity on campus. Nearly 5,000 students turned out for the rally, which featured a speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson Jackson urged students to boycott Graglia's classes and called the professor "a national disgrace." "If they fire him based upon his free speech, then he can sue and become a legal martyr," Jackson warned students, according to news reports. "He must not become a legal martyr. He must become a moral and social pariah." At the rally, student organizers unveiled a 10-point plan for diversity that includes reforms in admission, retention and scholarship policies. Bobby Garza, a senior and SAO organizer, said he hoped the 10- point plan would draw students' attention away from Graglia's comments. "With the rally, we should be able to direct the energy into something a little more positive and a lot less reactionary," he said "What we're coming out with is a plan that would achieve a higher quality of education through the diversity of students, faculty and administrators." At the rally, the group planned to ask the state Board of Regents to discuss its 10-point plan at an open meeting "I feel like it' is our responsibility as students here at the university to protect the interests of students who aren't yet here," Grazasaid. In fact, it's because of Shakur's emphasis on the negatives that he was such a controversial figure, according to Elihu. Many supported former Vice President Dan Quayle when he suggested banning Shakur's music because of its hostile stance toward police officers. But Elihu said listening to the lyrics allows society to understand the origin of that hostility and to attempt to make amends. "Tupac gives us a unique look at the mentality of young men in the ghetto, about why they act the way they do, why they do not fear death and the effect of growing up without love." To gain this insight, the class is using Shakur's lyrics and a collection of unpublished poetry he left behind. In addition Tupac's mother and a close friend of the rapper will give guest lectures. "His mother is thrilled with the class and welcomes the opportunity to vent," he said. Students likewise have plenty o opportunity to vent their feelings. "Their arguments can get pretty heated," Darvish said, "but it' healthy arguments." In addition to class participation, students are required to write poetry and afinal paper about what they gained from studying Shakur's works. Grading all those papers may be the one thing Elihu doesn't like about the class. Borden trial of in mock trial penned by Stanford Law School professor Barbara Allen Babcock, who delivered it Tuesday in a witty closing argument as Borden's attorney: "She has been convicted by a rhyme. Now it is . time for reason," Babcock said. "Without an axe or a bloody dress, Lizzie's not a murderess." And, perhaps persuaded by that line, the Dinkelspiel Auditorium audience of 750 on Tuesday held up paper fans to vote, reaching the same verdict as Lizzie's jury did more than 100 years ago: not guilty! Hundreds more crowded into other campus rooms to watch a Oklahoma school reverses fortunes by redefining itself St. Gregory's is the oldest institution of higher education in Oklahoma, established near Konawa in the Indian Territory era by the French Benedictines. It later moved SHAWNEE, Okla. Two years to Shawnee after a fire destroyed the ago, Oklahoma's oldest college was original campus. the educational equivalent of a Pfaff called the Benedictines the dinosaur, facing possible extinction school's "secret weapon." He said as enrollment dwindled to about the school's faculty includes 12 of 160 By Arnold Hamilton Knight-Ridder Newspapers Now St. Gregory's University ,monastery on campus, highly resembles an academic phoenix. It educated men devoted to teaching has transformed itself into a four- and service, not to publishing and year school that takes responsibility researc h . for tailoring a course of study based — They are the heart and soul of on each student's needs and talents. this institution," Pfaff said. It has become a place where the traditional liberal arts education stressed by the Benedictine monks is combined with the latest thinking on learning styles, skills assessment and personal achievement. The new approach also has a strong high-tech component, requiring all students to buy laptop computers just as they would textbooks a first among Oklahoma colleges and universities. And enrollment is skyrocketing, up to nearly 600. For St. Gregory's, the renaissance is nothing short of miraculous, giving school officials hope for the future of the only Catholic institution of higher education in Oklahoma and Arkansas. "We were in such straits," said rank Pfaff, the school president he past two years. "We needed a major breakthrough, a major change. "This was not an institution that was going to succeed by staying a two-year school." Pfaff said the new curriculum includes a 11-credit-hour block of courses in professional development and a mandatory internship to provide real-world experience. he said incoming students undergo a battery of tests designed to identify their learning styles, assess their skills and talents and help focus their careers. "The single greatest indictment of higher education is it hasn't taken that responsibility seriously," he said. live video feed. Stanford Law School officials decided to re-enact the famous courtroom murder-mystery to celebrate a new endowed chair, the Judge John Crown Professorship in Law. Babcock, Stanford's first tenured female law professor and a former defense attorney, has been chosen to fill it. It's not surprising that the event would be a big draw. After all, it had real-life superstars, two Supreme Court justices who displayed the same stern and calm air they show in their real courthouse. In one moment that won a knowing laugh from the many law school members in the audience, Chief Justice Rehnquist warned the prosecution and the defense of strict time limits and told them they might be interrupted as they presented arguments, "following the custom of this court." And Justice O'Connor did just that, sharply questioning each side before the two justices ruled on an evidentiary question. It wasn't just the celebrity participants that brought the crowd. The Lizzie Border trial continues to intrigue many folks because of lingering doubts about the innocence of the proper young lady from Fall River, Mass. On Aug. 4, 1892, Borden's father and step-mother, who ran their household with a parsimonious hand, were brutally murdered in their own home by multiple blows to the head with an axe. There were no signs of a struggle and no conclusive murder weapon. Only two members of the household were nearby, Lizzie Andrew Borden and Thursday, September 18 - The Behrend College Collegian - page S He said the St. Gregory's long to conclude the school needed program includes courses in such • university status, especially because areas as "self-leadership," designed alumni typically support four-year to help the estimated 30 percent to schools more strongly than two -35 percent of working adults in the year institutions. next century who will end up ?, The result was a campaign, self-employed for a period of time. 'successfully completed last month, "How do you exert the kind of to 'Win approval from the North discipline in your life to meet your Central Association of Colleges and commitments to other people? To be on time? How to manage your checkbook? Making connections that will be beneficial to you in networking? Self-promotion?" he said 'LiP;3S monks who live in a Unlike universities that build the cost of laptop computers into the tuition bill, St. Gregory's offers them for sale just as it would textbooks. The school sets minimum standards but gives students the freedom to Whether the college-turned- purchase laptops off-campus if they university can successfully combine c h oose. what sustained it for more than 100 Pfaff said laptops enable students years a tightly knit Catholic to access important learning tools, community, involvement of such as the Internet and libraries at Benedictines in every aspect of other universities. campus life with a new approach to The professional development learning and cutting-edge curriculum, he said, was created by technology may not be known for a team of local business leaders years, experts said. including doctors, lawyers, bankers, "It's both a leap of faith and a store owners and other people from perilous venture moving into this the working world. brave new world," said David "We told them, 'You ;ye got a Warren, president of the National blank sheet of paper,' Pfaff said. Association of Independent — You tell us what the skills are Colleges and Universities. going to be for the 21st century: Pfaff said St. Gregory's had no ry.' "We honestly believe the 21st choice but to try. He said the century, in approaching the needs of college succeeded for years as a students, is going to result in the "finishing school" for students who shift of educational models. failed to gain admittance to such Professors are going to be architects Catholic institutions as Notre of learning rather than dispensers of Dame or who needed a second information. It's not going to be chance to prove themselves like an assembly line any more. academically. Instead, you'll work through But in the wake of the oil bust in clarification of their sense of the early 1980 s, he said, St. purpose and mission in life." Gregory's role as a two-year liberal By testing for learning styles and arts college was not as easily inventorying skills, Pfaff said St. distinguished from the less costly Gregory's will be able to and more accessible state junior personalize each student's education college system. to help him or her gain even more As enrollment began a steep from their college experience. decline, Pfaff said, the Benedictines "You then design for them focused on a move to four-year utilizing other colleges, outside university status. When the learning resources, your own school's governing board asked him resources a learning program, and to take over, Pfaff said, he was you mentor him or her through that given the freedom to determine experience," he said. "They might whether the school was salvageable do some work at a local vo-tech and, if so, in what form. center or go down to CU Pfaff, 50, a former longtime (University of Oklahoma) for a provost and academic dean at couple of classes or over to OBU Oklahoma City University, a (Oklahoma Baptist University in Methodist school, said it didn't take Shawnee), or they'll stay here and be mentored in a directed study or internship." Bridget Sullivan, the maid. Like O.J. Simpson and Claus Von Bulow, the multimillionaire cleared of charges that he injected enough insulin into his wife to send her into a coma, Lizzie Borden lived out the rest of her life under a cloud of suspicion even though she was acquitted. In all these cases, said Harvard Law Professor Charles I. Ogletree, Jr., who played the role of prosecutor in Tuesday's drama, acquittal partly hinged on the social standing of the accused and questions about whether such an established member of society could have really committed a brutal crime despite overwhelming evidence. After the drama was over, audience members could be heard holding heated debates on the lawn outside about Lizzie Borden's guilt or innocence. One audience member, Stanford President Gerhard Casper, had more than the verdict in mind. At the trial, he expressed his delight with the high-powered personalities the university seems to be attracting of late, which will include the President, the first lady and the First Daughter on Friday. "Today we have the judicial branch," he quipped to the San Jose Mercury News. "Friday, it's the PENNSTATE Schools to begin awarding bachelor's degrees in five fields of study. And he said it was clear St. Gregory's also needed to embrace technology, ensuring it gives its students a practical education that justifies the higher private school tuition. St. Gregory's tuition is $3,000 per semester for a full-time student enrolled in 12 to 17 credit hours. "It does change the dynamic of an institution," said Warren of the association of private colleges. "It does redefine what community means." JOIN THE COLLEGIAN STAFF!!! Students interested in reporting or selling advertisements should call 898- 6488. What an experience!! e l Erie arnd
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers