INDEX
News Briefs 5
Arts ---10
Sports 12
Editorials 14
Comics 15
Claaalfled Ada 16
Vol. 66, No.3 Louisville, Kentucky September 2, 1993
~-------------------
16 Pages An ~dependent Student Newspaper Free
Benson plans to ride out term
as Board chair and member
By Scott Koloms
Contributing Writer
The recent resignation of Robert
Benson as chair of the Transit Authority
of River City (T ARC) has students ques­tioning
his integrity as chair of the U ofL
Board of Trustees.
A recent article in The Courier-Jour­nal
revealed evidence of excessive
spending in entenainmcnt and travel
among top executives at TARC. Two
days after the article's publication
Benson resigned from his position at
TARC.
Benson's term as chair of U of L's
Board expires this momh. He has said he
willnottakctheappointcd position again.
Benson plans to serve on the board for
one more year as a member and then
resign to focus on his private law finn .
The Courier-Journal article disclosed
travel expenses of S 11,556 made by
Benson inceJuly 1988. Italsorevcaled
For related editorial
See page 12
several other instances
of excessive spending
by TARC, including a
10-per on trip to San
Diego costing
$18,229.04 and dinner
tabs of more than $30 a
person at local restau­rants
such as
Vinccnzo's.
Claire Tichenor,
graduate student in el­ementary
education,
said she was disturbed by the article.
"I was disappointed due to the cut­backs
for the disabled at T ARC," she
said. "They have enough money to eat at
Vincenzo's but not enough to support
the disabled.
"I think Benson owes the city of
Louisville an explanation. He should
come forward and be
held accountable for his
actions. There is a spe­cial
interest for me as a
U of L student as well
- he is chainnan of the
Board of Trustees."
Pat Peters, a senior
studying political sci­ence
and biology, said
he was disappointed
with the loose ends of
the resignation and the
possibility of excess
spending at the Univer­sity.
"It kind of leaves it open," he said.
"What is this guy going to do at U of L?
What has he done? This man has a lot of
power. He is above reproach. There is a
Sec STUDENTS
PageS
U of L non-athlete graduation rate low;
attributed to urban university status
By Jonathan Baize
Staff Writer
University of Louisville students, much like their counter­partS
nationally, are taking longer and longer to earn their
undergraduate degrees.
A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education,
comparing graduation rates of athletes to other students,
showed that the percentage of students from NCAA-affiliated
universities who graduated within six years was 55 percent.
That means that of all the students entering college as f lfSt­time
freshmen in the 1986-87 school year, just over half of
them had earned degrees by the summer of 1992.
At U ofL the graduation rate for non-athletesafter six years
is 31 percent, which is significantly lower than the national
average. The graduation rate for athletes was 54 percent after
six years.
A major factor in U ofL's lower rate is its role as an urban
university.
Charts compiled by the Office of Planning and Budget
show that many students aucnd U of L on a sporadic basis,
coming one semester and talting the following semester off.
An even larger number of students opt to only auend part-
For related editorial See page 12
time, usually to accommodate their work schedule. David
Scnn, of the Office of Planning and Budget, said variable
attendance is pan of the reality of urban universities.
"This is the advantage of being in an urban area," Senn
said. "You can go to school for awhile, drop out, come back
and you see the pauems in these charts."
Denise Gifford, executive director of Student Life, said U
of L students often f md it more practical to attend school on
and off in order to work while getting their educations.
"From my experience with students, I think students are
working more," Gifford said. "Students on a residential cam­pus
may work 15 hours, but I've talked with students on our
urban campus who work 30 or 40 hours. It is more logical for
them to drop in and out, instead of going for four years
straight."
Taking time off for work is just one of the activities that is
See STUDENTS
Page 7
111111111
and
Fun Flicks
AT RIGHT: Students
parked themselves on
the lawn outside of
the Student Activities
Center Aug. 27 to
listen to the sounds of
Love Sauce
Soulbones, who were
performing at a picnic
hosted by the Student
Activities Board.
AT BOTIOM: Video
hounds ham ~ up
before the cameras
in the lobby of the
SAC. Students could
sign up to lip-sync to
songs and get a free
copy of their
performance
Tom Owen
Alderman says Louisville's future lies in its past
Helpline set up for gays on campus
By Hong Huang
Contributing Writer
At 8 a.m. Tom Owen can be found at City
Hall, where he represents the 3rd Ward on the
Louisville Board of Alderman, a post he was
elected to in 1990.
"Nine o'clock I am an archivist working at the
Ekstrom Library of U of L," Owen said.
At 10 a.m. he sits in the studio of WUOL
giving his historical talk called "Sidewalk."
And at I p.m. he appears on the Belle of
Louisville recalling the old days of the Ohio
River.
Archivist, tour guide, lecturer, radio show
host - Tom Owen is a man of many hats and
seems to wear them with a great deal of aptitude.
He works 70 hours a week and half of the time
is spent at City Hall.
"Sometimes I am so tired I can fall on the Ooor
and take a nap," he said.
Wearing his tightly laced boots with his blue
duffel bag full of papers, he commutes between
his job at City Hall and his task as a public
historian.
Larry Raymond,aco-workcrofOwen's who
assisted him in his first campaign for alderman,
said Owen is very well-k.nown.
"Dr. Owen's rail-thin profile has become so
lns1de Page 10
Arts and Leisure
Local alternative music:
"Electric folk" band the
rain chorus releases its
debut CD and talks about
its rise to prominence on
the alternative scene.
Photo by Hong Huang
Alderman Tom Owen discusses community Issues with a U of L student.
familiar that there is scarcely a street in Louis­ville
where he can walk without people recogniz­ing
him and saying 'That's Owen,"' Raymond
said. "I would say his interest in local politics has
been a logical extension to his community in-volvement."
Recalling the ftrst time he ran for aldennan,
See OWEN
Page '3
By Steve W. Brewer
Contributing Writer
Prompted by incidents of
discrimination against gays on
the University of Louisville
campus last year, the Office of
StudcntLifehassctupahotline
to get input from the
University's gay and lesbian
population as to how to beuer
serve its needs.
Although most incidents
didn't get out of hand- the most
serious one involved a student who
was threatened by other residents with
weapons in his dormitory- the University
saw the need to assist gays and lesbians on
campus, said Ken Terrill, a Theatre Arts pro­fessor
who runs the hotline.
"It's important to have someone here who
is openly gay to help people in the community
deal with the bureaucracy," said Terrill, who
also serves as a liaison between the
University's gay, lesbian and bisexual stu­dents
and the administration.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
Assistance Line is where homosexual stu-dents
can tum to find guidance, get
information or report discrimi­nation.
The hotline "is a way
for people to voice
their concerns and
get the University
to do something
about their prob­lems,"
Terrill said.
The hotline's
number is 852-
4556. Callers can
leave their names
and phone numbers
on an answering
machine and their
call is returned as soon as possible. Terrill
stressed that the caller's identity is kept confi­dential.
Terrill said, depending on the situation, he
will try to help the student deal with a pfOb..
!em, give the student advice or refer the stu­dent
to the proper outlet for getting help.
"It's somewhere they can call and lalk to
See GAYS
Page 3
lnstde Page 12
Campus publication cleared of libel charge
Sports
U of L Football returns:
The Cards kick off the
1993 season at Cardinal
Stadium on Sept. 4
against San Jose State
University.
By Scott Koloms
Contributing Writer
The Louisville Cardinal was
cleared July 15 of charges that it
published defamatory material re­garding
reports fromscveral of David
E. Blank's colleagues in the political
science department that he intimi­dated
them with various gardening
tools.
Blank was later fired after a Fac­ulty
Grievance Commiuce found that he had
neglected and refused toperfonn his duties a a
f ulty member.
Circuit Judge Ellen Ewing ruled in favor of
The Cardinal and dismissed all charges filed by
Blank after 4 1(2 years of litigation.
An anicle wriuen by former Car­dinal
staff writer Gregory Harris in
the Feb. II, 1988 issue initiated the
complaint. Blank filed uit in Jeffer­son
County Circuit Court accusing
The Cardinal of reporting so as to
place him in public ridicule and issu­ing
false tatements.
Ewing found that the anicle pub­lished
by The Cardinal wa not
defamatory and that all statements
within it were substantially true.
According to sources, however, the deci ion
will more than likely not be the final word in this
case.
When told of the ruling, Blank's former attor­ney,
Arthur Samuel, said, "Yeah, but you know
him, he is going to appeal."
And,accordingto Blank, the case will continue
in higher courts. "It is notover,"he said. "The case
is going to the appellate level. I feel very confident
-there is no way I'm going to lose."
Blank aid The Cardinal was not objective or
honest, and he dubbed the publication ''The Paul
Weber Hate Sheet."
(Weber, chair of the political science depart­ment,
was a member of the data-finding commit­tee
that initially proposed the dismi sal of Blank
to University President Donald Swain. At the
time he was also on The Cardinal's Boanl of
Directors.)
Weber expressed a different view.
"He does not have a valid case at all," he said.
See BLANK
PageS